Empowering policewomen to report sexual harassment within the ranks of the police

A two-day workshop on "Raising Awareness of Gender-Based Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace" was successfully completed in Konjic today, attended by about 30 policewomen from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the third workshop of this type, which is realized within the project "Combating gender-based violence within police structures in BiH", organized by the "Policewomen's Network" Association with the support of the US Embassy.

The aim of the workshop is to raise awareness of gender based discrimination and sexual harassment in the police and existing protection mechanisms, given the fact that the  conducted research showed that there is a high dark number of these cases in police structures in BiH and officers find it difficult to report discrimination. The cause of such discrimination is most often gender prejudices and stereotypes, which is especially pronounced in police structures where men are still predominantly represented.
Through this type of education, policewomen are empowered to recognize all forms of discrimination and report it to the authorities.

Given the fact that the police should be an example to other institutions in the fight against gender-based violence, both when taking measures and actions within their competence, and within their ranks, it is absolutely unacceptable that such cases are not reported and prosecuted within the police.

In the next phase of this project, trainings will be realized for the competent representatives of the Department for Internal Control within the police with the aim of specialization in the investigation of discrimination cases and guidelines for action will be made.