Gender equality in the police structures of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Organized by the Agency for Education and Professional Training (AEPTM) and the "Policewomen's Network" Association, with the support of the project "EU for Human Rights and Combating Discrimination in BiH",  the workshop "Gender equality and gender-based discrimination in police structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina" was held in Konjic (30-31 March, 2023) . The training is the result of intensive cooperation between AEPTM and the MPS Association, which began with the establishment of a working group for the development of the curriculum for this professional training.

The aim of the workshop, organized for police officers (men and women), assigned to jobs of middle and higher management level in the State Investigation and Protection Agency - SIPA, the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies and the Border Police of BiH, is to raise awareness about gender equality and gender-based discrimination in police structures, with a focus on the analysis of the current situation. The two-day training covered basic issues related to gender and sex, gender concept, stereotypes, and prejudice, as well as and discrimination. Also, the domestic and international legal framework and existing mechanisms for achieving gender equality, as well as mechanisms for protection against discrimination were discussed.

The goal of the organizers is to make the participants of the training "gender aware", to learn to recognize the difference between sex and gender, and to define gender prejudices and stereotypes as causes of discrimination in police structures. The importance of recognizing discrimination in the workplace was emphasized, with a focus on sexual and gender-based harassment. A special topic was the existing protection mechanisms and their use. It was emphasized that laws in our country require institutions to take measures with the aim of achieving gender equality and combating discrimination in the workplace.

"Trainings on gender issues enable the police to improve their capacities, prevent and respond to various forms of gender violence. Training of this type promotes a non-discriminatory environment, in which there is no sexual harassment and discrimination, and conditions are created for retention in the service and professional advancement of women and men" - stressed the president of the Association Kristina Jozić, who together with the Deputy Director of the Agency for training and professional development of staff, Predrag Šupljeglav, presented certificates to the participants of the training.

The entire project was implemented as part of the IPA 2 pre-accession support of the European Union in cooperation with the Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and entity gender centers.