Improving the conduct of the police in investigating cases of discrimination within the police

A two-day workshop on "Conduct in cases of  genderbased discrimination and sexual harassment within the police" ends today in Konjic. The workshop is attended by police officers from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, employed in internal control departments. The workshop is realized within the project "Fight against gender-based violence in police structures in BiH", which is implemented by the "Policewomen's Network" Association  with the support of the U.S. Embassy.

The results of the conducted research showed that there is a high dark number of cases of discrimination in the police, with a focus on genderbased discrimination and sexual harassment. 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. One of the reasons for non-reporting was the lack of knowledge of specific issues by the investigators, and the lack of trust in the relevant services, which makes it very difficult for policewomen to report these cases, and they are often secondarily victimized.

The training is aimed at police officers employed in the competent departments for investigating cases of discrimination within the police, and covers all relevant topics that will help them identify cases of discrimination, timely investigation and proof of the same, and protect the victim. During the first day of the training, gender roles, stereotypes and prejudices, as well as types of discrimination were addressed, in order to better understand the whole issue, while the second day the focus was on case identification and successful investigation.