Raising Awareness of Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Mechanisms in the Ministry of Interior of the Central Bosnia Canton

Today (February 13, 2020), a one-day workshop titled "Raising Awareness of Gender Equality in Police Structures in B&H" was held in the official premises of the Central Bosnia Canton in Travnik, attended by about 20 policewomen. The workshop was implemented by the "Policewomen's Network" Association", with the support of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The focus of the workshop was on understanding the concept of gender issues in general, the different roles and needs of men and women, and topics specifically addressing discrimination in the workplace with a focus on gender-based harassment and sexual harassment. The aim of the workshop is to raise awareness of these phenomena, the mechanisms of protection present and to encourage the reporting of such cases, since it is evident that in all police structures in B&H there is a dark number of cases of discrimination on various grounds, as shown by the research conducted in 2018.

During the workshop, it was emphasized that the security sector must have the capacity to respond to different security needs of men and women, boys and girls, many of which are determined by different gender roles, norms and behavior, and that gender training is an activity of capacity building of police services .

The workshop was assessed as very useful also in terms of networking, which will help in the further work and implementation of the Mission of the Association.

At the end of the workshop, a working meeting was held with the members of the Association, where they discussed further directions of work, current projects and plans for the current year.