Campaign “Let’s turn off sexual violence against women and girls” begins with roundtable "From attitudes to laws: Joint efforts towards a society with no sexual violence"

Sarajevo, 24 November 2021 – “Let’s turn off sexual violence against women and girls” is the message of the UN Women campaign running from 25 November to 10 December, with the support of Sweden for the 5th year in a row. These activities are part of the global campaign “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence”, which calls to an end of all forms of violence against women and girls.

For this year’s campaign, UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is focusing on sexual violence, offering new perspectives on the issue, and advocating for the enhancement of legislative and institutional frameworks to address sexual violence in BiH. The campaign was launched on 24 November at Hotel Europe in Sarajevo with a hybrid event: a roundtable with experts who discussed the issue of sexual violence in BiH, followed by online participants.

“All individuals have a right to bodily integrity and freedom from violence,” said Johanna Strömquist, Ambassador of Sweden to Bosnia and Herzegovina. “To ensure these basic human rights for women and girls, legislation to prevent and combat violence against women must be in place, sufficient funds allocated to implement them, and policies developed to change harmful norms and attitudes in society.”

According to David Saunders, UN Women Representative in BiH: “We are here today to take a stand against sexual violence towards women and girls. Every second women in BiH over 15 years of age experience some form of violence, including sexual violence. We are determined to combat sexual violence against women by creating a safe environment. Women and girls need to be safe from abuse and sexual violence in their own homes. They need to be safe from harassment and abuse at work, and on the street. They need to be safe from judgment and stigma. Let’s work together to make this a reality for women and girls. Let’s turn off sexual violence and turn on prevention – together!”

Ana Vuković, director of Gender Centre of Federation of BiH, added: “By adopting legal measures that regulate the issue of domestic violence and violence against women, including sexual violence, and by ratifying the Istanbul Convention, Bosnia and Herzegovina is very clearly determined to participate in the continuing struggle against all forms of violence against women, with the goal to create a society with zero tolerance for any form of violence.” 

The roundtable “Combating sexual violence in BiH – Challenges and opportunities” featured the participation of Ivanka Marković, Legal Expert and Professor at the University of Banja Luka; Fatima Bećirović, Expert on ending violence against women at the Gender Centre of BiH; Gorica Ivić, Expert on ending violence against women from the Foundation United Women Banja Luka; and Nasiha Pozder, BiH Member of Parliament.

Ensuring legal protection for women survivors of sexual violence and adequate support for their recovery was underlined as one of the imperatives and main conclusions of the discussion. Everyone needs to be part of this process – decision-makers, institutions and civil society organizations. The conclusions of the discussion will be included in a document that will be shared with targeted actors and decision-makers in BiH.

As a part of the campaign, UN Women will organize a dialogue on this topic with youth. The closing event will be held in Mostar on 10 December, where young people will tackle the topic of sexual harassment, especially their understanding of this form of violence, and the meaning of consent, as one of key factors in violence prevention. They will share their reflections on posters and in this way contribute to the dialogue on preventing sexual violence in BiH.

Follow the social media profiles of UN Women in BiH – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – and support the campaign by using the hashtags #TurnOffViolence and #TurnOnPrevention!

For more information, please contact Mirela Laković: mirela@supermarket.ba/ 061 226 962.