How medical rehabilitation is helping women survivors of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina heal and rebuild hope

UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina is piloting medical rehabilitation initiatives as part of a broader package of support measures to improve the well-being and mental health of women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence.

Mirrors to each other

“Survivors often feel misunderstood in the broader community, but when we stay together, we become mirrors to each other.” 

Nearly three decades after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended, an estimated 20,000 women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence continue to live with its lasting consequences, while stigma and uneven access to justice, healthcare, and psychosocial services remain persistent barriers. For countless survivors, the trauma of war has settled into their bodies. 

One of them is 52-year-old Mirsada Tursunović. 

After years of economic hardship and lack of support, she decided to channel her experience into helping other women survivors. Today, she’s the co-founder and volunteer president of the Association for Support to Victims and Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence “Naš glas” in Tuzla, advocating for survivors’ rights, rehabilitation, and social inclusion. 

Yet the impact of the violence she endured remains part of her daily reality. 

“I’ve been living with type 2 diabetes for almost 27 years, which was triggered by the trauma I survived,” says Tursunović. “I also suffer from a herniated disc and other chronic illnesses. Since 2010, I have depended on insulin and other medications.” 

A chance to heal

In February 2026, UN Women, in partnership with the Association “Vive Žene” from Tuzla and with the financial support of the United Kingdom’s Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), launched a pilot medical rehabilitation programme for women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. 

The initiative offered holistic medical rehabilitation in specialized health centres, helping women address long-term physical and emotional health challenges linked to wartime trauma.

18 women survivors participated in the programme, including Tursunović.

“From the moment I arrived at the rehabilitation centre, I felt a sense of relief,” she recalls. “I was welcomed by kind medical staff, who handed me my completed medical record stating ‘civilian victim of war’. When I met the doctor, I didn’t have to explain my past or relive my traumatic experiences. For me, this was a powerful experience, a place where the soul could breathe.”

For 50-year-old Adisa Likić, founder and volunteer president of the Association of Women for Rural Development “Zvijezda” in Vareš, the programme responded to a need that survivors have expressed for years. 

“I can speak on behalf of my members who went through the specialized treatment and many other women - they were thrilled. Most of them needed this kind of rehabilitation,” says Likić.

Quality of care matters

According to Jo-Anne Bishop, UN Women Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the pilot initiative confirmed an important lesson: how support is delivered matters just as much as the support itself. 

“Survivors emphasized that privacy, respectful communication, kind and trained staff, and access to psychological support were essential,” says Bishop. “In other words, it is not enough to simply provide a referral. Services must be designed around survivors’ specific needs and experiences.” 

The pilot was not designed to replace the role of government, but to demonstrate a survivor-centred model of rehabilitation and identify what is needed for the right to be implemented through the public system. “This shows that the obstacles are not only legal or financial, they can also be administrative, procedural, institutional, and informational,” shared Jo-Anne Bishop.

Building stronger survivor-led organizations

Medical rehabilitation is only one part of a broader effort to support women survivors. 

Through its Gender Justice Platform, UN Women works with survivor-led organizations across the world, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina, providing training, small grants, and support to strengthen their advocacy and long-term sustainability. 

Likić’s association, which brings together 28 women survivors, received its first major financial support from UN Women in 2016. 

“Over the past years, UN Women has continued to stand by us. We felt heard,” says Adisa Likić.

Economic empowerment remains one of the most pressing challenges facing survivors. Many are unemployed and rely primarily on survivors’ benefits to support themselves and their families. 

To generate income, members of survivor-led associations produce and sell handmade goods, from wool carpets, bags, and slippers with traditional motifs, to food products such as jams, teas, and cheese.

To help expand their market opportunities, UN Women and the United Kingdom supported women’s organizations, including survivor associations, in presenting and selling their products at the Women 100 Expo in Sarajevo.

Healing together 

For Tursunović, one of the most valuable parts of the rehabilitation programme was the opportunity to heal alongside women who shared similar experiences. 

“Survivors often feel misunderstood in the broader community, but when we are together during the medical treatment, the need to explain or hide our trauma disappears. We become mirrors to each other.”  

A rehabilitation programme cannot erase the lasting consequences of conflict-related sexual violence. But it can offer something more powerful - a sense of belonging. “It creates a network stronger than any individual, because we understand each other,” says Tursunović.