Ending Violence against Women

Photo: Association “Vive zene” Tuzla
Photo: Association “Vive zene” Tuzla
In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) every second woman experienced some form of violence since the age of 15. This violence is often seen as socially acceptable behavior justified by traditional patriarchal norms and gender stereotypes. UN Women research on attitudes on VAW from 2017 shows that 35.2% of people in BiH believe that it is important for a man to show his wife or a partner who is the boss.
 
UN Women has been supporting governments at national and entity level in implementing norms and standards enshrined in the Council of Europe (CoE) Istanbul Convention. With the support of Sweden and the European Union, and in collaboration with governmental institutions and civil society organizations, UN Women works on strengthening institutional and social response mechanisms to combat violence against women (VAW) and domestic violence (DV). UN Women puts a strong focus on prevention of VAWG and working with men, women and youth in changing attitudes and beliefs about gender stereotypes on individual and on community level.

Our Results

Following the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, from 2013 to 2019 UN Women has been working on and supporting various initiatives under the EVAW portfolio:

Ongoing Projects and Initiatives in BiH

  • Support to enhancement of the legislative framework on VAW with a focus on sexual violence and domestic violence and alignment with the Istanbul Convention;
  • Support to entity and local level efforts in ensuring availability and accessibility of services for survivors of DV in line with the standards defined in the Istanbul Convention with a special focus on the most vulnerable groups of women;
  • Addressing harmful attitudes around gender equality and VAW with a strong focus on gender stereotypes, VAW including sexual harassment by working with young men and women, and local and religious communities;
  • Raising awareness on various forms of VAW including sexual harassment in public spaces and working with the media community to report on VAW in line with ethical and professional standards and to contribute to the wider efforts in prevention of VAW.

See our factsheet for more information.