Implementation period: October 2023 - October 2026
The project implementer is the Foundation of Local Democracy, in partnership with the Agency for Gender Equality of BiH and the Safe Network of B&H. The project is funded by the United Nations Trust Fund and implemented with the support of UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The overall goal of the project is to ensure that women and girls in B&H, including marginalized women, have the right to a life free from sexual violence.
The project is based on the Istanbul Convention, which B&H ratified in 2014. Article 25 of the Convention stipulates the obligation to establish support for victims of sexual violence. However, there is no institutional system of protection and support for victims of sexual violence in B&H, including the lack of specialized services. Sexual violence is one of the most serious criminal offenses and one of the least reported crimes.
The proposed project aims to build an institutional framework for the prevention and protection of sexual violence through the support of institutions in the system in cooperation with non-governmental organizations in B&H.
The project results will be achieved through a series of activities that include strengthening the capacities of all relevant professionals to establish an institutional response, establishing at least two referral centers for sexual violence at health institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina and two crisis centers for victims of sexual violence within non-governmental organizations, developing and adopting a Protocol on Prevention, Protection and Treatment in Cases of Sexual Violence against Women in the Federation of B&H and adopting the already created Protocol in the Republic of Srpska.
The project will launch a public campaign to reduce tolerance for all forms of sexual violence and inform the public about available support services for victims of sexual violence.
The final beneficiaries of the project are women and girls who are victims of sexual violence in BiH, especially those who are exposed to multiple discrimination, including Roma women, women with disabilities, and women from rural areas.
