The event brought together representatives of BH media, and those who made additional efforts this year, pointed out the ubiquity of violence against women, and organized various humanitarian activities for women victims of violence, were awarded special "Friends of the Foundation" awards.
As a sign of gratitude for the continued support in its work and raising public awareness about violence against women, the Foundation of Local Democracy organized a “New Year’s Brunch for Journalists” in Sarajevo today. The event brought together representatives of the BiH media, and those who have made additional efforts this year, pointed out the ubiquity of gender-based violence, and organized various humanitarian activities for women victims of violence, were awarded special “Friends of the Foundation” awards. The event was opened by Jasmina Mujezinović, Executive Director of the Foundation, who emphasized the importance of the media in reporting on domestic violence.
- The media are our allies in the fight against domestic violence. We are aware that with your help, violence is reported more often, and victims are encouraged to leave the cycle of violence. With this event, we want to express our gratitude for your support, but also present special “FRIENDS OF THE FOUNDATION” awards to those who have made additional efforts to provide support to victims of violence. We hope that this gathering and the presentation of special awards will become a traditional pre-New Year's event - said Jasmina.
Special “FRIENDS OF THE FOUNDATION” awards were presented to Hayat Television for the implementation of the “Stop Violence” campaign, Ladies IN magazine for the implementation of humanitarian activities for the Safe House in Sarajevo as part of the “Women’s Days” event, and Info Media Group from Banja Luka for placing a video about support services in trams and trolleybuses in the Sarajevo Canton, as well as Centrotrans for placing the campaign in their vehicles.
In the official part of the program, the FLD program manager Selma Begić also addressed the journalists, highlighting the Foundation’s 20-year work in empowering and realizing the rights of women victims of war. Despite the fact that more than 30 years have passed since the aggression on BiH, survivors have not yet realized their rights, and in addition to legal, they often need economic and psychological support. The Foundation of Local Democracy recently signed an Agreement with the Court of BiH, with the aim of more comprehensive support for survivors of sexual violence in the war.
The event also discussed future projects of the Foundation of Local Democracy. Program Manager Amra Hadžić introduced the media representatives to the new direction of the Foundation's work with the aim of improving the position of one of the most vulnerable groups: women, girls and young women who are victims of sexual violence. The goal is to build an institutional framework for the prevention and protection from sexual violence, which, as she said, is one of the least reported forms of violence in BiH. The Foundation of Local Democracy, in cooperation with relevant institutions in the Sarajevo Canton, has begun activities to open the first referral and crisis center for victims of sexual violence, as well as to draft and sign the first Protocol on Prevention, Protection and Action in Cases of Sexual Violence.
Mubera Hodžić-Lemeš, Safe House Manager, also addressed the journalists and pointed out that this year the number of admissions to the Safe House increased by 30 percent compared to the previous year. Unfortunately, the number of admissions of girls and women who have suffered sexual violence has also increased in the Safe House this year.
The event ended with an informal gathering of journalists, and they were presented with symbolic gifts prepared by women victims of war, through the economic empowerment program of the Foundation of Local Democracy.
