FBiH Minister of Labor and Social Policy Adnan Delić, together with directors of safe houses in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, officially marked the beginning of this year’s ’16 days of activism’ campaign in the fight against violence against women and girls by signing the General Declaration on the cooperation between that ministry and safe houses in FBiH to prevent violence against women and girls.
The Declaration sent a clear message that violence against women and domestic violence is not and cannot be acceptable and that they will work together to protect women and prevent and eliminate violence against women.
Delić expressed his gratitude to the founders of safe houses in the territory of the FBiH, emphasizing the courage and determination in their work, as well as to the UN and UN Women for their comprehensive support to the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
”After visiting safe houses in the territory of the FBiH, we want to stand together and raise our voices against violence against women and make it clear that we will never accept violence as a solution to any problems in our society,” said Delić.
Violence against women, he added, is the inability of our society to deal with various prejudices, especially with the historical oppression of women in BiH and our patriarchal attitude towards women. He emphasized that it is necessary to change the narratives and the flow of thoughts and that the bully is the only one who needs to be ashamed.
UN Resident Coordinator in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ingrid Macdonald, praised the efforts of the Ministry and the relevant minister for putting emphasis and focus on this extremely important issue, that is, a problem that affects not only women or girls but every member of society.
“The celebration of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, a campaign that was launched with the wholehearted support of our colleagues from UN Women, has started. The 16 days of activism initiative started on November 25 and ends on December 10, marking International Human Rights Day and the goal is to focus on this most common form of human rights violation,” Macdonald reminded.
She added that the directors of five safe houses in the territory of the Federation of BiH, those who provide crucial support to victims of violence, and that UN Women closely cooperates with the FBiH Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations that support the system of safe houses, director of Medica Zenica Sabiha Husić, director of the Sarajevo Local Democracy Foundation Jasmina Mujezinović, director of Viva žene Tuzla Jasna Zečević, president of the Board of Directors and founder of Women of BiH Mostar Azra Hasanbegović and director of Women from Una Bihać Aida Behrem pointed out that they have excellent cooperation with the Ministry and the Minister, and commended the partnership between non-governmental organizations, competent ministries and international organizations.
The common goal, as the representatives of the association emphasized, is a life without violence, that is, to exclude violence from every family and every environment.
After the press conference, a short documentary film ”Safe Houses in FBiH – A Safe Place for Women and Children in FBiH” was screened and the website www.sigurnekuce.ba, a unique source of information about safe houses and how to report violence, was presented.
