Breaking the silence about gender-based violence by informing the academic community and the public in general about the alarming situation, and raising awareness about the extent of the problem are the guiding principles of the “16 Days of Activism for Gender Equality” campaign conducted at the University of Herzegovina (SVEHER) as part of the UNIGEM project, which the TPO Foundation implements in partnership with 19 universities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia with the financial support of the United Kingdom Government.
On this occasion, the Office for Gender Equality of the University of Herzegovina organized an online workshop on the topic of the seriousness caused by the problem of gender-based violence, in the academic community and beyond, on December 5, 2022.
On International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2022, the Faculty of Social Sciences SVEHER promoted the first regional and multidisciplinary research on gender-based violence in academic communities, conducted as part of the UNIGEM project and presented in the publication “The Challenges of Mainstreaming Gender Equality in University Communities: Fighting Gender-Based Violence” edited by Ph.D. Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Ph.D. Jasna Kovačević and Ph.D. Jasmina Husanović. In the presence of male and female students, teaching and administrative staff, the publication was promoted by: Ph.D. Martina Primorac, Ph.D Šahim Kahrimanović and M.Sc. Marko-Antonio Brkić.
The same day, at the Faculty of Social Sciences SVEHER Ph.D Zlatan Hrnčić presented the results of the research and the publication “Violence against pregnant women in Bosnia and Herzegovina – family, health system and labor relations”, and held a same titled workshop.
In his sociological research, the author included 518 women from Bosnia and Herzegovina who testified about their own experiences of violence in the period of one year before pregnancy, during pregnancy and one year after giving birth. The research showed that 16 percent of the respondents experienced certain forms of domestic violence, 21 percent at the workplace, and even 59 percent within the health system. During the workshop, an interesting discussion developed on issues related to this phenomenon of violence against women, and an initiative was launched to develop an elective course dedicated to this problem.
