On the occasion of the end of the global campaign “16 days of activism”, the director of the TPO Foundation, prof. Zilka Spahić Šiljak was host at Federal Television. Read more about hosting at the link https://www.federalna.ba/spahic-siljak-i-za-zenska-ljudska-prava-moramo-se-boriti-svaki-dan-joemv.
The slogan of this year’s campaign is AGAINST FEMICIDE, and the TPO Foundation focused its activities on raising awareness among the public, especially young people, about femicide and its consequences. The campaign itself started with a panel through which the speakers explained the cause of femicide and its characteristics, that is, what distinguishes it from other crimes. There was also an online panel “Law and femicide – a comparative presentation of legal solutions and systemic responses in the region (BiH, Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia). The participants were: Kosana Beker (program director of FemPlatz, Pančevo, Serbia), prof. Maja Munivrana (Professor of Criminal Law at the Faculty of Law in Zagreb, Croatia), Maja Raičević (NGO Center for Women’s Rights, Montenegro) and Nermin Šehović, (BiH Federal Police Administration, Doctor of Legal Sciences and specialist in the field of criminal law). The panel was moderated by Dunja Bonacci Skenderović (independent consultant, Bonacci Ltd.). Since femicide is not legally regulated in any country in the region (neither in the criminal code nor in a special law), the issue discussed by the panelists is how perpetrators of femicide are currently prosecuted in the countries of the region.
The mental health of people who experience violence is very important, and for this reason, the lecture “Find your voice in the fight against gender-based violence” was organized and led by an American expert, Christel Gopin. It was pointed out that victims of violence should be encouraged to speak out, but also to continue to be continuously supported in the process of reporting and fighting against gender-based violence.
As part of the UNIGEM project, 19 partner universities held over fifty workshops, lectures, film screenings, panel discussions, quizzes. Also, at the University of Zenica, an Office for counseling in the field of gender equality was opened, where the teaching and administrative staff as well as the student population will be informed about issues of gender-based violence and ways to report gender inequality. Training was also held for female police officers at the State Agency for Investigation and Protection. It is necessary to educate police officers in order to work more effectively on the prevention of femicide.
