The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Policy has announced a public call for the allocation of funds from the item “Current Transfers to Non-Profit Organizations – Implementation of the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence”, with the aim of supporting the work of safe houses and providing assistance to victims of domestic and gender-based violence.
A total of 1,100,000 KM has been allocated in the Ministry’s budget for these purposes, of which 1 million KM is intended for support to safe houses and shelters for temporary accommodation of victims of violence, while 100,000 KM is planned for the functioning of a free SOS telephone line in the territory of the Federation of BiH.
This year, the SOS line is being financed from the budget for the first time, following the adoption of the Law on Protection of Families from Violence and the Rulebook adopted by the Federal Minister of Labor and Social Policy this year, which stipulates that this SOS line will be financed from the Ministry’s budget in the amount of 100,000 KM.
Non-profit organizations that manage shelters or provide services for victims of domestic violence are eligible to participate in this public call, and funds will be allocated based on clearly defined general and specific criteria, including the number of sheltered victims, accommodation capacities and other sources of funding secured.
The aim of the public call is to ensure the continuity of social care and support for victims of violence, as well as the availability and sustainability of key services such as shelters and SOS lines, which represent the first and often only point of help for people, most often women and children, who suffer violence.
Federal Minister of Labor and Social Policy Adnan Delić emphasized that the Ministry is continuously working to improve the system of support for victims of violence:
“Year after year, we strive to ensure better quality and more stable care for victims of violence in shelters because this is the minimum responsibility that we as a society must have. This public call is part of that continuity, but also a clear commitment to making the system sustainable in the long term.”
He added that the Ministry is also working on systemic solutions that will further improve this area:
“Through the new Law on Social Services, we want to make a step forward and enable the financing of shelters to no longer depend on project calls, but to become a stable and predictable budget obligation, which will enable organizations to work more safely and provide victims with continuous and quality support.”
