The new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence in the Federation of BiH will be on the agenda of the session of the House of Representatives of the Federation of BiH Parliament, announced for Monday, July 5.
The Network of Non-Governmental Organizations in BiH “Safe Network”, coordinated by the Foundation for Local Democracy (FLD), with the support of an expert working group, drafted a new Bill on Protection from Domestic Violence in the Federation of BiH.
The Committee for Gender Equality of the House of Representatives of the FBiH, with the support of the Committee for Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms and the Committee on Labor and Social Protection, proposed a new Draft Law on Protection from Domestic Violence to the Federation of BiH.
The Head of the European Union Delegation to BiH and the EU Special Representative in BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler, called on the FBiH authorities to adopt a new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence in FBiH, stating that “almost four out of ten women in BiH have experienced psychological, physical or sexual violence”.
“I urge the authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina to do more to protect women and children. One of the urgent priorities in the Federation of BiH must be the adoption of a new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence. I call on all 98 MPs to take this opportunity to pass this law,” Sattler said as part of the “Violence is not a private matter!” campaign.
The UN Women Representative in BiH David Saunders also called on the FBiH authorities to urgently adopt a new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, recalling that in BiH, “half of all women and girls over the age of 15 have experienced serious violence, often at home, and a perpetrator is almost always a man.”
“Safety is the first obligation of the government! Bosnia and Herzegovina has ratified the International Convention for the Protection of Women and Girls, the Istanbul Convention, which advocates for the protection of victims of violence and the provision of assistance in accordance with global standards,” Saunders said.
“Violence is not a private matter!” is the slogan under which the advocacy campaign for the adoption of the new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence in the Federation of BiH has been conducted, with the aim of harmonizing it with the recommendations of the Istanbul Convention, stated the Foundation for Local Democracy in BiH.
