Violence against women is defined in accordance with the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence of the Council of Europe as a violation of human rights and forms of discrimination against women, and represents all acts of gender-based violence that lead or may lead to: physical, sexual , psychological or financial injury or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, either in public or in private life.
In accordance with this Convention, domestic violence is defined as: “Any act of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occurs within the family or household, or between former or current spouses or partners, regardless of whether the perpetrator shares or shared the same residence with the victim.” (Council of Europe, Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, Istanbul, 11 May 2011).
According to the results of a survey conducted by the BiH Agency for Gender Equality together with the OSCE, every second woman over the age of 15 in BiH has experienced some form of violence. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, in the first 7 months of 2020, there has been a sharp increase in the number of applications for admission to safe houses. Comparing the figures from last year (347 victims) and this year (519 victims), in the first seven months the number of admissions to safe houses in 2020 increased by 50%. And the number of calls to SOS lines increased from 2,833 to 4,158, an increase of 47%.
During 2020, the Institute for Youth Development KULT actively participated in the prevention of violence against women and girls by marking the Orange Day every month in 2020. A total of 12 educational and creative activities were implemented, which included participants from a total of 41 local communities. The focus of each activity was to send messages of support and encouragement to women and girls victims of violence and to motivate victims and society to report violence.
“Every 25th of the month, the Institute for Youth Development KULT celebrates Orange Day, the day of the fight against violence against women and girls. First of all, I think that such an important topic is not given enough importance in formal education. A year ago, I didn’t know much about this topic either. Thanks to the Orange Day, every month in a different and creative way KULT organized an event during which I heard and learned a lot of useful information. I think that the beginning of the prevention of violence against women and girls is to talk about it, because in order for violence to be prevented, for someone to report violence, it first must be recognized. Violence is not always just physical. That is why I think that this topic is very important, that it is important to talk as much as possible and provide useful information that most people, especially children, do not encounter often, such as the number of a person to whom someone can report violence. ”- Razija Mujkanović, activist.
The institute continues to mark the Orange Day in 2021 as well. For a complete report on activities aimed at preventing violence against women and girls during 2020, see the Annual Report Through the Orange Lens.
