On the occasion of the International Day Against Violence Against Women , which is celebrated on November 25 , in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also in the rest of the world, the international campaign “16 Days of Activism” began . The official start of this campaign in BiH was marked by the event “Safe houses – a place of trust: Be supportive!” , which took place in the JYSK store in Novo Sarajevo, jointly organized by the magazine Beauty and Health and the companies AVON and JYSK .
The goal of the event was to provide support to institutions that help victims of violence, condemn all forms of violence and raise awareness of this important topic. JYSK, which has been supporting the operation of safe houses with its donations for years, as a sign of support for the Local Democracy Foundation and the BiH Safe Network, has furnished “safe houses – places of trust” throughout the country with its furniture. He thereby encouraged the creation of safe environments, which provide protection to women and children exposed to domestic violence.
“We decided to donate our armchairs to the Women’s Center in Sarajevo and to safe houses throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a symbol of safety and warmth, which every home should radiate, and which we symbolically called a ‘place of trust’. It is a place where every person can express themselves freely and tell their story in a safe environment. The situations we are witnessing lately are devastating, not only in BiH but throughout the region, and this is something that we should all try to change by providing support. That’s why, as a global company that accepts diversity and fiercely opposes any kind of violence, we decided to support this initiative without hesitation,” said Zlatan Bajić, JYSK District Manager for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In order to facilitate the provision of psychological support to women in safe houses, as part of this initiative , the AVON company donated 10,000 KM to the Foundation of Local Democracy and the Safe Network of BiH . As Danijela Šantić, director of the Avon company for the Adriatic region , points out, AVON continuously provides assistance to victims of violence through activities that the company has been conducting since 2008.
” The Avon company works globally to combat violence against women and we are proud of the fact that Avon in BiH established its Fund for the fight against violence against women in 2008. By selling specially created products with the infinity sign, we collect funds for this Fund, which we then direct to the local community. It is thanks to them that such donations are possible. It is very important for victims of violence to have adequate psychological help, and that is why we believe that this kind of support and a place of trust where victims can speak freely and get help from experts is of great importance ,” Šantić pointed out and said: “We all need to lend a hand of support victims and show them that there is always a way out, that they dare to speak out and report violence, and that there are safe places where they can get help.”
Jasmina Mujezinović, director of the Local Democracy Foundation, referred to the data on the increase in the number of cases of domestic violence and pointed out the importance of this and similar actions. ” Unfortunately, in the post-pandemic period, there was an increase in the number of reports of domestic violence by about 30 percent. Safe houses are important because they provide a safe place for victims of domestic violence. Campaigns like this one are significant, because they send a message to women who want to stop suffering violence, that there really is a place where they will be protected,” said Mujezinović.
The “16 days of activism” campaign will be marked by numerous actions with the aim of encouraging institutional solutions to the problem of domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and many other countries around the world. The campaign will end on a symbolic date, December 10, when the International Human Rights Day is celebrated.
Source: urbanmagazin.ba
