Advancing the Legal and Social Matrix to prevent Femicide and Gender-based Violence in BiH

Support services for victims of violence are largely gender-insensitive and thus fail to meet the specific needs of women who are physically and/or sexually abused. Furthermore, courtroom statistics show that male perpetrators of violence against women are often given conditional or inordinately low prison sentences and that enforcing female victims’ right to compensation for damages and costs incurred as a result of violence is still the exception rather than the rule.

The cultural matrix of violence and sexist attitudes are still deeply rooted in Bosnian society. It is easy to see that the causes of femicide should be sought in the position of women and gender roles, where two-thirds of people believe that violence against women by partners, acquaintances, or strangers is common and where the general opinion is that women should be subordinate to men. In addition to the general presence of stereotypes and prejudices, and attitudes about violence against women, the causes of femicide are often riddled with misconceptions. The most common misconception is that killing a woman happens suddenly in an extreme situation. It is also a misconception that women are killed only by dysfunctional men. BiH Agency for Gender Equality, collected data from judicial institutions and non-governmental organisations that stated a total of 56 women were killed in BiH in a relatively short period from 2015 to 2019, but these killings were not treated as femicide. Even 48% of women in BiH have experienced some form of violence: sexual harassment, stalking, violence by an intimate partner or non-partner from the age of 15[1].

Bearing in mind the overall atmosphere in BiH, political, social and economic instability, inadequate media coverage as well as public misperception of femicide and overall, of gender-based violence, it is realistic to expect that these numbers may significantly increasing, as well as that women somehow provoked the perpetrator, and that they “deserved” that murder[2].

Overall objective of the project

The overall objective is to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and girls and to challenge the cultural and social matrix of gender-based violence in BiH primarily by promoting elimination, prevention, and protection from femicide in support to Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).

Specific Objectives

Specific objectives of this project are to advocate for improved legislation, referral mechanisms, and changing legal norms and practices in the treatment of femicide.

Scope of Work

The Association for Education and Development “Dignitet” is seeking to engage a qualified association of experts, including lawyers and individual professionals, for the implementation of five (5) two-day specialized trainings on the topic of femicide prevention and gender-based violence.

The trainings will be held in the following locations:

Banja Luka (2 trainings)

Tuzla (1 trainings)

Bijeljina (1 training)

Sarajevo (1 training)

The procurement is organized as a single LOT, as defined below:

LOT 1: Organization and delivery of five (5) two-day trainings in the above-mentioned locations.

Main responsibilities and tasks:

Development of a detailed training plan based on the submitted guidelines and recommendations for amendments to criminal legislation related to femicide.

Development of content in accordance with thematic areas:

1. Legal recognition and definition of femicide,
2. Prevention and protection from gender-based violence,
3. Protocols for the activities of competent institutions,
4. Research and data collection on femicide,
5. Institutional role in the prevention of femicide
6. Adaptation of content to the specificities of the region (Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla, Bijeljina).
7. Cooperation with the organizer regarding logistics, agenda, materials and confirmation of participants.
8. Participation in working meetings with organizers and partners to harmonize content and methodology.
9. Facilitation of interactive sessions and workshops with participants from institutions.
10. Presentation of theoretical and practical knowledge on the topic of femicide.
11. Leading discussions, group activities, case studies and analysis of institutional practice.
12. Encouraging exchange of experiences and inter-institutional dialogue.
13. Preparation of a short report on the implementation of the training

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE EXPERT, LAWYERS AND ASSOCIATION/ORGANISATION

University degree in law, sociology, psychology, criminology or related fields.

• At least 5 years of experts’ experience in the field of profession

Experts Qualifications and skills:

• Bachelor degree
• Excellent knowledge of spoken and written English
• Proven experience in education and work on the topics of gender-based violence, femicide or human rights
• Knowledge of domestic and international legislation and standards related to the protection of women
• Experience in working with state institutions and/or the judiciary
• Excellent facilitation and communication skills
• Previous participation in projects of international organizations is desirable

Duration of Mission and Reporting:

Duration of the mission will be up to 3 months in total.

Selection criteria:

The organizations/associations are required to provide the CVs of their experts and organisation/association portofolio. The organisations/associations ‘ fee will be negotiated.

Open positions: 5

Work place:

Bosnia and Herzegovina

REPORTING

The organsations/associations shall draw up reports and documents in accordance with the scope of the ToR. All reports shall be elaborated in Bosnian and English languages.

Note: All the documents produced must satisfy European Union visibility requirements including European Union logo, information on funding as well as disclaimer.

DEADLINE 

The Applicants shall deliver their documents to email [email protected], until 25.09.2025.

All measures and activities relating to visibility and, if applicable, communication, must comply with the latest Communication and Visibility Requirements for EU-funded external action, laid down and published by the European Commission  Communication and Visibility Requirements for EU External Actions | International Partnerships (europa.eu)

[1] Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Bosnia and Herzegovina entitled “Women’s Welfare and Security”

[2] (Zablock, Tamara 2020), Femicide and prevention mechanisms in case of BiH, issued by Helsinki Parliament of citizens in  Banja Luka