B&H: Urgency in Proceeding Cases of Violence against Women/BiH: Hitnost u procesuiranju slučajeva nasilja prema ženama

13 January 2020 – The Foundation United Women Banja Luka sent the proposal to the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of the Bosnia and Herzegovina to take stronger approach in improving position of women survivors of violence that are sheltered in the safe houses in the Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the proposal sent in December 2019, the Foundation requested from the Council to initiate instruction to the district prosecutor’s offices in the Republika Srpska to give priority to the cases of domestic violence in which victims of violence are sheltered in the Safe House, and that the period of duration of the judicial proceedings should be limited up to maximum period of duration of sheltering in the Safe House, as the special support measure, up to six months. The Foundation United Women Banja Luka emphasized that urgency in processing cases of domestic violence is needed due to increased risk of repeated violence for women and children survivors of violence that are sheltered in the safe houses for victims of domestic violence.

In justification of this initiative, the Foundation United Women Banja Luka pointed that women and children beneficiaries of the Safe House are receiving comprehensive support of empowerment and rehabilitation through psychosocial support and assistance, medical care, legal aid and counseling, participation in occupational therapy, and have support through the exit strategy, which presupposes organized system of identifying employment, housing, and day care for children.

Women survivors of violence have regular communication with professionals in the police, centers for social care, health centers, prosecutor’s offices and courts in relation to undertaking and finalization of various official procedures. Upon sheltering in the Safe House, women are often exposed to additional threats and pressures by perpetrators of violence. Current practice indicates small number of protection orders imposed by the courts – among women beneficiaries of the Safe House in Banja Luka run by the Foundation United Women, only one woman was protected by restraining order imposed by the court. By the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence, sheltering in the Safe House can be up to six month, and in exceptional cases it can be extended for additional six months, or until the end of proceedings. However, by the current practice, authorized centers for social work extend sheltering women and children in the safe houses beyond six months only in exceptional circumstances, while duration of criminal offence proceedings against perpetrators of violence is at minimum two years.

13. januar 2020 – Fondacija Udružene žene Banja Luka je Visokom sudskom i tužilačkom savjetu Bosne i Hercegovine uputila prijedlog za preduzimanje snažnijeg pristupa prema unaprijeđenju položaja žena koje su preživjele nasilje i koje se nalaze u sigurnim kućama u Bosni i Hercegovini.

U prijedlogu koji je upućen u decembru 2019.g., Fondacija je tražila od Savjeta da inicira uputstvo prema okružnim tužilaštvima u Republici Srpskoj da daju prioritet slučajevima nasilja u porodici u kojima su žrtve nasilja smještene u sigurnu kuću, kao i da period trajanja sudskih postupaka treba biti ograničen na period od šest mjeseci, koliko je maksimalan period trajanja mjere podrške u sigurnoj kući.
Fondacija Udružene žene Banja Luka je u svom zahtjevu naglasila da je hitnost u procesuiranju slučajeva nasilja u porodici nužna zbog povećanog rizika od ponavljanja nasilja prema ženama i djeci koji su preživjeli nasilje i smješteni su u sigurnim kućama za žrtve nasilja u porodici.

Žene i djeca koja su smještena u sigurne kuće dobijaju sveobuhvatnu pomoć i podršku kroz osnaživanje i rehabilitaciju putem psihosocijalne podrške, medicinske njege, pravne pomoći i savjeta, učešća u radno okupacionoj terapiji i podršku kroz izlazne strategije koje uključuju organizovan sistem identifikovanja zaposlenja, stanovanja i čuvanja djece.

Žene koje su preživjele nasilje imaju redovnu komunikaciju sa profesionalcima u policiji, centrima za socijalni rad, zdravstvenim ustanovama, tužilaštvima i sudovima u vezi sa preduzimanjem različitih zvaničnih procedura. Nakon smještanja u sigurnu kuću, žene su često izložene dodatnim prijetnjama i pritiscima od strane počinilaca nasilja. Trenutna praksa ukazuje da sudovi izriču veoma mali broj zaštitnih mjera – od korisnica Sigurne kuće Banja Luka koju vodi Fondacija Udružene žene, samo jedna je imala zaštitu kroz zaštitnu mjeru zabrane prilaska izrečenu protiv počinioca nasilja. Prema Zakonu o zaštiti od nasilja u porodici, smještaj žrtve nasilja u sigurnoj kući može biti do šest mjeseci i u izuzetnim slučajevima može biti produžen za dodatnih šest mjeseci, odnosno do okončanja postupka. Međutim, praksa ukazuje da nadležni centri za socijalni rad samo u rijetkim slučajevima produžavaju mjeru podrške u Sigurnoj kući, dok je minimalan period trajanja sudskih postupaka za nasilje u porodici dvije godine.