08/02/2024

A workshop "Gender equality and gender-based discrimination in the police structures of Bosnia and Herzegovina" was held in Konjic. The workshop was organized in cooperation with the Agency for Education and Professional Training (AEPTM) and Women Police Officers Network, and supported by the Project "EU Human Rights and Combating Discrimination in BiH". The workshop is meant to raise awareness of gender equality and gender-based discrimination in the security institutions of our country. The following topics were discussed: gender equality in the police structures, the importance of women in policing, gender-based discrimination in the workplace and the accompanying problems in practice, domestic and international legislative framework, gender stereotypes and prejudices, obligations of government institutions in prevention and suppression of gender-based discrimination, protection mechanisms, etc.

Achieving gender equality in certain areas of public and private life is a long and slow process even in some countries that are more developed than Bosnia and Herzegovina. The community engagement is important. Parents, educators, and teachers have the power as children are not born with gender stereotypes and prejudices, but are taught by society. "It is important to raise awareness about the fact that gender equality does not mean that men will have fewer rights, but that we will have equal rights with men and that gender equality brings benefit to the whole society", stated the President of Women Police Officers Network, Kristina Jozić. Gender equality is not only an issue for women, but also for men, especially in those spheres where they are underrepresented and where their rights may be threatened.

At the end of the workshop the participants received the certificates of completion from AEPTM Deputy Director Predrag Šupljeglav and President of Women Police Officers Network, Kristina Jozić, who underlined that the workshop on this topic was organized with the aim of improving police capacities, preventing various forms of gender-based violence and creating conditions for the professional advancement of both women and men.