Actresses shouldn't be 'meat', acting is much more than taking off a bra

The Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo has publicly admitted that many know the name of at least one professor who used the inappropriate practice of undressing female students during entrance exams. Dean Srđan Vuletić is not ready to speak about names, but he is also not ready to report this knowledge to the competent prosecutor's office or police as the responsible person.

"I am ready to forward everything in writing to the Prosecutor's Office, and we at the Academy of Performing Arts have no official reports during my term. The situation is complex, we don't want to play around with whether the specific behavior was sexual harassment until we have all the facts. As far as I know, one student verbally reported that it was uncomfortable for her, and the practice was changed. We are in the process of gathering facts," Vuletić told Patria.

With this, the Academy of Performing Arts continues to relativize the problem, trying to hide behind the anonymity of the girls who, through the Facebook group "I didn't ask for it" (Nisam tražila), have informed us in recent days that it wasn't just one girl who found the practice of those who can't seem to understand that their academic title obliges them to curb their "artistic freedoms" and stop being accomplices in stigmatizing their own profession, "uncomfortable". An actress doesn't have to be a "whore" and that's it, and academic workers should be most mindful of not forming the wrong image in the public eye.

"I want to emphasize for the umpteenth time that the acting profession is the most exciting, most wonderful, and most demanding. We actors put our bodies, our souls, and our emotions on the line every day. It is a complex art. It is paid millions of dollars worldwide. In our country, there are people literally on the edge of existence who still believe in that love. Let's show respect for actors and actresses. They defended the spirit of the city during the war. They saved the world during the pandemic (films and series). Actors and actresses who do their job with honor and love it do not deserve to be reduced to a provincial stereotype. By degrading the acting profession, we leave room for primitivism to enter through the front door. Let's not change the subject. Abuse is a byproduct of the actress's vulnerability first, and then the actor's," Bosnian-Herzegovinian actress Mona Muratović told us.

She is categorical about not wanting to talk about the Academy of Performing Arts. We previously learned from the media that she herself had a negative experience, and her case is denied by the Academy of Performing Arts leadership, stating that there were no specific reports. The attempt by reputable directors and actors who have received academic titles to turn the confessions of more girls about being undressed, even their bras, during entrance exams into a story about a "previously adopted protocol" for checking physical fitness, within which posture is equivalent to underestimating intelligence, is even worse. Even worse was the invitation to students to report everything to the legal service of the Academy of Performing Arts, which is neither competent nor authorized for it.

"That was our first reaction, which we corrected, but it is important that we were the first in the region to do so. We formed a commission for the prevention of sexual and gender-based harassment, which created a space of trust by appointing advisors from among experts, which was published on our website," says Srđan Vuletić.

The website states that the Academy of Performing Arts "encourages all its students and alumni to contact the advisor of their choice and help us establish the facts as soon as possible," with the Academy undertaking to initiate disciplinary proceedings.

"I call on the female students not to fall for their commissions. The point is not for someone to be treated, but for "predators" not to be able to participate in the teaching process. They received academic titles, excellent salaries, but they also want a little "meat". Everything should be reported to the police and the prosecutor's office," believes director Ahmed Imamović.

The public statements of actor and professor at the Academy of Performing Arts Admir Glamočak, and former dean Pjer Žalica, in which they admit that inappropriate conduct was known, oblige the Academy's leadership to inform the prosecutor's office and the police about everything, as they are the only ones competent to determine through investigation whether a criminal offense occurred. The professor's name is known, the students who had to undress are known, and the police and prosecutor's office can encourage them to help in dealing with those who deserve contempt and adequate sanctions, instead of continuing to "lurk" for students by misusing their titles.

The position of the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office also obliges the Academy to react appropriately, like the one in Zagreb, where the dean of the Zagreb academy forwarded all findings to the ombudsman and the prosecutor:

"The Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office has not initiated a case ex officio, because the content published so far through the media does not indicate a committed criminal offense within our territorial and subject matter jurisdiction. We note that the Law on Gender Equality in BiH was adopted at the state level, and that the BiH Court is competent for prosecuting perpetrators under the aforementioned Law, including sexual harassment. In case of knowledge of a criminal offense from the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH with elements of sexual violence and in case of filing reports to the competent authorities – the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's Office will ensure an efficient and quality investigation."

The BiH Prosecutor's Office is silent as usual, and the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of Internal Affairs is waiting for someone to file a report. Despite everything, the Academy of Performing Arts claims to still have great trust from students and their parents, so they constantly receive applications from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region for enrollment. The problem is not only with the Academy of Performing Arts; numerous victims also testify about sexual harassment and abuse in other institutions. That is why it is important for victims to be braver, but also for the media to be responsible, believes Mona Muratović.

"Let all our intentions be noble, and the goal be truth and the well-being of the world we live in. Let every woman report her abuser to the prosecutor's office by name and surname if she thinks she has the stomach for it. Whether she works in a bank or is a student. I don't want to be a hypocrite and invite girls to tell their stories from which nothing will come beyond gossip and sensationalism between reality shows and soap operas. These are sensitive topics and they should be approached with caution and respect," Muratović emphasized.

(E. Me.)