They are entitled to financial compensation, but they do not want to take it because no one knows they were raped during the war!

Based on the federal Law on the Foundations of Social Protection, Protection of War Victims, and Protection of Families with Children, which defines that persons who have survived sexual abuse and rape are considered a special category of war victims, around 1,000 women in the Federation are entitled to a monthly financial compensation, writes the Patria News Agency.

According to the records of the Association "Women-War Victims", a larger number of women victims of rape have realized this right, but they do not want to receive 586 KM per month, which is the amount of compensation.

- Many of them want to testify, but as protected witnesses. However, they do not want to receive that money because they say no one at home or in their family knows they were raped. Others say that receiving this money means punishing them for what they have experienced, explains Bakira Hasečić, president of the Association.

Among those who have accepted to receive monthly compensation are also raped men, who simply have no other choice to survive, and reveal their identity to the relevant Ministry of Labor and Social Policy.

The Association's database contains data on nearly 25,000 raped women and men. This list also includes a large number of names of women who were victims of rape during the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but were killed afterwards.

Hasečić says that they obtain personal data through statements from surviving victims.

- This is truly a big problem. Because the women we talk to almost always mention another ten unfortunate women who were raped by criminals and then killed. No one is taking care of that, says Hasečić.  

This category of victims has been granted the right to material compensation, which amounts to 70 percent of the monthly amount of personal disability benefit for war invalids of the first group, i.e., it is equal to the amount allocated to a civilian war victim of the first group.

Victims of wartime rape in FBiH have been exercising this right since 2006.