Initiative for an Office for Free Legal Aid to Victims of All Forms of Violence

(Patria) - City councilor of the Independent Bloc Zenica, Ekrem Tuka, at today's 6th session of the City Council of the City of Zenica submitted an Initiative for the establishment of an Office for free
legal aid to victims of all forms of violence.

Consistently implementing the program goals of the Independent Bloc, the intention expressed through the submission of this Initiative is precisely to ensure support and assistance to victims of all forms of violence through the provision of free legal aid, especially now at a time when a large number of women have been encouraged to speak out about violence through social media via recognizable pages and groups #nisisama and #nisamtražila.
We note that the available mechanisms of free legal aid are not at the service of victims of violence, given that cantonal Institutes for Free Legal Aid, as ex officio defenders, represent the interests of perpetrators of violence, and due to a conflict of interest, they cannot provide assistance and support to victims of violence.

The existing services of civil society organizations are the only ones available to victims of violence. However, there is a problem of their accessibility to all victims as well as a problem of sustainability because they are financed from donor funds.

We recall that at the 5th session of January 28, 2021, all city councilors, the mayor, and representatives of city services of the City of Zenica expressed support for all women victims of violence by raising the sign #nisisama.

We hope that this support is not merely declarative.

The Independent Bloc Zenica, since a public debate on the budget of the City of Zenica for 2021 is upcoming in the coming period, will submit amendments and include this initiative as a new budget item. We sincerely hope that the current authorities will have sensitivity towards victims of violence and include the amendments, practically demonstrating their commitment in the fight against all forms of violence, it was stated.