Miomirka Melank: Fund safe houses from the budget

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The 16 Days of Activism against Violence against Women campaign begins on November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and lasts until December 10, International Human Rights Day.

During November, the final research, conducted within the HUGEN (human rights and gender) project implemented by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, was completed.

The research dealt with the post-legislative scrutiny by the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Protection from Family Violence. It was conducted in cooperation between WFD and the parliaments of the Western Balkan countries, and in this specific case, Miomirka Melank from Naša stranka participated as a member of the Commission for Gender Equality of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH.

"It is necessary to find funds in the budget of the Federation for the financing of safe houses and to adopt regulations that will regulate this financing and align the financial support obligations for victims of family violence with the Istanbul Convention. Non-governmental organizations cannot be left to implement such an important measure in eliminating family violence on their own. Furthermore, the Rulebook on psychosocial treatment of perpetrators of family violence should be supplemented to clearly stipulate how this measure is implemented," said Melank.

In addition to the aforementioned conclusions, the research showed that the PDPFBIH Commission for Gender Equality should organize a thematic session annually, during which all relevant institutions would initiate more effective implementation of the law. Also, the federal ministries of labor and social policy, internal affairs, and justice must hire professional staff in institutions in accordance with the standards and needs for law enforcement and organize training on the implementation of mandatory psychosocial treatment of perpetrators of violence for social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists from Centers for Mental Health, in accordance with the training program of the Federal Ministry of Health. Multidisciplinary training is also necessary for all those who encounter the application of this Law, in the police, judiciary, education, non-governmental sector, healthcare, and social protection.

With the support of WFD and the Commission for Gender Equality of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH, the research was conducted by experts in the field, Majda Halilović and Maida Ćehajić-Čampara. The project of educating Western Balkan parliaments on post-legislative scrutiny lasted for two years. Participants received certificates from the Post-Legislative Scrutiny Course of the Institute of Legal Studies at the University of London.