On May 30, Mayor of the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Prim. Dr. Zijad Nišić, together with the member of the Assembly of the Brčko District of BiH, Milijana Simić, held a meeting in the City Hall with representatives of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka and employees of the institutions of the Brčko District of BiH, where the campaign “Sexual Extortion is Corruption” Let’s Break the Silence!” and the results of research on the prevalence of sexual extortion in BiH was presented.
Also, the representatives of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka presented an analysis of the regulations regarding sexual extortion and emphasized the need for the concept of sexual extortion to be introduced into legal policies and anti-corruption strategies.
The main goal of the meeting was for the participants to get to know each other, discuss the results of the campaign and explore the possibilities for implementing the concept of sexual extortion in legislative policies and anti-corruption strategies.
The Mayor of the Brčko District, Zijad Nišić, pointed out that the Brčko District of BiH is already actively working to reduce gender inequality and discrimination, and that he will additionally dedicate himself to integrating these new aspects into current activities.
He emphasized that the Brčko District of BiH will strive to be a pioneer in the adoption of laws related to the mentioned area and that they will be in accordance with EU standards. Legislative policies of the Brčko District of BiH as well as internal acts dealing with this issue were discussed at the meeting as well.
Vesna Iliktarević, project coordinator of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka, emphasized that sexual extortion is identified as a combination of sexual harassment and corruption, which represents a serious problem that is still not formally and legally recognized in laws of BiH and anti-corruption strategies.
The participants of the meeting said that this conversation represents an important step towards strengthening the legal framework and strategies for the fight against sexual extortion and corruption in BiH.
We remind you that the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, in cooperation with the Center for Youth Development PRONI, organized a street action on the Trg mladih on the occasion of the campaign “Sexual Extortion is Corruption. Let’s Break the Silence!”
The campaign is being implemented by the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka, within the project “Citizens in the Fight against Silent Corruption” supported by CCI and USAID.
Photo: Brčko District Government
