Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka, in cooperation with the CURE Foundation, held a street action in Sarajevo on August 16 on the occasion of the campaign “Sexual Extortion is Corruption. Let’s Break the Silence!”
A large number of citizens of Sarajevo visited the stand with promotional material, and learned more about the term sexual extortion/blackmail in the public and private sector, as well as the goals of this campaign.
Also, there were those citizens who shared their experiences or the experiences of acquaintances who had already encountered a certain type of sexual extortion/blackmail.
“We support every campaign that points to various types of violence, especially violence against women, which today manifests itself in many forms,” said a woman from Sarajevo.
Jadranka Milićević, executive director of the CURE Foundation, says that sexual extortion/blackmail is a topic that has not been discussed in public so far, so this campaign and street actions are of great importance.
“We usually talk about physical, psychological and economic violence, although, unfortunately, there are many other forms of violence, including sexual blackmail/extortion as a form of corruption. Many girls and women have experienced a certain form of sexual extortion from superiors and persons in authority, and some of the passers-by during today’s street action confirmed to us in anonymous conversation that this is indeed the case. Every victim has the right to protection, support and should report sexual extortion,” Milićević said.
Svjetlana Ramić Marković, project coordinator from the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka, explained that sexual extortion is a combination of sexual harassment and corruption, that is, a gender-specific form of corruption, which as such is still not formally – legally recognized in the laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
She says that the project, which will last 12 months, aims to analyze the presence of sexual extortion in the public and private sectors and examine the possibilities of integrating the term sexual extortion into relevant laws and policies.
“And in the coming period, continuous activities are planned to acknowledge the general public with the concept of sextortion, as a gender-specific type of corruption, its harmful consequences and methods of reporting,” Ramić Marković emphasized.
Street action “Sexual Extortion is Corruption. Let’s Break the Silence!” on Thursday, August 17, will be held in Bijeljina, in cooperation with the “Lara” Foundation, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., on the plateau in front of the “Filip Višnjić” National Library.
Also, it is the turn for other cities throughout BiH as well.
By the way, this activity is implemented within the project “Citizens in the Fight against Silent Corruption” supported by CCI and USAID.
