"Zenski centar" Foundation based in Trebinje has been trying for a longer period to establish a shelter for women and children victims/survivors of domestic violence for the very patriarchal Eastern Herzegovina region in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The establishment of a Safe House would contribute to empowering victims to leave such families and regain the sense of personal safety. Our director and founder was a victim of domestic violence that helps other women and children victims to survive.
In first 11 months in 2019 in Bosnia and Herzegovina 10 women and girls were killed. According to official data of Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport of Republic of Srpska- -entity in which we operate, a number of reports of domestic violence to police in 2019 were 1,178, in 1,082 cases the violence was committed by a man against 1,438 victims. I would like to emphasise that there are only three safe houses in the Entity RS with the closest one, what is a 7-hour drive far from Trebinje.
The Zenski centar Foundation, therefore, decided to solve the problem of alternative placement in Eastern Herzegovina through establishment of a Safe House in Trebinje.Eastern Herzegovina encompasses six municipalities with a total population of 70.000. According to EU standards, there should be one bed for victims of domestic violence on every 10.000 inhabitants. Bearing in mind that in BH one victim is accompanied in average by two children, shelter should have capacities to host 12 persons.
A Safe House enables a woman (100 of them) to stop to accept violence and to break her relationship with the perpetrator, it provides emotional and physical safety, it enables the woman to understand her situation and makes her own decisions. It also contribute to raising awareness against the widespread opinion that violence -if it occurs within a family-is a private matter, thus acceptable.Only this can lead to a society of equal opportunities and the right to live a life free from violence.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
