(Sarajevo, 29 October 2020) The High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina has adopted the Gender Equality Strategy for the BiH Judiciary, on the basis of which all judicial institutions in BiH will develop their own action plans.

The development of the Strategy was one of the recommendations arising from the survey on gender equality in the BiH judiciary, conducted by the HJPC BiH in 2018. The survey results showed that the majority of respondents who experienced sexual and / or gender based harassment at work or in connection with work did not report the incident due to fear of consequences. In addition, the majority stated they believed that awareness of gender equality in the judiciary was at a medium level and that it was an important issue that needed to be addressed, primarily through appropriate trainings.

Also, the results of research conducted by non-governmental and international organizations that focus on gender equality, indicated the existence of gender stereotypes and prejudices among some members of the judicial community.

Although Bosnia and Herzegovina has established a significant legislative framework in the field of gender equality, within which the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination and the Law on Gender Equality in BiH stand out, the mere existence of a legislative framework is not necessarily a guarantee for achieving gender equality. Therefore, in order to promote gender equality in the BiH judiciary, the HJPC BiH adopted this Strategy, and set, for the first time, strategic goals for that purpose. It is envisaged that the Strategy will be implemented using the method of gender mainstreaming, i.e. an approach in the adoption of policies, laws, programmes, which takes into account the different interests and needs of men and women.

When it comes to the roles of the HJPC BiH and judicial institutions in the process of implementing the Strategy, the HJPC BiH will coordinate the process of adopting action plans by judicial institutions and provide support and guidance within this process, with the ultimate goal of enabling equal access to justice and equality before the law for all citizens.

The BiH Judiciary Gender Equality Strategy was developed under the project Improving Court Efficiency and Accountability of Judges and Prosecutors in BiH, which was implemented by the HJPC BiH, with the support of the Government of Sweden.