Three (3) years of dedicated and intensive work resulted in the endorsment of the House of Representatives of FBiH to the Initiative for Amendments to the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence of the FBiH through the introduction of the institute of “Person of Trust”!
The initiative was submitted to the Federal Ministry of Justice on October 13, 2020 and the Federal Government, already on 22.12.2020., determined the Proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence and sent it to the parliamentary procedure by summary procedure.
At the 18th Regular Session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliamentary Assembly held on January 26, 2021, with 67 votes in favor and one (1)sustained, the Initiative received the support of MPs.
We, who for the past 25 years through the provision of free legal aid to women have already been persons of trust, have not been recognized in the system, and this step forward is proof that it is possible to make systemic changes.
According to the current Law, in all proceedings and in order to exercise their rights, the victim is alone, without support and / or legal assistance, has no status of a party to the proceedings and is often exposed to additional trauma. The “Person of Trust” Institute will ensure that the rights and interests of the victim are consistently and adequately represented and taken into account at all stages and through all institutional and non-institutional protection mechanisms.
We hope to continue working together to identify gaps in the system of protection of women from violence and to work on finding mechanisms and solutions that can lead to change.
