A significant number of survivors of gender-based violence, including sexual violence and rape, despite having formal legal access to healthcare, cannot exercise this right because they lack health insurance.

In a 2013 study on the global and regional prevalence of two forms of gender-based violence, the World Health Organization concluded that “Violence against women is a public health problem of epidemic proportions. It is present in all parts of the world, affects women’s health, limits their participation in society, and causes immense human suffering.”

This highlights why the healthcare sector has a specific and complex role in preventing and combating gender-based violence. Healthcare professionals are often the first individuals survivors approach for help, and they are among the first to recognize symptoms of violence, even when survivors are not ready to speak openly about their experiences.

Currently, in Republika Srpska, survivors of sexual violence are not recognized as a category eligible for health and social protection rights. Similarly, in the Brčko District, neither the Law on Healthcare nor the Law on Social Protection recognizes survivors of sexual violence or domestic violence as distinct categories.

Given these circumstances, the Lara Foundation, through its campaign “Love is Not Violence! Better Rights and Position for Survivors of Sexual Violence and Domestic Violence,” has planned to draft and submit initiatives for amendments to the Laws on Healthcare and Social Protection in Republika Srpska and the Brčko District.

As a first step, meetings were held with representatives of social work centers and healthcare centers in Bijeljina, Modriča, and Brčko to map the current state of healthcare and social protection rights for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. The findings revealed significant variations across local communities, with inconsistent procedures in handling these cases. This inconsistency further underscores the need to legally define precise access to these rights for the affected categories.

Health insurance should never be a barrier for survivors of sexual or any form of violence to seek medical care. Survivors of sexual violence are not to blame for what happened to them. Let’s show understanding!