After the Federal Ministry of Justice accepted the proposal from the organization Glas žene Bihać to include femicide as a separate criminal offense in the draft Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina discussed the matter today at its regular session.

This follows another call from Glas žene Bihać to the Government of the Federation of BiH, led by the Prime Minister, as well as all ministers, to adopt the proposed text of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH and thereby support the creation of minimum conditions for better protection of women from violence and gender-based killings.

Neira Raković, the coordinator of the campaign We Will Not Die in Silence, stated:
“I welcome the decision of the Federation Government to accept the proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of FBiH, in which femicide is defined as a separate criminal offense. This decision is significant for all women in Bosnian society, as it represents the first step toward establishing legal conditions for femicide—as a gender-based killing—to be prevented, investigated, prosecuted, and stopped. The next step lies with the FBiH Parliament, and we expect the proposed amendments to be included on the agenda by the end of the month.”

Through the We Will Not Die in Silence campaign, the introduction of femicide into legislation was supported by around 100,000 citizens who signed the petition, demonstrating their commitment to demanding that the authorities of the Federation of BiH finally regulate femicide as a distinct criminal offense.

For more information about the campaign and the project, visit our Facebook page: Glas žene Bihać.