The previous week, VSE Deputy Director Aleksandra Ivankovic was in her home country – Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she had an opportunity to train two groups of professionals on issues of victims’ rights and support for victims of gender-based violence.
On day one, Aleksandra spoke to a group of court-based psychologists and social workers about national framework for victim support and the important role of court-based support in the framework.
On day two, Aleksandra spoke to almost 40 prosecutors and judges from all over the country on the role of judiciary in the perpetuation and prevention of secondary victimisation of all victims in general and victims of gender-based violence in particular.
The training, that was organised by the Center for Education of Judges and Prosecutors of Republika Srpska and Fondacija Udružene žene, and sponsored by the US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was evaluated as a success and Aleksandra was happy to hear that the participants were inspired and looking forward to apply their newly gained skills and knowledge in practice.
We are hoping that this is only a first step on a long road towards building a national victim support framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
