"The police should be a mirror of society and represent all its diversity", Workshop for Woman Police Officers from all over BiH
Within the project "Reducing irregular migration to the EU by strengthening the capacities of migration-related structures in the Western Balkans" the second workshop on "The role of Women Police officers in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process of reducing irregular migration - raising awareness of Gender Equality and Gender Discrimination in the Police Structures of Bosnia and Herzegovina ", was held in Konjic, in the period from 16th to 17th December 2021.
The second workshop of this type with 33 members of the Association ''Network of Female Police Officers'' aimed to highlight the significant role of women in the process of reducing irregular migration and tried to meet and raise awareness of the position of women in the security structures of BiH.
Having in mind the current migrant crisis and the need to strengthen the overall capacity of the police authorities in BiH, the capacities and role of women in responding to the migrant crisis and the accompanying security challenges were discussed.
''The police should be a mirror of society and represent all its diversity. Only in this way we can deal effectively with all the demands and problems", stated Kristina Jozić, President of the Association.
As the main purpose of the workshop pointed out - equal representation of men and women should be present in all spheres of police work and at all levels of decision-making. People should be placed in certain positions in accordance with their abilities and affinities, without the stereotypical division of work between men and women.
Achieving gender equality at the national and international level is one of the priorities that BiH needs to meet in order to join the EU.
Raising awareness of gender (in)equality within security structures is a very important topic, with the goal of improving the position of women, given the current underrepresentation, with special emphasis on increasing the number of women in general and in management positions.
Gender-based violence and discrimination are also important topics for training aware police personnel, which were discussed in more detail during the workshop
In this way, The association „Network of Female Police Officers“ will continue with the process of of educating police officers (male and female) in the coming period, with the issue of unequal representation, with the higher goal of improving the quality and capacity of security structures.
The project "Reducing Irregular Migration in the EU by Strengthening the Capacity of Migration-Related Structures in the Western Balkans" is co-financed by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Federal Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Austria and implemented by Hilfswerk International in cooperation with the Association for Help and Development "HAJDE”.
