Blogging community fighting against gender-based violence

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Source/Author: BHN
Source/Photo: BHN

SARAJEVO, 27.11.2017. – “Blogging community fighting against gender-based violence” was the name of a one-day workshop that was held today in the Sarajevo Museum of Literature.The gathered bloggers from Tuzla, Doboj, Sapna, Gradacac, Zenica, Banjaluka, Bihać, Bijeljina and Sarajevo.

The workshop was organized with the goal to improve the knowledge of bloggers in order to report using professional standards of gender-based violence and to publish stories, which will be the basis for promoting the rights and interests of victims through contextualizing the punishment of gender-based violence in BiH.

Zlatan Hrnčić from the Gender Center of FBiH spoke about the problem of gender-based violence from the institutional perspective and on the Strategy for Prevention and Combating Domestic Violence 2013-2017.

“The Gender Center of the FBiH annually registers 300-400 verdicts in cases of gender-based violence. In addition, about 300 people a year are housed in safe houses, and the SOS phone registers about 5,000 calls, “Hrnčić said.

Hatidza Gušić from Media Center Sarajevo spoke of the importance of actively engaging bloggers in preventing and raising public awareness of violence against women.

“The blog is a quick and easy channel of communication but also a very powerful advocacy tool. You as bloggers and bloggers can name those who do not work or praise those who are actively working to prevent violence against women, ” as Gušić told the bloggers.

A guest lecturer at the training in Sarajevo was also a blogger from Banja Luka, Srđan Puhalo, who shared experiences in writing about gender-based violence, especially violence against women with the participants.

“You must be aware that you are writing about living people who are in special circumstances and vulnerable states, and that your writing may have certain consequences. Blog can bring somebody to trouble but also can help someone. You have to be responsible for everything you write to make the consequences less drastic. This is the responsibility of the blogger regardless of the number of shares and flourishes, “Puhalo said.

Šejla Šehabović, a writer and director of the Museum of Literature, spoke to the participants about the style, techniques and ethics of writing a blog.

Workshop for bloggers was held as a part of the project “Disconnect Violence – Media against Violence against Women”, implemented by the BiH Association of Associations / Associations supported by the UN Women Office in BiH and the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (SIDA).