JAHORINA, 21.10.2017. –

Vedrana Lemez, fourth year of journalism at the Faculty of Philosophy, Pale: “I expect to find out more about gender-based violence at the Journalists Academy. Since I think that a good choice of lecturers for all three days of the Academy was made and that these are people with long years of professional experience, which will be useful to all of us. The problem is that gender-based violence in BiH is not adequately addressed, the media are not always professional at reporting this issue and there is not enough critical review or research journalism, encluding plans that will be long-term for victims of violence. ”

Mersiha Čomor, student of the first year of International Relations and Diplomacy, Mostar: “From the Journalists Academy, I expect the expansion of knowledge on gender-based violence, because I have not met this topic before. A person does not deserve to be a victim, any kind of violence. ”

Simona Joksimović, second year of the Faculty of Political Science, Banja Luka: “I believe that gender-based violence is a very important and important topic that should be much more discussed because it is the worst thing that can happen to a woman or girl. I learned how I should reporton gender-based violence in the future and how empathy and empathy are really important in casual conversations. Our task as future journalists is to draw more attention to the importance of this problem and to help victims of violence to get the right help. A good weapon for the prevention of gender-based violence and an indicator of the possibilities of solving the problem of violence. “

Bobana Ćevriz, a student of the fourth year of journalism at the Faculty of Philosophy, Pale: “It is a great honor and pleasure to be a part of this training, and at the Journalists Academy I had the opportunity to learn new things and to improve my knowledge in the field of gender-based violence. Through discussion with brilliant lecturers, we came to the conclusion that violence against women is increasing in our society, and that the media often send the wrong message to the public, and media space is given to perpetrators rather than victims. Media should report on violence against women, to submit more information about Safe Houses and solutions to women who are victims of violence, to provide support for them to seek help and talk about their problems. “

Almedina Atlagić, a student of the fourth year of the Faculty of Philosophy in Tuzla, department of Journalism: “This is my first participation at the Journalists Academy and I am very pleased to be here with all these young people. I have not been so well-versed in this topic. For these three days, the Academy has surpassed all my expectations, both in lectures and in lecturers who have worked most professionally to teach us something. in order to better understand and solve the problem as easily as possible. ”

Ivan Stojnić, a student of the third year of journalism and communication at the Faculty of Political Science, Banja Luka: “Today we witness various forms of violence, especially over women and girls, and I believe that it is necessary for the whole society to engage in finding the right solution and to exclude violence. The Academy is a new experience in which I expanded my knowledge of gender-based violence, but also met new people who expressed their opinions about the state of the media and how it is being reported today about women who have suffered violence. I like the critical approach to this topic as well as the way it is presented. We as future media workers need to be educated on how to report professionally and ethically tomorrow about violence against women. ”

Sanjin Gajip, First year student of the Faculty of Media and Communication, Travnik: “At the Journalists Academy, I gained new experiences, met different people and heard new thinking. As for the topic, I deepened my knowledge of violence during this academy and through my profession I will try to keep the public informed about this and prevent the further spread of violence. I recommend participating at the Academy to all young journalists, as this is another experience in life. ”

Kristina Gadže, a student of the third year of journalism at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Mostar: “The Journalists academy gave me an excellent insight into the topic of gender-based violence that is now ubiquitous. Media insufficiently represent this problem as a social problem and try to present a man as a victim of different circumstances. I believe that institutions responsible for solving this form of violence should be more actively involved and support the victims of violence. “

JAHORINA, 20.10.2017. – Violence against women always implies a certain form of discrimination and violation of human rights, and the struggle against gender-based violence demands a dramatic turnaround in human consciousness and public perception of this social problem, was highlighted, at the Journalist Academy 2017 for journalism students “Reporting on Gender Issues based violence “that is being held in Jahorina.

Fatima Bećirović from Gender Center of FBiH , a visiting lecturer at the educational workshop, pointed out that violence as a social problem should be addressed by the state, through institutions and by applying laws. Nevertheless, punishment for perpetrators of gender-based violence and domestic violence is often much milder than what is legally foreseen.

“According to statistics, the Municipal Court Zenica pronounces the highest penalties for cases of domestic violence and thus represents an example of good judicial practice in dealing with cases of gender-based violence. In cases of other courts, the data is mostly devastating, “Bećirović said, adding that “in more than 70% of the cases the sentences are imposed, while a small percentage of prison sentences and fines “.

Fatima Šušnjar, coordinator  of The safe house in Bihać, run by a non-governmental organization “Women from Una”, talked about what goes through a woman suffering from domestic violence and presented a series of violence and opportunities to escape from it.

“When a woman comes out of the circle of violence she has three options, namely SOS call, addressing the police and the social work center. However, women who survived violence, especially in rural areas, often do not know or to whom to invoke or to call, said Šušnjar.

Journalist and activist Kristina Ljevak spoke about the harmfulness of the stereotypical way of presenting women in the media. “Stereotypes and women’s discrimination in media is most prominent in the advertising industry,” said Ljevak, adding that future journalists are bound to speak affirmatively about the rights of women.

The Spanish movie “Te doy mis ojosi”, shows the social problem of gender-based violence through a love and life story was showen tot he participants.

Journalists academy gathered participants from Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Ljubuški, Višegrad, Easter Sarajevo, Mostar, Pale and Bugojno, and is part of the project “Disconnect Violence – Media against Violence against Women” implemented by the Association of BH journalists with support UN Women Offices in BiH and the Swedish International Development and Cooperation Agency (Sida).

PRISTINA, 20.11.2017 – Association of Journalists of Kosovo launched on Monday the second edition of the report on the level of media freedom and journalists’ safety.

The report is a continuation of the last year’s base-line assessment, which presented in more details the legislative situation and socio-economic and political issues related to media freedom and journalists’ safety.

The report is divided into three groups of indicators including: Legal protection of media and journalists’ freedoms, Journalists’ position in the newsrooms, professional ethics and level of censorship, and journalists’ safety.

In the first group of indicators, AJK stressed the failed attempt of previous government of Kosovo to recriminalize libel and defamation through the amendments of the Criminal Code of Kosovo. The sponsor of such amendment, the ministry of Justice removed such proposals after reactions from the association and civil societies in general.

The report states again that journalist’ continue to work under unfavourable conditions due to absence or the low and unpaid wages. The difficult economic situation in the country has also affected the media, whose sole source of income is marketing.

The third group of indicators – journalists’ safety – there has been some improvements related to new mechanisms created by justice and security institutions in the country. Though, the main challenge remains ahead when impunity is in question. Within the reporting period, AJK registered 11 cases of threats and attacks against journalists and none of the cases has been brought in front of court. Although, Basic Court in Pristina treated two cases (2014 and 2016) and the accused were sentenced to fines 300 and 500 euro respectively. Otherwise, from January until today, AJK registered 18 cases of threats and attacks against journalists. Kosovo police stated to have registered 24 cases of threats against journalists but AJK understands that some cases are not related directly to the work of journalists and some journalists decided not to make public their cases.

At the launch of the report, there were present head of OSCE mission in Kosovo, Jan Braathu who encouraged AJK and other media professionals to remain together in protection against the attacks against journalists. He also added: “The right to access to information is a powerful tool.”

Kosovo’s Chief Prosecutor, Aleksander Lumezi stated that prosecution will continue to work closely with journalists related to the cases of threats and attacks. “Media and justice should be joint partners in the fight against corruption and settle law and order, therefore fair trials and reporting have main role in international arena,” Lumezi said.

Riccardo Serri from the EU office in Kosovo, deputy general of Kosovo police, Naim Rexha, and Arben Hoti, vice president of the Basic Court in Pristina also attended the conference in Pristina.