JAJČEVIĆ: MORE VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE SEEKING LEGAL ASSISTANCE

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 16 /SRNA/ – Over the past nine months, the SOS helpline 1264 received 807 calls from victims of violence, which is 36 more calls than during the same period last year, said Lana Jajčević, legal advisor with the United Women Foundation, in a statement to SRNA.

Jajčević said that the increase in the number of calls indicates not only the escalation of violence, but also that more women are finding the courage to report abuse. "It is encouraging that an increasing number of women did not end their communication with a single call but went on to request legal assistance. Physical violence remains the most common, but the majority of reports now concern combined violence, which includes physical, psychological, and economic abuse, and increasingly, sexual violence within marriage and partnerships," Jajčević noted. According to her, a new and growing trend is digital violence, which includes blackmail, harassment, and the posting of intimate photos without consent. "Sexual violence often takes the form of threats to publish sexual content on social media. Women are being blackmailed with the release of video recordings and coerced into sexual acts," Jajčević explained. She emphasized that until this year, courts issued very few emergency protection measures, while the institutions responsible for protection — such as the police and social work centers - often failed to request them. "This year, we are seeing progress. Of the 28 cases in which our legal advisory team requested protection measures, only in two instances were they not granted," Jajčević said. Speaking about the Safe House in Banja Luka, she stated that 15 victims are currently accommodated there, but unfortunately, the shelter lacks capacity. "For now, we are resolving this by housing victims in the safe houses in Modriča and Bijeljina. It is essential to build another safe house, and we will soon launch a campaign to gain public support for this," Jajčević emphasized. By calling the SOS helpline 1264, which operates 24 hours a day, victims of domestic or gender-based violence can receive psychological support, information on their rights and legal protection procedures, and guidance on how to seek help from relevant institutions. The SOS call is free and anonymous if the caller wishes so. Through the same number, it is also possible to report violence or receive information and advice on how to help women and children who are victims of violence in one's immediate surroundings.