The House of Representatives in Bosnia’s Federation entity parliament amended the Criminal Code to formally recognise gender-based murder as a distinct crime. The changes still need to be confirmed by the other chamber, the House of Peoples.
The amended law classifies the gender-based killing of a woman as aggravated murder, punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison. Harsher penalties are foreseen where the victim was previously abused, or dependent on the perpetrator, or if the murder occurred in the context of sexual violence or gender inequality.
“This proposal is the result of the campaign ‘We Will Not Die in Silence’, led over the past 11 months by the organisation Glas Zene Bihac [Voice of Bihac Women],” the association stated. Representatives of the women’s rights organisation were present during the session.
The session heard that the amended legislation would send a clear message that violence against women will no longer be treated as an “ordinary” offence but as a grave violation of the law. Bosnian law previously did not recognise gender-based murder as a separate crime.
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