On Our Initiative, the Criminal Code of Brčko District was Amended and Harmonized with the Istanbul Convention
Our initiative from 2022 to amend the Criminal Code of the Brčko District of BiH has finally been realized, thanks to the representative of the BD BiH Assembly, Milijana Simić, who advocated for our amendments and those of the Lara Bijeljina Foundation. New criminal offenses were introduced, and the existing ones were amended by the Istanbul Convention.
Significant changes are the introduction of new criminal acts: genital mutilation of female genitals, forced sterilization, persecution, psychological violence, sexual harassment, and forced marriage.
Among the more significant changes is the new definition of rape, which now defines rape as sexual intercourse without the consent of another person. Changes have also been made that regulate the work with children of the perpetrator of a criminal act committed to the detriment of the child’s sexual integrity. The group of protected bases within the criminal offense “Public incitement and incitement of violence and hatred” has been expanded and now includes gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
The group of protected grounds within the criminal offense “Public incitement and incitement of violence and hatred” has been expanded and now includes gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. In this way, LGBTI persons, as well as other persons who are victims of hate speech due to any personal characteristic, enjoy protection. Although the Istanbul Convention does not explicitly mention hate speech, it nevertheless imposes an obligation on member states to take all legislative and other measures to prevent all forms of violence, without discrimination on any basis, including sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Given that hate speech is ubiquitous in our society and most often leads to violence, it is very important to regulate this issue with valid criminal legislation.
“The Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska was the first to introduce criminal acts according to the Istanbul Convention, but it was still not fully aligned with the Convention. The Criminal Code of the Brčko District of BiH becomes the first law in BiH that defines the concept of consent as the existence of the will to engage in sexual intercourse, and its absence is a condition for the existence of the criminal act of rape. The Criminal Code of the FBiH has not yet been amended. Therefore, the Criminal Code of BD is currently the best criminal code in Bosnia and Herzegovina” – said our Amina Dizdar.
The Sarajevo Open Centre, together with the organizations gathered in the Women’s Network, also advocates for changes to the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH, which would contribute to the prevention of violence against women and adequate punishment for it. According to these amendments, femicide would be characterized as a criminal offense.