Announcement on the occasion of June 19 - International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in War
On the occasion of June 19 - International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in War, established by the United Nations in 2015, Women in Black and the Autonomous Women's Center will hold a vigil in mourning and silence on June 17, 2021 from 1 pm to 2 pm in Republic Square in Belgrade.
With this protest, Women in Black and the Autonomous Women's Center remind that:
- During the wars in the area of the former Yugoslavia, members of Serb armed formations systematically sexually abused non-Serb women in Croatia, BH and Kosovo. Over twenty thousand women were raped in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most numerous victims were Bosniaks, while the majority of perpetrators were Bosnian Serbs.
- During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), Foča was the site of the most massive systematic sexual violence and rape in the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- In its verdict against the Foča Troika (Kunarac, Kovač, Vuković), in 2001, for the first time in the history of international humanitarian law, the Hague Tribunal determined that sexual slavery in war is a crime against humanity.
Women in Black and the Autonomous Women's Center continue to:
- Express solidarity with and compassion for women victims of sexual violence, both those who were killed and those who survived.
- Pursue a policy of remembrance as a responsibility in relation to crimes committed in our name during the war in BH.
- Remind that in Serbia, women survivors of sexual violence in war remain invisible to the institutions - they are not recognized as civilian victims of war, nor as victims of gender-based violence against women, who deserve special rights, support and protection.
Women in Black and the Autonomous Women's Center, together with the Association of War Victims of Foča (1992-1995), will organize a visit to Foča, on June 19, 2021.
We remember the women of Foča!
For the dignity of women victims of sexual violence in war!
In Belgrade, June 16, 2021.
Women in Black and the Autonomous Women's Center