• ONGOING PROJECTS 

 PROJECT: FREE LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE

The project of free legal and psychological assistance is being implemented since 1997, and during the last few years has been repeatedly modified and extended to new activities. Planning and introduction of new activities is the result of monitoring the needs of the local community as well as understanding of the Kvinna till Kvinna, Swedish organization supporting and financing our work. The aim of this project is to promote women's rights in all areas of action, raising awareness of women in all areas of their actual position and the need for alignment of the same one with universal human standards, promoting the right to live without violence in the private and public spheres of life, the right to reproductive health, as well as promotion of civil society. Promoting the Gender Equality Law in the development of democracy and civil society will change the traditional understanding of the role of women and men.

Activities conducted under this project are the following:

• Organized providing of free legal assistance to women who have problems in the realization of the rights that belong to them by law, or violation of right is already recorded,
• Providing psychological support to women in exercising their rights,
• Educating students of the Law Faculty about the practical application of the laws,
• Educating high school students about protecting women's human rights, the Gender Equality Law in BiH and the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination,
• Educating women in rural areas about the importance of their involvement in social activism and ways of joint action.

The project is supported and funded by Kvinna till Kvinna.

PROJECT: EASIER ACCESS TO RIGHTS FOR VULNERABLE AND MARGINALIZED GROUPS

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Center for Legal Assistance to Women Zenica concluded the contract on the implementation of the project „Easier access to rights for vulnerable and marginalized groups“, on 21st of July, 2009.The aim of this project is to promote and protect the rights of vulnerable and marginalized groups, providing assistance in securing their access to justice, by informing them through a legal guide and performing educational and informative workshops about their rights, and legal advising to help realization of the rights that belong to them by law.Marginalized groups will have the opportunity to receive an adequate legal and professional protection, adequate information, to whom, where and how to contact us. Guide will provide advisory and practical assistance for ensuring better access to social services, health, education, employment and regulations that protect fundamental human rights.The possibility of the making decision on the right that can be exercised, the distribution of information and knowledge relating to the rights which belong to them and the possibility of consultation will be provided for marginalized groups in an indirect way. The project is being implemented in the period from 22nd of July to 15th of December, 2009.

The project is supported and funded by the OSCE Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

PROJECT: EASIER ACCESS TO WOMEN'S RIGHTS THROUGH EDUCATION AND COUNSELING

On 1st of August 2009, the Center for Legal Assistance to Women Zenica began the implementation of the project „Easier access to women's rights through education and counseling“, which supports the Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) Swiss humanitarian organization.The aim of the project is to provide online assistance and media presentation, contribute to more effective implementation of women's rights, through informative and educational workshops, to influence preventively on identifying and reducing violence against women and girls. The project is being implemented throughout the territory of the Zenica-Doboj Canton in the period from 1st of August to 31st of January, 2011.

PROJECT: STEP TOWARDS REDUCING THE SOCIAL EXCLUSION OF YOUNG PEOPLE

The organization has continued the implementation of the project "Step towards reducing social exclusion of young people" from the 01st of June 2009. The project is supported by Co-operating Netherlands Foundations for Central and Eastern Europe - CNF-CEE. Within our program, we are dealing with many topics that are focused on prevention: implementation of gender oriented policies, developing and implementing outside the institutional educational programs for young people - prevention of violence in adolescent relationships, sex education, sensitization for gender issues, women empowerment and capacity building of the final year students all secondary schools for the first out in the labor market through training and counseling on active job search techniques that would be involved in all areas of social life. Beneficiaries of the project are still young girls in the age of 15-21 years, from the area of Zenica-Doboj Canton. Workshops for girls will take place in Žepče, Kakanj, Visoko and Zenica. All activities of this project are aimed at the realization of vision of our organization, and that is: We believe that B&H will become gender based democratic society and the future is in young people. 

• REALIZED PROJECTS

PROJECT: RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT OWN GENDER AND SEXUALITY

The project included work with young students and pupils of secondary schools about the following themes: gender, sex, stereotypes, feminism, sexual education and reproductive health, prevention of violence in adolescent relationships, decreasing homophobia in society. The project is realized through the holding of workshops and using a method of interactive learning (method of psychodrama, case study, playing a role…) during 2007 and 2008.

The project is funded by Global Fund for Women.

PROJECT: ACTIVITIES IN LOCAL COMMUNITY

Projects of activities in community I and II were implemented under the name DEVELOPMENT OF CAPACITIES OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES IN ZENICA MUNICIPALITY I AND II. The projects are realized in partnership with Zenica Municipality Department of Council and Major – Sector of local communities’ affairs, during 2007 and 2008.

Objectives of the projects were the following: 

1. human resources development (professional and voluntary) in local communities of Zenica municipality, and 
2. decreasing social excluding of citizens in municipality.

Intention of the project was to educate professionals and volunteers in local community for consistent application of Municipal plan of social protection development in all its segments, because all the expectations of the plan were directed exactly toward local community. Professionals (Secretary of LC) and volunteers (Presidents of assemblies of LC and Presidents of commissions for social issues) are chosen to be a part of the project, because they are the most competent and responsible persons in LC for, so called, “the first contact” with citizens preferring services of social protection. Introduction with new legal solutions in this area and education about a right way of using brochure prepared by the project team, should be resulting in better and more effective access of citizens to necessary rights, and on the other side, decreasing a pressure on local institutions dealing with this problematic and more rational spending of budget means.

Using this access, the project directly realized connection with local social policy (Municipal plan of social protection development, making connection with its priorities:

•  development of functional network of social protection at local level,
• development of volunteer work,
• disseminating information to citizens at a level of local community (due to removing a problem of lack of information about changes in the field of legislation in social protection),
• education of participants of a system of social protection (holding seminars and workshops due to insufficient education of volunteers in LC to spread such information).

In the frame of the project activities, there was made, printed and distributed brochure under the name: manual for volunteers of local community – way to exercise rights in the field of social and family protection, as well as leaflets with questions and answers about the most used rights in the filed of social protection.

The project is supported and funded by Municipality Zenica.

PROJECT: STATUS OF WOMEN ON THE LABOR MARKET IN B&H

The fact is that women in B&H are not equal with men in realization of their rights. The measures taken by the B&H authorities have not been sufficient to change a real status of women. Women in B&H are still on the margins of power, deprived of influence in the articulation and implementation of state policy. The discrimination against women, particular in the economical sphere is characterized by gap between the legislation framework and reality. The Centre started this project realization with the main objective to reduce disparity between legislation and a real situation in B&H in the area of gender equality and labor. In the period of implementation 20/01/2008-20/10/2008, the project is realized through the following activities:

• analyzing labor cases in the Sarajevo Municipality Court, the B&H State Court from a gender perspective,
• making research on understanding of judges, prosecutors and inspectors the labor rights violations based on the Gender Law and the Labor Law of Republika Srpska and Federation through questionnaire,
• organizing brainstorming workshop of judges, prosecutors, inspector and create joint frame for a training manual,
• creation of training module for inspectors, judges and prosecutors containing comparative analysis of international and domestic labor legislation.

The project is supported and financed by UNIFEM.

PROJECT: HOW TO GET EMPLOYED

The basic problem of BiH economy in post war period is slow growth of employment, low growth of foreign investments in economic processes, catastrophic consequences of privatization especially for women who were employed. Situation is especially difficult for women, because high percent of them is legally illiterate, do not where to find information about job vacancy, way of applying, do not know how to write CV, form and content of CV. The objective of the project which was lasting from 01/11/2007 to 31/12/2007 was to ensure access to information about employers, to ensure access to information about way of applying for job, form and context of CV and way of the writing the same one.

The project is supported and funded by the Swedish organization KVINNA TILL KVINNA.

PROJECT: MAKE OUR RIGHTS REAL

The fact is that the Gender Law is not being applied in a practice and is not presented in media, so, women have no information about an existence of this very important law which is a basis of civil society development.

Having in mind the fact that there is an evident lack of education and sensibility for gender issues, the Centre started this project realization with the basic objective to raise awareness of women about their rights, prevention of violence, gender based violence, as well as making conditions for gender equality implementation and advancement. In the period from May 2006 to January 2007, women will introduce the following themes:

• “Human rights-women’s rights” (Are the women’s rights human rights, what means a term of women’s rights today),
• “Development of women’s rights through history”,
• “Stereotypes and prejudice or Women’s rights in B&H”,
• “Discrimination” (How to recognize discrimination, to whom apply, how to prevent?) 
• “Problem of violence against women” (Defining violence, distinction between psychological and physical violence, how to protect yourself, how to help victim, how to behave with perpetrator, to whom apply).

The project is realized through the following activities:

• making guideline “Make our rights real” and distributing them in 12 local communities of Zenica municipality,
• educational workshops for women using method of interactive learning.

The project is supported and funded by United States of America in B&H, Office of Public Affairs.

PROJECT: WOMEN IN PRE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

Considering that women make more than 50% of electors body and are not generally interested for elections, the Centre for Legal Assistance for Women Zenica realized the project “Women in pre-election campaign” in August and September 2006. The objective of the project was to raise awareness about importance of participation of women in political and public life, to increase visibility of women’s issues during pre-election campaign and to animate women to vote on the basis of information. In the frame of the project, there were organized workshops and information campaigns in municipalities Zenica, Tešanj, Žepče i Kakanj.

The project is supported and funded by the Swedish organization KVINNA TILL KVINNA.

 PROJECT: DISCRIMINATION ALL AROUND US

 Having in mind the fact that there is a lack of education and sensibility for gender issues in our society, the Centre realized this project aiming at prevention of violence among youth and gender based violence, as well as making conditions for gender equality implementation and advancement. In the period from March 2004 to September 2006, young girls were educated through seminars, workshops and brochures about the following themes:

• Gender identity,
• Prevention of violence and adolescent relationships,
• Prejudice and stereotypes,
• Feminism, Reproductive health,
• Respecting differences …

The project was realized through the following activities:

• Making brochure “Discrimination all around us” - printed in 1000 copies and distributed in secondary schools,
• Educational workshops for students using method of interactive learning (psychodrama method, case study, playing a role …)

The project is supported and funded by Global Fund for Women.

PROJECT: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT AND POVERTY REDUCTION IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

 In the beginning of September 2005, Centre of Legal Assistance for Women Zenica concluded the contract with Foundation BH Women Initiative about realization of the project “Economic empowerment and poverty reduction in B&H”.

The basic objective of the project was realization of a training period for 4 women. Namely, in the period from 19/09/2005 to 15/03/2006, the Centre referred 4 unemployed women, our beneficiaries who finished trade or economy school and were registered in Employment Bureau, to private trade shop MAX to have training period. On such way, they gained working experience and were practically educated for independent job performing. After that, they have conditions to pass the exam which is needed to get a job on indefinite period in that and other companies too. During the training period, women had incentive for their work, pension and health insurance.

The project is funded by German Government, through the Foundation BH Women Initiative.

PROJECT: GENDER EQUALITY – LOOK INTO FUTURE

Centre of Legal Assistance for Women Zenica held the conference “Gender Equality – Look into future” in the beginning of December 2004 in order to exchange experiences on overcoming problems in the process of Gender Law implementation, to define possible ways of acting, having in mind previously done.

 Representatives of NGOs from all B&H dealing with protection and promotion of women’s human rights as well as representatives of governmental sector participated on the conference. Recommendations, conclusions and suggestions of participants were referred to representatives of legislative and executive authority who are responsible for the making law implementation conditions.

The project is supported and funded by the Swedish organization KVINNA TILL KVINNA.