REPORT ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST ROMA WOMEN IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Reasons behind the survey, the purpose and the aim of the Report
Violence against women
“Roma women for life without violence” Programme
METHODOLOGY
Key challenges and the strategy
PAR methodology
The sample
The questionnaire
Conducting the survey on domestic violence against Roma women in BiH
SUMMARY OF THE REPORT
SURVEY RESULTS
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT RESPONDENTS
Respondents’ age
Level of education
Level of employment
Health insurance
Marital status
Marrying age
Reasons for marrying
Paid marriage
ATTITUDES TOWARDS VIOLENCE
Attitudes towardsverbally and physically aggressive behaviour of family members towards women
Attitudes towardsthe threatening behaviour of family members towards women
Attitudes towards sexual violence
Attitudes towards physical violence
Attitudes towards economic violence against women
Attitudes towards freedom of movement
ECONOMIC VIOLENCE
PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE
PHYSICAL VIOLENCE
VIOLENCE DURING PREGNANCY
SEXUAL VIOLENCE
TREATMENT ON THE PART OF INSTITUTIONS
The police
Healthcare institutions
Social work centres
Courts and prosecutor’s offices
Non-governmental organisations
RECOMMENDATIONS
ANNEX
List of the Roma non-governmental organisationsrepresentatives participating in the survey and Roma women leaders (interviewers)
INTRODUCTION
Reasons behind the survey, the purpose and the aim of the Report
The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) denies the Roma, the most numerous national minority in the country,[1]access to a number of rights, including the right to hold public offices as elected representatives of government, and also excludes the Roma from the formal process of decision making in BiH.[2]The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC), assessing the position of Roma in BiH, concluded that members of this national minority, owing to their status as second-class citizens, are exposed to constant violations of their civil, political, economic and social rights, as well as the right of access to governmental services.[3]Only 2-3% of the Roma are employed within the public sector in BiH,[4]while poverty among the Roma is 4 times higher than the national average. Without jobs or identification documents, the Roma face problems in exercising various rights. A number of Roma children do not regularly attend primary schools, which has a significant impact on the small number of pupils who continue their education through high-school or university.[5]
There are a number of problems that the Roma national minority is currently facing. However, Roma women in BiH are in an even more difficult position than Roma men, being exposed to double discrimination on the grounds of their belonging to the Roma national minority and on the grounds of their sex or gender. Most Roma women do not have formal education and training required for the labour market. Most Roma women are not formally employed but survive on collecting recyclable materials, working illegally or reselling goods illegally.[6]Insufficiently educated and economically dependent, many Roma women do not see a possibility of surviving outside their family and community.
Violence against women
Violence against women, domestic violence in particular, is a deeply rooted and widespread social problem. Behind the façade of civilisation and modern lifestyle, BiH is a deeply traditional and patriarchal society. There prevails an attitude that BiH society should focus on issues of “higher priority” such as the transition process and the consequences of the war, while women’s rights to live without violence or discrimination are of secondary importance only. BiH society does not support and has no understanding for women victims of violence. Women are expected not to talk about the violence they face,since it is, after all, “their own shame and failure”. Women are considered responsible for taking care of the family asa “pillar of society”, and are expected to suffer marital “problems” and stay in their marriages for the sake of their children.
BiH has adopted important legislation and policies governing gender equality and prohibiting violence against women and domestic violence. The government has established mechanisms for promoting and protecting gender equality at the BiH and entity levels. However, there are a number of problems regarding the application of the legislation and policies, as well as the functioning of the mechanism itself. Thus, the OSCE Mission reports that “even though they have been in force for three years already, laws on protection (against domestic violence) are evidently almost not applied.”[7] The BiH Ministry of Security reports that domestic violence accounted for 45.92% of all the cases of violence against physical integrity in 2006, and for 49.12% in 2007. That the situation is quite serious can also be seen from reports by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) estimating that only 5% of all acts of violence against women are officially reported.[8]A large number of courts in the BiH Federation have not received any requests for imposing protective measures defined in the legislation, while most minor offence divisions of RS municipal courts have received citations regarding domestic violence without motions to impose protective measures.[9]
The government has no reliable statistics or research regarding the problem of violence against women or domestic violence. In addition, there are no comprehensive studies or separate statistics on violence or domestic violence against Roma women.Still, in 2001, a study was conducted by Medica Infoteka in the Zenica municipalitieson gender-based violence[10]showing that a considerably larger number of Roma women faced domestic violence than was the case with non-Roma women. According to this study, 33% of Roma women stated that they suffered long-lasting multiple abuses from their partners, compared with 24% of non-Roma women. The study also shows the presence of various forms of discrimination against Roma women on the grounds of their social position, sex, gender, race, etc., as well as the presence of multiform violence against Roma women because they are women, members of a minority group and because they are marginalised by government institutions.[11]
Roma women are particularly vulnerable owing to widespread prejudices that violence against women is part of the Roma culture, which affects the work of government institutions,which neglect this issue and fail to provide adequate help and support to Roma women who have suffered violence. The government failed to create an adequate environment and a system of support and assistance to women who have been exposed to violence, particularly to domestic violence, which might strengthen and encourage such women to understand and demand their right to life without violence through the existing institutions and applicable legislation.
An additional problem for Roma women is that there aretoo few organisations that deal with the rights of Roma women and, in particular, the rights of Roma women to life without violence and discrimination. Moreover, there is no systemic cooperation or exchange of experience, knowledge and capacities among Roma organisations, Roma women leaders in the community and women’s organisations that have, for a number of years already, offered assistance and services to women and advocated better legislative and practical protection of women against violence. Roma women leaders and their organisations are not adequately involved and their positions are not acknowledged while laws and policies are being drafted, particularly with regard to gender equality policies or those fighting violence against women.
“Roma Women for Life without Violence”
The Roma Women for Life without Violence programme is implemented by the non-governmental organisation Rights for All[12] in partnership with ICVA,[13]and with the support of the United Nation Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.
Roma Women for Life without Violence is a comprehensive programme established to strengthen Roma women and Roma communities in their fight against discrimination and violence against women, domestic violence in particular, as well as against marginalisation of the Roma and their organisations in law- and policy-making processes concerning gender equality and protection of women against violence.
The programme has several stages responding to problems identified in applicable legislation, in policies and especially in practice. Stage one includedfield research into the issues of domestic violence against women in Roma communities throughout BiH by conducting a specific survey. The survey had three goals:
-Strengthening Roma women leaders in communities to design and conduct field research on their own;
-Providing insight into the degree of domestic violence against women in the Roma community and causes of violence; and
-Serving as a basis for drafting the Report on domestic violence against Roma women in BiH.
The lack of official statistics and studies on the position of Roma women and the scope of domestic violence against Roma women made this survey and Report of particular importance. The key findings and recommendations from this Report will be used as a tool for advocating for a government response to violence against Roma women and to demand its accountability. This Report will contribute to a more sensitive society and government institutions towards the position of Roma women andthe establishment of better cooperation among Roma women leaders, their organisations and communities with government institutions andlocal authorities dealing with issues of violence against women.
METHODOLOGY
Key challenges and the strategy
The Rights for All and ICVA partnership faced the following several key challenges while initiating the Roma Women for Life without Violence programme: how to enter into Roma communities and conduct a survey on domestic violence, considering the closed nature of these communities and families; how to overcome a lack of general interest within the Roma communities in participating in yet another survey or research that will not immediately bring them much needed help; and the lack of capacities for working on issues of violence against Roma women among Roma NGOs.An additional challenge was developing relationships with Roma women leaders and the trust they gained within communities, while at the same time preserving the necessary objectivity while conducting the survey.
These werethe key challenges for the partner organisations, and whichwere even more challenging for Roma women leaders and their organisations. It should be noted that just a few years ago there were no Roma women's NGOs or activities that addressed Roma women issues. There were some women activists that worked in organisations with male leadership. Thereadiness of Roma women leaders to strengthen their capacities through this programme to carry out a survey on issues of their concerns and to use the collected data in advocating for their rights independently in the future should be emphasised.
PAR methodology
In order to respond to these challenges, since its very beginning the project used the PAR methodology (Participatory Action-oriented Research), implying the active participation of beneficiaries, i.e. Roma women leaders, in shaping all the stages of this process. We believe such approach to be of great importance,as the knowledge and experience of Roma women are entirely neglected by BiH society.
From the very beginning a team of 12 Roma women leaders actively took part in identifying the locations and sample for the survey, in developing the questionnaire and guidelines for interviews about domestic violence, in carrying out the survey through interviews with respondents and, following this, in drafting the Report on domestic violence against Roma women in BiH.
During its preparation and while conducting the survey, it was important to secure the dignity and safety of all the participants, respondents and interviewers. Each respondent was guaranteed confidentiality, and prior to each interview the interviewers were instructed to explain to each respondent that no personal data possibly revealing her identity would be recorded or submitted to any government authority or a member of her family. The team members adopted the approach of not judging victims of violence and respondents’ attitudes as a general principle in the interviews, as well as the principle of conducting the interviews without influencing the respondents’ answers. In case that a respondent requested help with regard to domestic violence, the interviewers adopted the approach of offering basic information about the institutions competent for cases of domestic violence and, if a particular case implied a security risk, of forwarding such case to project partners that would subsequently contact the competent institutions.
The PAR methodology had two objectives: first, to increase capacities and strengthen Roma women leaders to plan, prepare and carry out the field survey and, second, to offer insight into the degree of domestic violence against Roma women.
The methodology includes several key elements:
Forming a team of Roma women leaders – within the preparation stage the Rights for All had several meetings and consultations with various Roma NGOs and women leaders. This stage resulted in the identification of 12 Roma women leaders with previous experience in working on women’s rights, in working within communities or on Roma NGO activities, and who were willing to extend their knowledge of field research and to systemically deal with the issue of violence against Roma women in the future. Increasing the knowledge of this team of Roma women leaders implied two equally important components:
-the first component consisted of a two-day workshop focusing on the development of skills required for carrying out a field survey on domestic violence, based on the principles of women’s rights. In addition, the workshop was used to develop the survey questionnaire in detail; and
-the second component implied conducting the survey in the field with the advisory and professional support of the project partners, regular meetings of the team of Roma women leaders (interviewers) and meetings of a broader NGO network established within the project.
We believe such an approach to be crucial for the success of any project aiming at increasing the capacities of a group. The application of knowledge gained at the workshop in field work and advisory support have proved to be the best possible model of acquiring knowledge, which contributes to maintaining skills and the programme after the project cycle finishes.
Establishing an NGO network – This project also saw the establishment of an NGO network as a mechanism of support for the work of the team of Roma women leaders, particularly during the stage of conducting the field survey and drafting this Report, as well as a mechanism for exchanging knowledge and experience among the network members.
The NGO network consists of 25 leading women’s NGOs and Roma (women’s) NGOs[14]. During their regular meetings, network members discussed the experiences of the team of Roma women leaders with conducting the field research, and they also offered practical advice resulting from their experience in similar research. In addition, through their comments and suggestions, the network members gave a further contribution to the development of this report.
The sample
The field survey sample – stratification according to age and location
The survey was conducted on a sample of 609 Roma women. Its interviews, based on the same previously developed questionnaire, were held with each respondent individually, in their households, which insured privacy and safety, or were held on the NGO premises. The interviewers followed the previously agreed upon Guidelines for conducting interviews about domestic violence, based on the principle of respect for the person and the dignity of each respondent, and ensuring a unified approach to conducting this field survey.
The principle on conducting the field survey defined that, when an interviewer approached a Roma community, she entered every other household. If she knew a woman in a particular household well, she moved to the next household to avoid the possibility of influencing the survey results.
Age stratification
The sample within this survey is categorised according to the age of the interviewed Roma women as follows:
- category/age: 18 – 25 years of age – the number of respondents 101
- category/age: 26 – 37 years of age – the number of respondents 216
- category/age: 38 – 49 years of age – the number of respondents 181
- category/age: 50 years plus – the number of respondents 111
These data clearly show that the number of respondents by age categories is neither equal nor balanced. There are two reasons behind such distribution. The primary goal of the survey is to gain insight into the problem of violence against Roma women within partnerships. We assumed that most respondents that formed partnerships would belong to categories II and III and therefore this increased the number of respondents from these categories. Second, it was difficult to provide a relevant sample for the survey considering the lack of official statistics and the fact that the last official census in BiH took place in 1991 and that there are no relevant statistics on the number and position of members of the Roma national minority in BiH, particularly specific data on the number and position of Roma women.