Triple murder including femicide in Bosnia and Herzegovina which shocked the region last week have turned the spotlight on the cases of violence against women in the country, some of which resulted in femicide.

Sevlid Hurtic, Human Rights Minister, said the first step to start solving the problem is adoption of the Law on Femicide, where a slap would be punished with a year of prison and beating up a woman with ten years behind the bars. The punishment for a murder would be 40 years in prison.

Hundreds hold peaceful rally in Bosnian town after triple murder and suicide

However, there is an obstacle.

“There are those not in favour of doing this,” according to Hurtic.

Some measures already exist in the system but they are often not functional. Sometimes they have no effect at all but sometimes they are counterproductive.

Emina Babic, the organiser of protest against violence against women in Zenica, said that the problem emerges once the court issues measures against the one reported for violence.

“Then his anger increases and the next violence is coming,” she stressed.

Massive protest across several cities: BiH needs a special law on femicide

The most often court measure is the non-molestation order.

“The measures and legislation on protecting from domestic violence are efficient, I can say, with normal people”, she stressed, adding that the best solution with those repeating the violence is detention.

A case of Eldin Hodzic from 2021 is the best example.

Hodzic was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murder of his wife Alma Kadic. He was under a non-molestation order and reported 150 times. But, nothing stopped him.

“I see that the first measure is that one, but in my opinion once a bully always a bully and has to be immediately apprehended and put under surveillance,” said Almedin Kadic, the victim's brother.

One of the main problems the law enforcement agencies encounter is that witnesses give up on testifying, which they are allowed to as family members.