evidoria

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Good practice Imported

Status and Reparations for Civilian Survivors of Wartime Sexual Violence — Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina · Sarajevo · See the Bosnia and Herzegovina profile · See the Sarajevo profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 56% 63/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2006 the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has granted wartime-rape survivors a 'civilian victim of war' status, paying roughly 800 recognised survivors a monthly allowance and free healthcare — though Amnesty estimates 20,000+ survivors remain unrecognised.

~800
Recognised civilian survivors of wartime sexual violence (early 2020s)
20,000+
Estimated total survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, 1992-95
280 EUR
Monthly personal disability allowance

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ministry of Labour and Social Policy / cantonal Centres for Social Work)
Period
1999–present (sexual-violence category added 2006, evidentiary threshold eased 2018)
Keywords
social protection, transitional justice, gender-based violence, reparations

Context

The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina extends its 1999 Law on the Protection of Civilian Victims of War to cover survivors of wartime sexual violence as a distinct category, added in 2006 and eased in 2018 by lowering the evidentiary threshold for recognition.

Activities

Recognised survivors receive a monthly personal disability allowance (reported at roughly EUR 280 or more), free medical care, and, since the amendments, recognition of children born of wartime rape.

Results

As of the early 2020s, cantonal social-welfare authorities had granted this status to approximately 800 survivors. The Federation government voted in 2022 to further extend benefits for civilian war victims.

Conclusions

Amnesty International estimates that more than 20,000 people experienced conflict-related sexual violence during the 1992-95 war, meaning the recognised caseload covers a small fraction of survivors; the verification process is described as slow and burdensome, and there is no comprehensive, unified reparations programme covering both of the country's entities.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Long (> 3 years)
Staffing & skills
Federation Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, cantonal Centres for Social Work handling verification

Conditions for success

  • 2018 amendment lowering the evidentiary threshold for recognition, easing access to status

Common failure modes

  • recognised caseload (~800) covers only a small fraction of the estimated 20,000+ survivors
  • verification process described as slow and burdensome
  • no comprehensive, unified reparations programme covers both of the country's entities

Commonly funded by

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Data sources

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