Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and is obligated to comply with recommendations of the CEDAW Committee. Committee recommendations include undertaking activities which would result in changing stereotypical attitudes towards women’s and men’s roles (CEDAW, Concluding Comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Items 23 and 24, 2006). In addition, working on developing gender equality in the area of attitudes and perceptions is also proposed in the Gender Action Plan (GAP) B&H.
In keeping with efforts of the Gender Center, directed at advancing gender equality, it was necessary to provide a high-quality empirical basis for shaping relevant policies and measures to further improve this area. With this aim, a survey was conducted on a representative sample of the population of Republika Srpska, and used to examine more clearly the attitudes of male and female citizens on gender roles, as well as gender equality policies currently being implemented.
Findings show that gender inequalities are very pronounced in Republika Srpska, and that they are manifested in objective and subjective aspects which support each other and intertwine, creating a strong patriarchal syndrome. Insights were transformed into relevant recommendations and should provide a basis for introducing measures for eliminating gender stereotypes and changing value models, which will later serve as a basis for monitoring the effects of such measures.