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SARAJEVO, December 13 (FENA) - A handbook for religious officials for dealing with victims of rape during the war was presented today in Sarajevo, and was created as a joint effort of the Inter-religious Council of BiH (IRC) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Authors of the handbook, Ifet Mustafić, Vanja Jovanović, Hrvoje Vranješ, Igor Kožemjakin, Behzad Hadžić, Branka Antić-Štauber and Dijana Đurić, pointed out that they have tries to bring together specific pieces of advice for religious officials from the Islamic, Orthodox, Catholic and Jewish perspectives on how to help victims of sexual violence.
Also, it was important for them to have continuous scientific, professional and ethical engagement in raising the awareness of the entire society about the harmful consequences of violent behavior towards human beings in general.
President of IRC BiH Husein effendi Smajić, members of MRV, Cardinal Vinko Puljić, Boris Kožemjakin, Vladislav Topalović, UNFPA Representative Doina Bologa and British Ambassador to BiH Matthew Field pointed out the importance of the handbook as it aims to help victims of wartime rape, but also to help fight the stigmatization of victims of war rape in the war.
Part of the manual, as President of IRC, Husein effendi Smajić explained, is dedicated to the psychosomatic point of view when dealing with this issue. It deals with the symptoms in victims of sexual violence, how to provide them with a universal approach, and about short-term and long-term consequences of these traumas.
Each part of the publication offers guidelines that religious officials can follow when it comes to counseling victims of sexual violence in the war, whether it is about the act itself, which has left trauma to this day, whether it is stigmatization they find in their families or wider community, or is it is a matter of the faith that the victims practice and their search for salvation and peace.
“The fact is that it is hard for the victim of sexual violence to restore their dignity, but social sensitivity and professional care of society could be a good example from where to begin with their recovery,” said Smajić.
The handbook, as they said, is a unique document in global terms as there has been no similar example ever in the past that all the traditional religious communities came together in one country and backed this harmonized approach to such a difficult issue.
Ambassador Field pointed out that BiH is the first country in the world in which religious leaders have come together united to condemn stigmatization and to create a practical handbook that will help religious communities to support the survivors.
“Sexual violence leaves wounds, and a stigma leaves scars. Therefore, the elimination of the stigma is not only a moral imperative, but also a key element in maintaining international peace and security, said Ambassador Field and thanked the members of the IRC BiH, religious leaders in BiH who have shown leadership and courage in working on this important issue, not only for BiH, but for the whole world.
The handbook also rests upon the Declaration of the Inter-religious Council of BiH on combating the stigmatization of survivors of sexual violence during the war in BiH signed on June 19, 2017.
The handbook, among other things, emphasizes that "empathy, humanity and moral engagement are the most important factors in understanding the trauma of wartime rape, in their psychosocial treatment, as well as in the prevention of stigmatization and discrimination."
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(FENA) S. R.
