Sarajevo/Banja Luka/Mostar, 07.03.2026 – March 8 is a day when we celebrate the courage, solidarity, and perseverance of women around the world in the fight for women’s human rights. For us at the BH Journalists Association, it is also a date to remind the public that women journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina – those who defend the public’s right to truthful, timely, and objective information every day – are often the first targets of attacks, threats, discrimination and gender-based violence.
Women journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina are exposed daily to various forms of violence: from verbal attacks and online threats to attempts at professional discreditation, as well as physical assaults and a pronounced gender dimension in both the motives and manifestations of violence. From the beginning of 2021 to the end of 2025, BH Journalists recorded 39 direct attacks against women journalists, along with another 21 attacks targeting groups of journalists, both men and women. As many as half of these attacks contained elements of gender-based violence. The actual number is significantly higher, however, as many women journalists do not report attacks due to a lack of trust in institutions and fear of professional stigmatization.
Attacks on women journalists most often manifest through insulting comments about their physical appearance, private and family life, sexualized insults, and attempts to professionally discredit them solely on the basis of their gender. It is particularly concerning that women journalists in our country are most frequently targets of misogynistic statements by politicians and other public office holders, as well as individuals connected to criminal structures about whom they report.
Every fifth woman journalist in Bosnia and Herzegovina has experienced gender-based discrimination within the newsroom where she works. While women journalists emphasize that support from their colleagues and editorial teams is the most important factor when they face attacks, it is discouraging that most media outlets still lack internal protocols for responding to threats and gender-based violence. Moreover, within the work environment itself, women journalists face numerous additional challenges. Their labor rights are often violated, especially in private media outlets, while traditional social norms, family responsibilities, pregnancy and maternity leave significantly affect their professional status.
In order to improve the position and safety of women journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the BH Journalists Association calls on:
Police agencies and judicial institutions to consistently prosecute all forms of threats and gender-based violence against women journalists, and to act urgently in cases of physical attacks and online threats;
Politicians and public officials to refrain from offensive, sexist, and misogynistic statements and to take responsibility for public speech that may incite violence against women and men journalists;
Media outlets to adopt clear internal protocols for the protection of women journalists, including mechanisms for reporting attacks, providing legal and psychological support, and ensuring zero tolerance for workplace harassment and discrimination;
Media employers to ensure full respect for the labor rights of women journalists, including protection from dismissal and discrimination during maternity leave, as well as a clearly defined system for career advancement within newsrooms;
Professional associations, NGO’s and international organizations to continue providing legal, safety and educational support to women journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly in the areas of digital security and combating online violence.
March 8 is not only a day for congratulations and flowers. It is a day to remind ourselves that without safe and free women journalists there can be no free media, and without free media there can be no democratic society. Women journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina prove daily that courage has no gender – but violence, unfortunately, often does. That is why it is our shared responsibility to ensure an environment in which every woman journalist can work freely, with dignity, and without fear.
Steering Committee of the BH Journalists Association
Foto: Canva ilustration
