Sarajevo, 11 March 2026 – According to data from the BH Journalists Association and its Free Media Help Line (FMHL), 35 attacks and serious violations of the rights of journalists and media outlets were recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina during 2025. These included political pressure, verbal threats, public discrediting of journalists, and institutional obstruction of their work. The data were presented at the Council of Europe conference titled “Safety of Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, held on Tuesday in Sarajevo.
The conference gathered representatives of institutions, the judiciary, police, academia, and civil society organizations to discuss institutional responses to attacks against journalists and the protection of women journalists from gender-based violence.
During the second panel, dedicated to the protection of women journalists from gender-based and online violence, Stanković Luković spoke about the work of the Free Media Help Line, one of the most important – and often the only – support mechanisms available to journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina who face threats, attacks, or other forms of pressure.
Speaking about the experience of working within FMHL, Stanković Luković emphasized that confronting violence is a complex and difficult situation, and that fear is usually the first reaction of those who have been attacked.
“You are afraid because of the situation you have found yourself in. You do not know who to turn to or whether anyone will believe you. There is also fear of relativization, as violence very often contains elements of gender discrimination, with emphasis placed on the fact that the person targeted is a woman. There is also mistrust toward institutions and whether the perpetrator will actually be punished. Many victims face the dilemma of whether to report the violence at all, fearing that reporting it may lead to even more violence,” Stanković Luković stressed.
Attacks targeting women journalists are particularly concerning, as they often carry a strong gender dimension. Data from BH Journalists show that between 2021 and the end of 2025, 39 direct attacks against women journalists were recorded, while 21 incidents targeted groups of journalists, a significant number of which included elements of gender-based violence.
“It would be extremely helpful if women journalists and newsrooms had clear protocols for responding to crisis situations – a set of steps to follow and contacts of trusted persons, police, prosecutors, and professional associations that can assist in such situations,” said Stanković Luković. She added that BH Journalists and the FMHL maintain a network of lawyers who can provide journalists with legal support and protection when giving statements to the police or prosecutors, as well as assistance with properly documenting cases of violence. They can also ensure psychological support and assume part of the burden by communicating with police and prosecutors, helping to maintain pressure so that cases do not simply end up ‘in a drawer’.
The conference also addressed the work of the network of contact points for the safety of journalists within police agencies and prosecutor’s offices, as well as the need to strengthen cooperation between institutions and the media community in prosecuting attacks against journalists.
Conference participants agreed that improving the safety of journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina requires additional efforts to inform journalists about available protection mechanisms, strengthen institutional accountability, and ensure more consistent prosecution of attacks against journalists and women journalists.
The BH Journalists Association will continue, through the Free Media Help Line, to monitor cases of violations of media freedom and provide legal and professional support to journalists, while continuously advocating for more effective protection of journalists in line with the standards of the Council of Europe and the international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The conference “Safety of Journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina” was organized with the support of the projects PROFREX – Protection of Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in Bosnia and Herzegovina and SII BiH – Strengthening the Reliability of the Information Space, implemented within the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye.”
