Research on Media Reporting on Gender-Based Violence Against Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina

How do media in Bosnia and Herzegovina report on the issues of violence against women?

Research conducted in 2016 in Bosnia and Herzegovina shows that, although media report on violence almost daily, reporting about violence against women is sensationalistic. Furthermore, the media report on individual cases of violence against women rather than addressing the issue and its roots.



Violence against women is a problem of the entire society, it is considered a global pandemic, and the role of the media is to address this problem in a responsible way to stir public discussion on the declining rate of violence. UN Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina conducted a study on media reporting on gender-based violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The study was done under a three-year programme “Standards and Engagement for Ending Violence against Women and Domestic Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, which is funded by Swedish International Development Agency (Sida).



The research included an analysis of 302 print and web articles on cases of violence against women published from January 1 to June 30 2016. Furthermore, the research monitored TV content in four specific cases of violence against women in the same period.