The Impact of Armed Conflict on Women and Girls - UNFPA

violence interconnect are not yet established; however, increasingly violent
attitudes in the region are apparent.
Reproductive Health Issues and the Society
Neither the issue <strong>of</strong> violence nor the reproductive health <strong>of</strong> women is
publicly addressed in post-conflict societies. <strong>The</strong>y fail to be addressed in both
society and the family. With the international community focusing on the Balkans,
issues <strong>of</strong> violence and reproductive health are being seriously considered to
benefit their populations.
Post-conflict regions struggle with the exacerbation <strong>of</strong> issues such as
impoverishment, especially when damage occurs to the productive infrastructure.
Also included among the struggles in post-conflict settings are transitions from a
planned economy to a market economy, exemplified by negative influences such
as the sex trade, severe internal ethnic divisions, and political discourse based
on nationalistic assumptions. Each has a pr<strong>of</strong>ound impact on the population’s
health. During the conflict, women and children were vulnerable to several
hardships in the post-conflict setting. Insufficient reproductive health education,
inadequate information on contraceptives and unequal access to them, taboo
attitudes regarding human sexuality, low quality reproductive health services,
uneven distribution <strong>of</strong> those services, the dearth <strong>of</strong> modern diagnostic facilities
and widespread non-medical abortions (in lieu <strong>of</strong> available birth control methods)
are common problems, ones that have serious ramifications for women’s health.
HIV/AIDS and other STDs and STIs are seldom tracked or recorded. Services
struggle to manage the pre-war quantity and quality level <strong>of</strong> their health facilities.
Domestic Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina
A joke in Bosnia and Herzegovina proceeds like this: One man asks
another, “Did you beat up your wife last night?” <strong>The</strong> other replies, “No, I didn’t,
she did not do anything wrong yesterday.” <strong>The</strong> first replies: “All the same, you
should see that she does not forget who is boss in the house.” This joke reveals
common attitudes held by many men and women in the region that reinforce
male power in family structures. <strong>The</strong> joke also bolsters the notion that men are
violent and women are oppressed.
Family violence is not new or rare in Bosnian and Herzegovinian society.
Violence against women did not start with the war. It was always present but
hidden from public awareness and, therefore, not addressed. It continues to be
an issue commonly neglected by society. Several studies on family violence in
Sarajevo reflect male participation, but their answers are not elaborated in the
analysis. In 2000, Women to Women, an active NGO in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, conducted a survey on violence against women in Sarajevo. Only
24 per cent <strong>of</strong> 160 respondents were men. <strong>The</strong> reason for such low male
involvement was reportedly because most men who had been asked to
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