The public in Bosnia and Herzegovina was disturbed by the news of the arrest of a professor in Bijeljina, after a student reported sexual harassment. The arrested person was ordered to be detained for one month, and the institutions emphasize that the priority is to protect the safety of the child.
The suspect in the case of sexual harassment in Bijeljina, who was arrested on Wednesday after the report of the victim, was ordered to one month’s custody, the Basic Court in Bijeljina announced.
After the media reported that the professor of the Agricultural and Medical School in Bijeljina had been arrested, the school’s management spoke out. They stated that the school immediately acted in accordance with the applicable legal regulations and the Protocol on handling cases of violence, neglect and abuse of children upon learning of the aforementioned circumstances.
“The school took measures and actions within its jurisdiction without delay, and informed the competent institutions about all relevant findings. The school considers any behavior that endangers the safety, dignity and integrity of students to be absolutely unacceptable, and will consistently apply all prescribed measures to protect children and students in the future,” the statement concludes.
The Center for Social Work in Bijeljina points out that in cases of sexual harassment of children there is a clear protocol of action.
“First of all, the parent is informed, then the center for social work, the police, who carry out their actions in agreement with the prosecutor’s office, in which direction the proceedings will take place. There are different epilogues, what is significant and what the public is most interested in, whether the perpetrator will be punished depends on the institutions that deal with the evidence and the judicial authorities that will make the decision”, said Slavica Kovrlija, Center for Social Work Bijeljina.
Although there is no exact data, CIN BiH previously published information that in the last ten years at least thirteen educational workers were convicted of sexually abusing students in schools.
“The case that happened in Bijeljina is not a surprise, it is very common, more common than we think. There are a number of measures, a number of tests that can reveal whether a person has hidden intentions towards this type of sexual experience. I have not seen anywhere that it has been done in our country, but it is possible to prevent it”, said Sead Pašić, sociologist.
The non-governmental sector warns of the need to register pedophiles. In the Republic of Srpska, about 300 persons are permanently registered in this register.
“We always say that the legislative framework is good, but in any case it is not to the detriment of improvements. The register is a good solution because all persons legally convicted of a certain group of criminal offenses, and above all the group related to the exploitation of children, will be entered in the register permanently”, said Slađana Milovanović, “Lara” Bijeljina Foundation.
According to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska, adultery with a child under the age of 15 carries a prison sentence of two to ten years. If the crime was committed by a close relative or with the use of force, the sentence is increased to at least eight years.
(TYPE/Source: bhrt.ba/Author: Ivana Trbić/Photo: Illustration/BHRT)
