{"id":186443,"date":"2021-03-05T10:14:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T09:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/?p=186443"},"modified":"2021-04-01T15:33:37","modified_gmt":"2021-04-01T14:33:37","slug":"bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mirsada Tursunovic, who was raped by a soldier at a detention camp during the Bosnian war, explains how it took 17 years to overcome her fear of being socially ostracised and give evidence against her attacker.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

“He pointed his rifle at me and ordered me to strip. I cried and refused to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mirsada Tursunovic is recalling June 21, 1992, the day that one of the Bosnian Serb soldiers at the Caparde detention camp near Zvornik in eastern Bosnia ordered her to go upstairs with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe then hit me hard and pushed me onto a couch in that room, took my clothes off and my Turkish trousers, and raped me,\u201d Tursunovic continued.<\/p>\n

Tursunovic, who was only 18 at the time, also saw other women being taken away while she was in the detention camp, and assumed that they would also be raped.<\/p>\n

According to estimates by the United Nations, between 20,000 and 50,000 people were raped during the Bosnian war.<\/p>\n

Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised or condemned by their families and communities. Tursunovic did not tell anyone about what she suffered for 17 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing of a victim\u2019s decision to speak out depends on the type and intensity of the trauma, the individual\u2019s personal resources, the context of the traumatic experience and the current context in which the person lives,\u201d a spokesperson for Vive Zene Tuzla, a rehabilitation centre in the north-eastern city of Tuzla that deals with wartime rape victims, told BIRN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a fear of rejection, and of condemnation by close family members and the local community. A fear of people not trusting them, a fear that their suffering will be downplayed or denied, and a fear of being labelled, stigmatised and ridiculed,\u201d the spokesperson explained.<\/p>\n

Research by Medica Zenica, an organisation that offers psycho-social and medical support to female and child victims of wartime and post-war violence, suggests that rape survivors trust such organisations more than state institutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, in family and social settings, people still question whether they are telling the truth about what they experienced and ask how and why they couldn\u2019t avoid it, so victims of violence are forced to prove what they went through with documents and other evidence,\u201d said Lejla Heremic, a family counsellor at Medica Zenica.<\/p>\n

Mirsada Tursunovic was among those who eventually sought psychological counselling and professional help. She has had constant support from her husband and daughters from the moment she first spoke out about what happened to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had nightmares, I often sensed the smell of the man who did that to me. I would wake up suffocating, but I did not dare talk about it to anyone,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I was aware that I had to seek professional help, because I was subconsciously passing my trauma on to my children.\u201d<\/p>\n

With professional assistance, she has now regained her self-confidence and sense of dignity, she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018One cannot just start talking about it\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts working for Vive Zene Tuzla also say that some victims also do not want to testify against their attackers in court because they distrust the judicial process and fear that they will not be properly protected against retaliation from the defendants.<\/p>\n

So far, a total of 102 cases involving allegations of sexual violence or rape have been heard at the Bosnian state court in Sarajevo.<\/p>\n

The court\u2019s witness support section offers psychological, emotional and administrative help to witnesses who are invited to testify.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsidering the specific nature of war trauma and their delicate mental state, victims and survivors of wartime sexual torture, special attention is given to providing them with psychological support and empowering them before, during and after their testimonies, so as to avoid additional suffering and repercussions for the witnesses\u2019 mental state as a result of their testimonies,\u201d the state court told BIRN.<\/p>\n

Mirsada Tursunovic first spoke to State Investigation and Protection Agency officers about the crime committed against her after someone had named her as a witness in a war crime case. The officers\u2019 sensitive approach made it possible for her to give evidence, she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey approached me in a very nice, professional manner, with concern for my health and mental state. The men would leave the room so I could speak to female officers about my experiences,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

During the investigation, Tursunovic recognised the man who attacked her, but after she had given her statement, he left for Russia and did not come back.<\/p>\n

She searched for him on Facebook for years and finally found him last year, but the discovery brought the trauma back again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started shivering, I logged out of my account quickly and later deleted it. I was frightened, I took a sedative, I did my breathing exercises as my doctor had taught me,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n

She said that she is \u201cliving for the day when the criminal will be brought to justice\u201d, but cautioned that pressure should not be put on rape victims to give statements and testify in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not easy to admit what happened to you and talk about it. It took me a long time \u2013 it took me 17 years to say what had happened to me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne cannot just start talking about it and be questioned right away. [Survivors] should be given space so they can find the right way and moment to speak out.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Azra Husari\u0107<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

This article was was originally published on balkaninsight.com.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mirsada Tursunovic, who was raped by a soldier at a detention camp during the Bosnian war, explains how it took… ","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":186438,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1811],"tags":[1487,3605,2629,3604],"class_list":["post-186443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-victims-voice","tag-bih-en","tag-mirsada-tursunovic-2","tag-war-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina","tag-wartime-rape"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised by their families and communities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised by their families and communities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REKOM ~ KOMRA ~ RECOM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ZaREKOM.PerKOMRA.ForRECOM\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-05T09:14:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-04-01T14:33:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"961\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"541\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Recom Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@REKOM_KOMRA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@REKOM_KOMRA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Recom Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/\",\"name\":\"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-05T09:14:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-01T14:33:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b0fce47cdf986c8b4194146b69999a3\"},\"description\":\"Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised by their families and communities.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg\",\"width\":961,\"height\":541,\"caption\":\"rape\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/\",\"name\":\"REKOM ~ KOMRA ~ RECOM\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b0fce47cdf986c8b4194146b69999a3\",\"name\":\"Recom Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b345ee03975bccfc62280b0fd1ffd916?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b345ee03975bccfc62280b0fd1ffd916?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Recom Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/author\/jelanag\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019","description":"Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised by their families and communities.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019","og_description":"Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised by their families and communities.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/","og_site_name":"REKOM ~ KOMRA ~ RECOM","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ZaREKOM.PerKOMRA.ForRECOM\/","article_published_time":"2021-03-05T09:14:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-04-01T14:33:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":961,"height":541,"url":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Recom Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@REKOM_KOMRA","twitter_site":"@REKOM_KOMRA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Recom Editor","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/","url":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/","name":"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg","datePublished":"2021-03-05T09:14:33+00:00","dateModified":"2021-04-01T14:33:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b0fce47cdf986c8b4194146b69999a3"},"description":"Wartime rape victims often keep quiet about their experiences for years in order to avoid being stigmatised by their families and communities.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Mirsada-Tursunovic.jpg","width":961,"height":541,"caption":"rape"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/bosnian-war-rape-survivors-still-afraid-to-speak-out\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bosnian War Rape Survivors \u2018Still Afraid to Speak Out\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/","name":"REKOM ~ KOMRA ~ RECOM","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/0b0fce47cdf986c8b4194146b69999a3","name":"Recom Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b345ee03975bccfc62280b0fd1ffd916?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b345ee03975bccfc62280b0fd1ffd916?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Recom Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/author\/jelanag\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186443"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186443"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186445,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186443\/revisions\/186445"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.recom.link\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}