BOOK "MAINSTREAMING GENDER EQUALITY IN THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY: AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE" – EDITION PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH

The book “Mainstreaming gender equality in the university community: against gender-based violence” by Zilka Spahić Šiljak, Jasna Kovačević and Jasmine Husanović was published in English language. This edition was published by the American publishing house Scholars Press.

The publication was created as a result of extensive research efforts as part of the five-year UNIversity and Gender Mainstreaming (UNIGEM) project launched in 2021 by the TPO Foundation from Sarajevo with the aim of networking universities from the region, exchanging expertise, equipping higher education by establishing mechanisms for gender equality (councils or centers), adopting gender action plans (GAP), enriching curricula and programs in the field of gender equality, and sensitizing teaching staff and students through various types of thematic education and training. All of these are the reasons why a partnership was established with 19 universities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, which is a great step forward both for higher education and for regional cooperation, because through networking, the exchange of expertise and experience, higher education is improved through numerous examples and models of good practice. At the end of 2021, as the first activity of the project, thorough qualitative and quantitative research was conducted at all 18 partner universities, by the efforts of a multidisciplinary team of researchers from all four countries in the fields of sociology, gender studies, cultural studies, law, philosophy and religion.

Overall 4,754 respondents from the ranks of teaching and administrative staff, as well as students of social, humanistic, natural, technical, health and other fields participated in the research. The book was edited by Professor Zilka Spahić Šiljak PhD, Professor Jasna Kovačević PhD and Professor Jasmina Husanović PhD.

Some of the key findings of the conducted research show that as many as 80% of the interviewed persons know that their colleagues have experienced sexual and gender-based violence and/or discrimination, 75.8% of teachers in the region do not know whether procedures for sanctioning abusers have been initiated, 61% of the interviewed persons have experienced sexual violence, and that there is no transparent and open communication about sexual violence at universities. The book was published in Bosnian, Montenegrin, Croatian, Serbian and English language, and it was promoted at 18 partner institutions of the UNIGEM project.

The English edition is available for purchase at the link.