“It’s time to stop and reflect on what truly matters—the safety of the pillars of families, homes, and society as a whole—the safety of our women. They are also the backbone of the Bingo Group. With more than 6,000 women making up two-thirds of our workforce, we owe a large part of our success to them,” said Ljiljana Kunosić, CEO of Bingo Group, during today’s media address, marking the most extensive public campaign to date against violence against women—It’s Time to Stop and End Violence.
Today, on International Women’s Day, Bingo Group halted operations for half an hour in all 230 of its stores and 11 production companies.
“Today, all Bingo stores—more than 230 across Bosnia and Herzegovina—stopped working. Dita, Pivara Tuzla, Ingram, Kaletex, Duka, our pasta factory, our paper factory, and Bingo Farm—all of our factories, farms, and production companies under the Bingo Group also stopped. Because it is time to stop and end violence against women,” said Bingo’s CEO, Ljiljana Kunosić.
Bingo Group did not stop at this symbolic act. A concrete financial contribution of 1,000,000 BAM has been secured to fund the operations of safe houses. Kunosić also announced that Bingo Group will introduce preferential employment for women who are victims of violence and develop internal procedures to support its employees who may find themselves in such situations.
The country’s largest company has also dedicated all its media space to raising public awareness about NGO initiatives aimed at creating a stronger legal framework for punishing violence against women and femicide. More than 9,000 Bingo Group employees have signed these petitions. Today, at Bingo City Center Sarajevo, Ljiljana Kunosić handed them over to Enisa Raković, President of the Glas Žene Association from Bihać, and Gordana Vidović, President of the Budućnost Association from Modriča, representing the organizations that launched legal amendment initiatives in the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska.
“The Glas Žene Association from Bihać, together with partner organizations, expects the draft of the Criminal Code of the Federation of BiH, which will define femicide as a separate criminal offense, to enter parliamentary procedure finally,” emphasized Enisa Raković, Director of Glas Žene Bihać.
Gordana Vidović, Director of UG Budućnost Modriča, highlighted the importance of institutional support:
“This massive support from citizens and companies, especially Bingo Group, shows that protecting against violence is a responsibility we all share. It is now up to government institutions to recognize the situation’s urgency and adopt a new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence in Republika Srpska.”
More than 30,000 citizens across Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with numerous businesses, have supported the initiative, making It’s Time to Stop and End Violence one of the most extensive social campaigns dedicated to combating violence against women in BiH.
Citizens can still join the movement and sign the petitions online.
