medica mondiale annual report 2023

Dear Reader, 

“We are ashamed of our men. Our solidarity is with you.” This was the message we could see on a flickering screen in the newly opened therapy centre of Medica Zenica. It was 1993. The Bosnian War had been raging for a year after the declaration of independence by the former constituent republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina. By the time the war ended in 1995, tens of thousands of women would be systematically raped.  

Together with local experts, in Zenica, north-west of Sarajevo and in the midst of the war, I had been helping to set up a therapy centre for survivors of sexualised violence. Now I was experiencing the power of solidarity as we read this message displayed on the screen. It had been sent by the activists of the organisation Women in Black from Belgrade in Serbia across the disputed border to Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Solidarity conquers hate 

I will never forget that message which made it through the terrors of war. The women from Serbia put humanity above the inhuman violence of the warring parties. They set solidarity against hate. 

My intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina 30 years ago led to the establishment of medica mondiale. We continue to support survivors of sexualised wartime violence in the region today. In December 2023, partner organisations from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Serbia jointly organised a regional conference on the issues around trans-generational trauma (see more on p. 12). This was a further sign of their determination to end violence, and it also served to counter the warmongering propaganda which is currently poisoning the politics of their countries.  

We can change the world 

Divisive forces are getting louder. In South-eastern Europe, on the battlefields of Ukraine, or in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And in Germany, too.  

Examples such as the Women in Black or the continued efforts of activists from Medica Afghanistan who had to flee but now work from abroad to improve the situation for people in their country (you can read how they do this on p. 16) all strengthen my conviction that a world without violence against women is possible. When we name the injustices, when we overcome borders and join together where others are trying to divide us, then we can change the world! For us, for everyone!

Yours truly,  

Monika Hauser