Legal counseling and representation

Free legal counseling from Sarajevo Open Centre is a service for the LGBTI community intended to inform and give support to LGBTI persons in BiH related to their human rights, ways of using existing BiH laws protecting them and the mechanisms of exercising those rights.

The need for this kind of activity is a result of the fact that LGBTI persons are the least visible, weakest and one of the most marginalized social groups. The homophobia and transphobia that LGBTI persons face every day in BiH are the main reasons that LGBTI persons decide against coming out; fear of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, and – on the other hand – the lack of policy and efficient and strategic plans of government institutions which empower and protect LGBT persons and their human rights, have created a space where adequate laws protecting LGBTI persons exist, but they are not being adequately implemented.

Many cases remain unreported and undocumented, and LGBTI persons – traumatised victims of such hate crimes and discrimination — are left on their own, without the support of state institutions and the system. Our legal team has been trained and sensitized through different trainings and education, and motivated to work on the protection of the human rights of LGBTI persons.

The goal of Sarajevo Open Centre is to offer space and contact persons to LGBTI people to whom they can turn to in the cases of discrimination and/or violence on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, and to empower them in the process of exercising their rights.

You are always welcome to visit our office: Sarajevo Open Centre – Podgaj 14, 71000 Sarajevo. You can also contact us via telephone: 033/551-000, mobile: 062/123-561, Viber and Whattsapp, or e-mail: [email protected].