Although often unnoticed or ignored, gender bias is prevalent in all legal systems across the world, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is no exception. The consequences of gender-based bias and discrimination affect everyone, from legal professionals to women and men who seek to assert their rights through the justice system. Gender bias can affect the atmosphere in courtrooms, the presentation of cases, the decisions of judges, and even whether cases come to court. By reducing and eventually eliminating these prejudices, the justice system has the potential to become more effective, democratic, and fair.

This handbook seeks to mitigate the future impact of gender bias in legal practice by helping law students appreciate how gender bias is present in both the law and the application of law, and how these prejudices can adversely affect the administration of justice. It was developed in collaboration with 11 university law professors from six universities across BiH and comprises ten thematic units. The first two thematic units provide a basic introduction to the concepts of gender and gender bias and are therefore recommended as a pre-requisite for all other units in the series. The remaining units have been primarily designed to complement existing courses on different aspects of criminal, civil, and family law in order to mainstream gender across the curriculum.