“People Write Their Histories in the Streets”: Queer Violence, Activism, and Everyday Peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina

After the three-year war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia finally signed the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) in 1995, thereby ending one of Europe’s most violent conflicts. Although the DPA provided a significant opportunity for communities to construct a new state based on the rule of law, freedom, democracy, and human rights, it failed to create a united civic identity and a well-functioning, democratic state that can protect human rights. Within this unpredictable and strenuous context, queer people specifically feel disenfranchised from society, as they face discrimination, violent attacks, and exclusion on top of the aforementioned hardships.

Activists’ experiences and challenges center on how they make sense of everyday homophobia or support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s LGBTQIA+ community. By highlighting the complex nature of activism, this article presents 43 LTBGQIA+ respondents experiences in activism, Pride Parades, and queer violence through understanding everyday peace action. It further elaborates on the lack of police support for the LGBTQIA+ community and their narratives of the impact of internalised and externalized homophobia in BiH.