Kathryn Bolkovac

Kathryn Bolkovac is a human rights advocate, consultant, former police investigator with the Lincoln Police Department, and former monitor with United Nations International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia). She came to prominence when she sued her employers for unfair dismissal after she lost her job following her attempts to expose sex trafficking in Bosnia. Her story was shown in the film The Whistleblower and told in the nonfiction book, The Whistleblower, with journalist Cari Lynn.

Bosnia

Bolkovac left the Lincoln Police Department and signed a contract with DynCorp Aerospace, a British subsidiary of US based DynCorp International, DynCorp had a $15 million UN-related contract to hire and train police officers for duty in Bosnia.[1] In July 2001, Bolkovac filed a lawsuit in Great Britain against DynCorp for unfair dismissal after a protected disclosure (whistleblowing),[1] and in August 2002 the tribunal unanimously found in her favour.[2] She reported that fellow DynCorp officers were paying for prostitutes, raping underage girls and participating in sex trafficking.[2] While locals were prosecuted, any UN contractors involved had immunity from prosecution in Bosnia, though a number of these officers were forced to resign and leave Bosnia, under suspicion of illegal activity.[3] Madeleine Rees, Head of Office in the region for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, testified in her support.

Bolkovac lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Amsterdam.[4]

Media

Bolkovac's story was made into a film, The Whistleblower, released in 2010. Following a film screening of The Whistleblower, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened a panel discussion on sexual exploitation and abuse in conflict and post-conflict situations.[5] The film maker and senior UN officials addressed issues raised in the film, including human trafficking and forced prostitution as well as the organisation's effort to combat sexual exploitation of women and children.

Bolkovac has also co-authored a 2011 book with Cari Lynn, The Whistleblower: Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors and One Woman's Fight for Justice.[6]

References
  1. Barnett, Antony; Hughes, Solomon (2001-07-29). "British firm accused in UN sex scandal". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  2. Bolkovac, Kathyrn (2011-01-22). "The Whistleblower: Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors and One Woman's Fight for Justice". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  3. Isenberg, David. "Sex and security in Afghanistan". Asia Times. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  4. "Author profile: Kathryn Bolkovac". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  5. United Nations webcast: Panel discussion: Sexual exploitation and abuse in conflict and post-conflict situations
  6. Kathryn Bolkovac & Cari Lynn (2011). The Whistleblower: Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors, and One Woman's Fight for Justice. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230108028.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
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