ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Wednesday met with a delegation of the Women's Room NGO to discuss measures to curb violence against women and they agreed on the preparation of a national strategy to combat sexual violence.

Maja Mamula and Anamarija Drožđan-Kranjčec from the Women's Room informed the Prime Minister of the activities of their organisation, which includes the Centre for Victims of Sexual Violence which provides direct help and support to victims of sexual violence.

The talks underlined the need for raising public awareness of the problem of sexual violence, strengthening prevention and implementing education about that problem at all levels.

The two sides agreed on drafting a national strategy for the prevention of sexual violence, which will involve all relevant departments and civil society organisations.

There was also talk of amendments to the Criminal Code regarding the combatting of sexual violence, which have been prepared and should soon be put to public consultation.

The main amendments concern redefining the prosecution of sexual harassment to enable its ex-officio prosecution, which is something the government has already announced.

Under the amendments, there will be no statute of limitations on child abuse.

The meeting also discussed activities implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy in order to establish shelters for victims of violence in all counties, the related media campaign and cooperation with civil society organisations.

The Women's Room delegation welcomed the fact that the need for a strategic document to combat sexual violence had been recognised as well as the announced legislative amendments.

Prime Minister Plenković thanked the delegation for their cooperation and work on raising awareness of the problem of violence, notably their activities in providing support to victims of sexual violence.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - The university hospital centre in Split recently performed its first transplant of stem cells, and the patient concerned is a 62-year-old woman, who is recovering from the surgery very well, the centre's director, Julije Meštrović said at a news conference on Wednesday.

The operation was performed 16 days ago, and this is the first time to have a stem cell transplant outside Zagreb.

This is a great success for the medical profession in Split and Croatia, he said.

Three hospitals in Zagreb perform stem cell transplants, and the first surgery of this kind was conducted in 1983.

The Split hospital expects to annually carry out 10-15 transplants of this kind.

For more about health in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 11, 2021 - Zagreb-born-and-schooled TCN contributor Ivor Kruljac recalls how he first heard about sex, the reaction that followed, and issues with Sex-Ed in Croatia.

I was seven years old, first grade of my elementary school education and I remember it was an early evening. The year was 2004. I did my homework and I spent my time playing before going to sleep ahead of another school day. My mom returned home from a PTA meeting. All of sudden, my dad screamed from the living room to come there. I was getting a lot of A's at the time, I was surprised at this sudden anger. It wasn't my first time getting in trouble but I couldn't even imagine what my newest charges would involve. Keep in mind, this is a reenactment from memory.

"I don't even know where you found out about it, but what were you thinking telling other kids about that? The teacher was very upset, your father and I are very upset. I don't want you ever to hear you mention that again or tell anyone about it."

„About what?“ I asked puzzled as I didn't really talk too much with other kids and I was mostly drawing in my notebook.

„You know very well what I mean,“ replied mom.

„No I really don't, I swear!“

„I'm talking about that word.“

„What word?“

„You know“

„I don't!“

„Sex, Ivor! Don't talk to other kids about sex“

„What's sex?“

My parents paused and looked at each other confused.

„Don't act like you don't know what it is," mom said persistently. 

„But I swear I really don't“, I whined, since I legitimately had no idea what they were talking about.

Years later looking back at that „trial and conviction“, I can only think of one plausible theory of how it came to that situation. I was an only child, but other kids in my school had older siblings, some of them attending sixth or seventh grade at the time which would mean they were 12 or 13 years old. Obviously, that is the time when kids start talking or fantasizing about sex. And obviously, as they were talking about sex with their friends, one of my classmates must've heard them. Then, my classmates must've said it while playing on the playground or in the hallway during recess where our teacher heard them. I can imagine she was pissed and immediately wanted to know who was responsible and to punish the delinquent. Given my hard time socializing with others and the fact I mostly played on my own or was busy drawing stuff, as well as the fact I wasn't there, it was easy to shift the blame on me. Our teacher clearly wasn't „the sharpest tool in the shed“, and was unable to figure out that I had obviously been used as a scapegoat. My dad didn't have „the talk“ with me but since I often picked up things from TV or radio my parents found it likely that I could've heard about it and then spread the word of this revelation to my classmates.

However, in the end, my parents believed me. They didn't quite apologise but I was off the hook.

„But what is sex?“ I asked.

My parents looked at each other.

„You'll learn when you are older, but in the meantime, don't talk about it or think about it“, said mom.

Pixabay

My first detective/ investigative journalist practice

The next day in school, the teacher briefly but angrily reflected on the scandal and told us not to use that word anymore.

Less talking and more listening to other pupils, I couldn't figure out who used the word first, but it became obvious that nobody really knew what that word meant. We only knew we couldn't use it but it made no sense. They warned us earlier about avoiding needles and pills if we were to ever stumble on them on the playground and we at least knew what pills and needles were, we understood that we could get sick or even die from them. We knew we should avoid it, but why did nobody want to explain what this 'sex' thing was, and why is it so bad? It only motivated us to think about it and pursue our little investigations like we were Sherlock Holmes or Woodward and Berstein. You could constantly hear kids whispering „what is sex? I want to know, it's not fair that nobody wants to say“. I guess they didn't want to explain sex to avoid controversy and discomfort, but they didn't think about kids being kids and not knowing a word makes them say it even in the most inappropriate times. I guess that would be one more argument that knowledge is always better than ignorance.

I don't know how (but possibly thanks to the older siblings of other pupils), kids started to learn a few things about sex, though they were never proven and could be false: it's an adult thing, it includes taking off clothes, and the most controversial part? It's how babies are made. Again, those three things were all the info we were able to find out but we didn't know for sure and the whole baby thing was seriously considered to be far-fetched or even down-right insane.

Finally, when I was eight, I was watching a random American movie with my parents. There was a scene of a blonde and guy driving in a truck and they were talking about having sex. I looked at my parents. They looked at each other rolling their eyes and with an expression of concern.

„OK, we will tell you but you have to keep it to yourself and not speak about it, “ said mom.

And so dad explained the whole thing. I learned the phrase „jebo ti pas mater“ (a dog fucks your mother) before I even went to school but I never wondered what jebo means and I was quite surprised that word was in fact a synonym for sex all along. At that time, I was already inclined to believe that sex is the way babies are made but I wasn't too sure of the concept. To be honest, I quite liked the concept when it was elaborated. It made perfect sense and it kinda sounded fun.

„So when I can start doing it?“ I asked.

„When you get married, “ said mom with a slightly raised voice.

„And when did you and dad get married?“

„When we were 26“.

And so I couldn't wait to turn 26 to give it a try. You can conclude whether I'm actually waiting for two more years or not yourself.

A few years later, I heard about condoms while watching „Mean Girls“ and about gay people when someone explained the meaning of the offensive word 'peder' (faggot), which we used to insult each other without really knowing what it meant. 

Shift from school to doctors

As for formal education, the first time we actually talked about sex was in 5th grade. It wasn't about sex but mating among animals with an image of a rooster humping a hen in a biology textbook. The first mention of procreation was in 6th grade during mandatory physical exams. The doctors examining us gave us a short but actually useful presentation on sex, contraception, STDs, and genital hygiene. Religious studies briefly mentioned sex as something that is a sin to do before marriage and finally, more detailed lessons on sexuality (for straight people only), contraception, STDs, as well as the characteristics of genitalia, arrived in biology in eighth grade. But by that time, we all knew everything apart from the details on physiology. 

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Blood and gore are alright but still no Sex-Ed in Croatia?

Looking back, I feel as if everyone made mistake after mistake. Obviously, you shouldn't mention sex to seven-year-olds, but if they have already heard the word and don't know what it means, shouldn't there be a less aggressive approach where you don't act as if the kids murdered someone for saying a word they know nothing about? If it has arrived at that anyway, couldn't the teacher call a PTA and tell the parents that this happened and ask them to explain what sex is? Or couldn't the teacher explain it briefly?

You might be thinking it's preposterous for a teacher to explain sex to her pupils at that age. But then again, neither the teacher nor the school had any problems talking about the war in the '90s which wasn't part of the curriculum. Is that appropriate more than sex? Not quite.  

It was also not remotely appropriate to talk to seven-year-olds about how Serbs came to Vukovar and destroyed the city with tanks. As Paul Bradbury recalls, that has a bad impact on kids. Nor is it OK for a religious studies teacher from Rijeka to use questionable terms to describe persons whose depth and background kids don't understand and even make them choose who they would and wouldn't share a train with (a gay man, young artist infected with AIDS, a Serbian soldier from Bosnia or a prostitute from Berlin, to name a few). 

Pixabay

Sex and violence are two things you need to be careful about when presenting them kids, but if the educational system already shows a willingness to present „mature things“ its hypocritical to say the least to put such an emphasis on violence while silencing any mention of the most basic human activity associated with love and positive emotions between consenting people. Given the fact that „my days“ of Sex-Ed started in 2004, I graduated from elementary school in 2011 and graduated high school in 2015, I do hope something has changed in the educational system and among a new generation of parents so their kids don't have to play Sherlock Holmes trying to figure out the meaning of new words they encounter.

Croatia still doesn't have Sex-Ed, let alone a form of it that would be appropriate for pupils based on scientific reasoning and findings and a legitimate psychological approach to be understandable to the new generations. As Nataša Bijelić found in her work in 2008, the issue of Sex-Ed is related to the clash of religious and secular discourses. The conservative association Grozd suggested Sex-Ed curriculum which, as Bijelić found presented one-sided discourse in favor of religious morals over the secular values of the Republic of Croatia. Grozd's program, among others, said that „contraceptives change the essence of sexual intercourse because they don’t respect the complete nature of the relation between a man and a woman“ and regarding LGBTQ, it was stated that ‘homosexual intercourse stands against the very nature of sexual intercourse“. Bijelić concludes in her work that such curriculum shows that „the Catholic church in an educational system can be repressive in relation to the sexual and reproductive health and rights of youth.“  

Meanwhile, Croats do call for change. Earlier this year, 13,000 people signed a petition demanding the introduction of Sex-Ed in Croatian schools after more and more public discussion and activism. People hope this curriculum will teach kids about safe, responsible sex based on science and with respect to sexual and reproductive health rights and sexual minorities. It remains to be seen whether or not some truly serious efforts will actually be put into place to realize this demand. 

How do you think sex-ed in Croatia should be taught? 

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - In the last seven days, new coronavirus infections in Croatia rose by 25% compared to the week before that, and the existing anti-epidemic measures will be extended even after 15 March, the country's COVID-19 crisis management team said at a news conference in Zagreb on Wednesday.

The team's chairman, Interior Minister Davor Božinović, said that he hoped that the restrictions would not have to be ramped up.

The numbers are growing, however, there are not any particular hotspots, he added.

Croatia's coronavirus update: 962 new cases, 4 deaths, 334 recoveries

In the past 24 hours there were 7,499 coronavirus tests conducted, and 12.8% of them, that is 962, have returned positive. The death toll linked to COVID-19 has increased by four more fatalities to 5,625.

Currently, there are 3,981 active cases, including 807 hospitalised patients 82 of whom are placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the coronavirus infection in the country on 25 February 2020, more than 1.4 million tests have been conducted, and 248,061 of them have turned out positive. To date, 238,455 people have recovered from this infectious disease.

Weekly rise of 25% ascribed to private gatherings

The head of the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ), Krunoslav Capak, said that a weekly rise of 25% was mainly due to family and private gatherings.

He added that 429 samples of 1,200 sent from Croatia to the European Centre for Disease Control had to date been sequenced, showing that 123 samples contained the British variant of the novel virus and 115 with the Czech variant. More results are expected next week.

50% of Croatian population may be immune to virus by this summer

A serological research carried out by the HZJZ covering 436 samples of people who caught coronavirus in the second wave of the pandemic has shown that 25% of them, that is one on four, have antibodies, Capak said.

The continuation of inoculation at the predicted rate could enable Croatia to have at least half of its population immune to coronavirus by this summer, according to his estimates.

Health Minister Vili Beroš announced a shipment of another 743,376 doses of COVID vaccines by the end of this month.

He expects the immunisation of one-fifth of the population with the first shot of the two-dose vaccine during this month.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - The Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) has launched a new promotional campaign "Croatia, your new office!" with the aim of promoting Croatia as a suitable destination for digital nomads.

As part of the campaign a special landing page Croatia your your new office was created in English on the Croatia.hr website together with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which contains all the important information related to the permit application process and stay of digital nomads in Croatia, the HTZ says.

At the end of November 2020 the Croatian parliament adopted the Aliens Act, which entered into force at the beginning of 2021 and the legislation enables digital nomads to be granted temporary residence in the country for up to a year.

"Croatia is one of the first members of the European Union to regulate a one-year temporary stay for digital nomads, and this is the result of the cooperation between the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Tourism and Sports," Tourism Minister Nikolina Brnjac was quoted as saying.

"Digital nomads are an excellent opportunity for the Croatian economy, and we are pleased with the fact that digital nomads are showing increased interest for numerous Croatian cities," the minister said, adding that she is sure that Croatia will impress digital nomads with its natural scenery and cultural heritage.

"I wish all current and future digital nomads a warm welcome to one of the most desirable and unique European destinations - Croatia," Brnjac said.

"Croatia is a country where English is widely spoken, a country that offers a unique way of life with authentic experiences, has a good internet connection, favourable climate and beautiful natural surroundings, good proximity and is easily accessible to the rest of Europe, highly affordable compared to European standards and good and affordable healthcare," the HTZ Director Kristjan Staničić said.

"The above has also been recognized by many foreign media outlets, including the world's leading brand of travel guides Lonely Planet which dedicated a recent article to the topic of digital nomads and the conditions that foreigners must meet to spend a year in Croatia as digital nomads, while the reputable magazine Forbes, in both the French and American editions, published an article about our country as a desirable and open destination for digital nomads. Also, many American media list Croatia and Dubrovnik as extremely desirable destinations for digital nomads," the HTZ says on its website.

For more about digital nomads in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Wednesday called on President Zoran Milanović to supplement his motion concerning the nomination and election of the Supreme Court President.

The request to amend the motion ensued after some shortcomings were noticed in the submitted motion, a source from the Office of Parliament Speaker said.

Under Article 170 of the legislature's rule book, the sponsor of a motion can be asked to resubmit the amended motion within 15 days, after the parliament speaker establishes that the initial motion has not been submitted in accordance with the rule book of the national parliament.

Otherwise, the motion shall be considered null and void.

On Monday, Milanović announced his plan to nominate the Zagreb law school's professor Zlata Đurđević as his candidate for the Supreme Court President, and said that he would send the relevant proposal to the Sabor on the same day.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 10, 2021 – The results of the Croatian National Tourist Board's Brand Tracking survey for 2020 represent key obstacles related to foreign travel, showing tourists more afraid of border regimes than coronavirus infections.

As Jutarnji list reports, Croatia may have strengthened its national tourism brand in the last five years. However, the Brand Tracking survey of the Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB) for 2020 suggests that children's diseases still plague us and that we should seriously consider a campaign to promote Croatia on world markets.

Namely, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the research showed that the key obstacle related to foreign travel is "fear of various formal protection measures that could be established before or during the trip." In contrast, passengers' fear of infection at the holiday destination comes only later.

'Safe stay in Croatia' not enough?

This is a bit in contrast to the main messages coming from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Croatian National Tourist Board, which continuously point out that the most important message for tourists this year is the message of safety, to which Croatia's primary campaign in the preseason is adjusted.

This refers to, of course, the project "Safe stay in Croatia," which should give certificates suggesting to tourists that the facility in which they stay is hygienic and safe. Regarding that, unofficial messages have been coming from the tourism sector for some time, noting that this will not be enough to organize a successful season. As the research now shows, it is necessary to work more actively on removing barriers to travel.

The CNTB explains that the fear of infection has less impact on travel intention because tourists generally believe that their behavior can prevent or reduce the possibility of infection. At the same time, nobody can influence the various epidemiological measures that counties introduce.

"Even though the fear of infection does not affect tourists' intentions as much as possible travel restrictions, some potential tourists, especially the elderly, have expressed this fear. We believe that it is crucial to promote Croatia as a safe environment where it is possible to spend a quality holiday," said the CNTB director Kristjan Staničić.

Competing destinations Italy and Spain perceived more accessible than Croatia

The research also confirmed that Croatia had not moved away from the perception of a "sun and sea destination." However, it has been noted that Croatia has made progress in city break vacations, as well as nature-related vacations.

Nevertheless, tourists from geographically closer and more easily accessible markets (accessible by car) still gravitate to Croatia the most. In areas other than our traditional destinations, "there is room for progress in recognizing and promoting key distinctive values," despite the generous strategic marketing plan we funded through the 2014-2020 period.

Besides, it turned out that Croatia still needs to do a lot to understand better the advantages of the Croatian tourist offer concerning the competition and that it is still insufficiently perceived as a destination for quality accommodation. It is also interesting how Spain and Italy, as Croatia's competing destinations, are perceived as more easily accessible compared to Croatia.

On the other hand, it was noticed that Croatia's image, concerning the competition, is based on "value for money." Over the years, Croatia has managed to position itself as a destination for young people, a segment where only Spain is better perceived than us.

"Young people traveling through Croatia combine different experiences and motives – city tourism, entertainment, festivals, gastronomy, sun, sea, visits to natural attractions. Some young tourists are attracted to party and festival destinations such as Novalja, Hvar, or Split, with a desirable offer," Staničić points out.

The CNTB's official page still has old figures on the infection rate

Asked by Jutarnji list journalists to explain why Croatia still has a problem of moving away from the perception of "sun and sea "destination, Staničić answered that it is dominant Croatia's tourist product and that its role will continue to be extremely important.

"The sun and the sea ensure our recognition with potential tourists. However, intensive work will continue on the establishment of other tourist products," explains Staničić.

Although the "Safe stay in Croatia "website should provide tourists with the latest information on the epidemiological situation, on Tuesday, it had the old report on the 14-day case rate, which was last updated on March 1.

As Jutarnji list unofficially finds out, the Croatian Institute for Public Health caused the lack of new data because they did not submit the table with the numbers on time.

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ZAGREB, 10 March, 2021 - In the last 24 hours Croatia has conducted 7,499 coronavirus tests, and of them 12.8%, that is 962, have returned positive, the national COVID-19 crisis management team reported on Wednesday.

The death toll linked to COVID-19 has risen by four more fatalities to 5,625.

Currently, there are 3,981 active cases, including 807 hospitalised patients of whom 82 are placed on ventilators.

Since the first registered case of the coronavirus infection in the country on 25 February 2020, more than 1.4 million tests have been conducted, and of them, 248,061 have turned out to be positive.

To date, 238,455 people have recovered from this infectious disease.

There are now 14,537 people self-isolating.

For more about COVID-19 in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.