ZAGREB, March 22, 2018 - Women from various political options and of different worldviews on Thursday supported the government's decisions to send the Istanbul Convention to the Croatian parliament for ratification, stressing that the convention's main aim is the protection of women against violence and that gender ideology is not mentioned in it.
Bojana Genov of the Women's Network told a press conference that they had shown that they were united when it comes to the fight against violence against women and she commented on, as she said, a small but vociferous part of the public and NGOs who are attempting to stop that important international legal document which is aimed at protecting women against violence.
Their activities are based on lies, mystification and incorrect constructs that the convention could impact the Croatian culture and national identity, Genov said, calling on lawmakers to support the convention in order to protect women against violence.
HDZ MP Irena Petrijevčanin Vuksanović said that the government had unanimously voted that the convention be sent to parliament for ratification and a climate has been created in public that this was about a fight between those who are for the family and those who are against it. "It needs to be clearly said that this is not a conflict nor does the convention introduce anything that is against the family and we all know that that is the fundamental unit in society," she said and added that no natural order would be disrupted.
SDP MP Sabina Glasovac underscored that she believed parliament would ratify the convention and announced that the Social Democratic Party would take part in the vote, however, no supplementary content should compromise or overshadow it.
Sandra Benčić of the Solidarity Foundation presented data which show that 21% of the respondents in Croatia were opposed to the ratification of the convention while two-thirds supported its ratification and better protection for women. According to the data, 85% believe that violence against women is a major problem in Croatia.
The government has shown that it is listening to two-thirds of the people, she added.
