ZAGREB, September 21, 2019 - Gender Equality Ombudswoman Višnja Ljubičić said on Saturday that violence against women, whether physical or verbal, perpetuated the unequal balance of power between women and men in society, adding that legal changes were just one segment of the fight against domestic violence.
Croatia observes National Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women on September 22 in memory of the day in 1999 when, during a divorce hearing at the Zagreb Municipal Court, three women were killed and a female court employee was seriously injured.
Speaking on Croatian Radio, Ljubičić said 535 crimes in which women were victims of domestic violence were recorded in 2018 as against 639 in the first eight months of this year.
She said there was no clear distinction between the misdemeanour and criminal aspect of domestic violence, adding that more than 10,000 such misdemeanours were recorded in Croatia annually.
Ljubičić noted that under new amendments to the penal code and the law on protection from domestic violence, physical violence was no longer treated as a misdemeanour. "We believe that some progress will be made."
She said dealing with domestic violence was not one-dimensional and underlined the need to establish procedure protocols for everyone involved in protection from domestic violence.
Legal changes are just one sphere of dealing with domestic violence as, aside from laws, there are other ways to protect and help, including psychological support, shelters and free legal aid, Ljubičić said, adding that the bulk of the funding for such protection came from the state budget.
Local communities should also provide major funding for their shelters and help centres, she said. "So far, they have been allocating 1% for gender budgeting, which is not enough. There should be synergy in decision making at the national and local levels."
Ljubičić said that in terms of norms, Croatia had defined itself over the past 20 years as a society with zero tolerance towards any form of violence. She added, however, that cases of violence on a daily basis, including sexist and verbal violence by public office holders, perpetuated the unequal balance of power between men and women in society.
More news about the status of women in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
