ZAGREB, September 20, 2020 - Associations which protect victims of domestic violence have been registering more and more requests for help on a daily basis, notably since the lockdown caused by the coronavirus epidemic, when many victims were forced to spend all of their time with their abusers.

Even though official statistics show a mild decline in the number of cases of domestic violence, police are not ignoring the problem.

They point to the fact that a growing number of such cases are now reported as felonies and not as misdemeanors and call on all who have witnessed domestic violence to report it without delay, including anonymously.

Anita Matijevic of the Police Directorate has said in an interview with Hina that the number of misdemeanors and felonies connected with domestic violence dropped by 2.7% in the first eight months of 2020 from the same period of 2019.

She noted that the number of domestic violence misdemeanors had decreased by 11% or 1,133 fewer cases.

"At the same time, there has been a 42% increase in domestic violence cases treated as felony," she said, noting that this year police have acted in 9,220 cases related to domestic violence and that those cases had the characteristics of either a misdemeanor or a felony.

Perpetrators increasingly prosecuted for committing felony

Matijevic noted that in the same period of 2019 there were 9,483 cases of domestic violence, 3% or 260 cases more than this year.

This year has seen an increase in the number of cases of violence treated as a felony because police have been trying to make sure all offences that can be prosecuted as a felony are prosecuted as such.

Associations flooded with calls for help

Livija Plancic, head of the Bijeli Krug nongovernmental organisation, which helps victims of violence, warns that the problem of growing domestic violence has been aggravated by the coronavirus crisis as victims were forced to spend entire days with their abusers.

Apart from a mentality in which relations, mostly between men and women, are perceived in a strange way, domestic violence is also triggered by alcohol and drugs as well as by an increasingly difficult financial situation, Plancic said, adding that police were the first to come into contact with the victims and that they should be the ones to provide protection the fastest.

Tools for victim protection not used sufficiently

She believes, however, that police do not use sufficiently instruments of victim protection, from a restraining order to removal from the common household, and calls for maintaining professional education to increase the level of competence of those who deal with victims and witnesses, from judges, prosecutors, attorneys, social workers and representatives of nongovernmental organisations to police officers.

On September 22 Croatia marks the national day of the fight against violence against women, commemorating a brutal murder which happened in 1999 when a man killed his wife, a judge and an attorney and severely wounded a court reporter, all women, during divorce proceedings.

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ZAGREB, March 16, 2019 - Protesters who rallied in Zagreb on Saturday to show solidarity with victims of violence said "Croatia needs zero tolerance to violence" and read out the demands they will put to the government on Monday.

Several hundred protesters rallied in King Tomislav Square, carrying banners with messages against domestic violence - "Love doesn't hurt", "Violence is not a family matter", "Let's not give in", "We are all responsible", "A crime, not a misdemeanour", "Zero tolerance", "I'm a victim of domestic violence too", "The victim is never to blame", "Brave people" and "Actions speaker louder than words".

Protesters said domestic violence was on the rise, with 145 such crimes reported in 2015, 330 in 2016, of which 279 against women, and 552 in 2017, including 464 against women. They said that in 90% of the cases domestic violence was tried as a misdemeanour, including 16,000 such cases in 2015, 13,000 in 2016 and 12,000 in 2017.

Protesters said 91 women were killed in Croatia over the past five years, accounting for 47% of all murders. In 70% of the cases, the murderer was a person close to the victim and in over a half they were their partners.

The organisers of today's #SaveMe protest demand the immediate enforcement of all measures necessary to reduce violence, notably in the family, to improve the work of institutions and the legal framework, and to raise public awareness.

They called on the authorities to take a more serious approach to domestic violence, to improve regulations and to stop treating victims and perpetrators equally. They demand better cooperation between prosecutors, the police and welfare centres, as well as protecting the dignity and safety of victims during legal proceedings.

Furthermore, they demand additional training for professionals working with victims of violence and more money for associations working on the protection of victims.

Today's protest was prompted by a recent case in which a father threw his four children from a balcony on the island of Pag. Protests were also held in Dubrovnik, Šibenik and Split.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Saturday took part in a Zagreb protest for stronger protection of victims of domestic violence, saying violence should be treated as a crime and that punishment should be stricter as that was the only way "to reduce this phenomenon, which is really big in society."

Speaking to reporters at the #SaveMe rally, Plenković said he did not consider it a protest but an initiative he supported.

He recalled that on March 8 last year he announced the ratification of the Istanbul Convention and that his main arguments in its favour had been very similar to those heard at today's rally.

Plenković said domestic violence was an everyday phenomenon happening to many women and children, "which is the first true problem of the tissue of our society." He reiterated the five main messages he made in parliament ahead of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention last year to show that the government was applying European mechanisms in the prevention of domestic violence and victim protection.

The goals are stronger prevention, stricter punishment for perpetrators, greater support and care for victims, strengthening all the institutions involved in this issue, and raising public awareness, Plenković said.

He said he had tasked Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković with drawing up amendments to the Penal Code to increase punishment and to make sure the police, whenever possible, qualified violence as a crime and not a misdemeanour.

Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy Minister Nada Murganić will continue to work on improving the implementation of the national strategy for protection from domestic violence, including by increasing funding for hotlines and safe houses, Plenković said.

He said he and his ministers would meet with representatives of the #SaveMe initiative on Monday and ask that civil society organisations and NGOs continue contributing to dealing with this problem. He said he had come today as prime minister as well as a citizen concerned for victims of violence, and that it was good that individuals, groups of citizens and the government worked on the problem together.

Asked when the Penal Code could be amended, Plenković said the amendments would not be extensive, applying to only several articles, and that "it could be done by the summer recess."

He said it was necessary to raise awareness among judges with regard to domestic violence and to prioritise the prosecution of such crimes by better organising the work of courts, with the support of the Justice Ministry.

Asked if the public could expect his cabinet to do everything to prevent and reduce violence, Plenković said they were doing their best and that domestic violence did not start yesterday and would not stop tomorrow as it was facilitated by new technologies. "It's time we all make a step forward together, fully aware that we are doing something good."

Asked to comment on the criticisms of Minister Murganić, notably regarding her statements about domestic violence, and the fact that one of the demands at today's protest was her resignation, Plenković said he had not heard this demand and that the minister had apologised for the statements.

He said Murganić's job, dealing with welfare, families, demography and youth, was "demanding" and that "she is doing a very good job, resolving problems and giving her all."

As for criticisms that Murganić's department was understaffed, Plenković said salaries were raised at her initiative and that, as of July, more money were set aside from the national budget and the European Social Fund.

More news about the issue of domestic violence can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, March 9, 2019 - As part of the European project, Building more effective protection: transforming the system for combating violence against women, the ombudsman's office for gender equality on Friday released a media ethics code with guidelines on raising awareness when reporting about violence against women and femicide, and the document was accepted by 12 local and national media outlets on the occasion of International Women's Day.

As part of the 500,000 euro project, the ombudsman's office and Women's Room - Centre for Sexual Rights, conducted a survey on the way media outlets report about violence against women in Croatia and the media code was formulated based on the findings of that research.

"We wanted to see how media outlets reported about and how they perceived domestic violence and violence against women and how they reported about femicide and women who are killed by someone close to them," Ombudswoman Višnja Ljubičić said.

The survey of media outlets covered articles on web portals and in daily newspapers in the period between 2012 and 2016. The results showed that the media often disclosed the identity of the victims, speculated on the perpetrators' motives and downplayed violence, describing it as "excessive" love by the perpetrator for their victim or that fun went too far, suggesting that the victim is somehow responsible, which is a violation of the code of ethics of journalism.

The basic guidelines recommend clear condemnation of violence in the media. The code recommends that the perpetrator be put in correlation to the perpetrator of an offence or criminal act, and that the victim should in no way be considered to be co-responsible nor should their private life be brought into question, particularly in cases of sexual violence.

The code also recommends that the victim's identity should not be disclosed because this just additionally stigmatises them.

Ljubičić underscored that one of the guidelines recommends that reports on violence against women should be put in the context of gender-based violence. "According to data from the Interior Ministry, of the total number of domestic violence offences in 2018, in 78% of the cases, men were the perpetrators and in 22% they were women," she said.

The same data indicates that last year in 3,198 criminal offences with elements of violence committed by someone close to the victim, 76% of the victims were women and 24% men and that of the 2,100 perpetrators of criminal offences among close persons, 91% were men and 9% women.

Ljubičić underscored that this is gender-based violence in fact because of the disproportion of women victims.

The national police director Nikola Milina said that in over 70% of femicide, perpetrators do not try to disguise the crime, and most frequent motives are jealousy, dysfunctional family relations and mental diseases of perpetrators.

More news about the status of women in Croatia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 7, 2018 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday the debate on the Istanbul Convention in Croatia had acquired a different dimension, with part of the public approaching it from the gender ideology angle, and that soon one "will try to distinguish the trees from the wood."

ZAGREB, January 31, 2018 - The Požega Municipal Court on Wednesday upheld an indictment charging Požega-Slavonia County head Alojz Tomašević with domestic violence.

While most other members of the European Union have already ratified the convention on preventing violence against women, the government of Croatia, under pressure from the conservative groups, seems unsure what to do.

Croatia will finally join more than 20 countries which have already ratified the convention.

The Government proposes an amendment to the Act of Domestic Violence.