A civil initiative "Truth about Istanbul Convention" has been launched at almost 1,500 different locations across Croatia, with an aim to collect at least 374,740 signatures within the next two weeks, for a referendum in which citizens would declare on the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention.

The convention, which was signed by Croatia in 2013 by then centre-left government, but was not ratified in parliament until mid-April this year, was a hotly debated topic in Croatia in the recent period, with conservative groups, the Catholic Church, and even some senior members of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party vocally opposing it.

The initiative coordinator Kristina Pavlovic told media in Zagreb on Sunday that collection of signatures started well and the people knew what was it all about.

“If the first day is so successful, I think we will do a good job by the end,” added Pavlovic.

The government led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, which supported the ratification bill unanimously before sending it to parliament, told the critics that the main point of the convention is to prevent violence against women and domestic violence.

The opponents, on the other hand, believe the document promotes the so-called “gender-ideology”, and would oblige the country to adopt legislation recognising gay-marriage or the “third gender”, as well as introduce the topic of LGBT rights into the school curriculums.