The Croatian Association for Equality of Parenting (HURP) organised a protest rally on Tuesday at St. Mark's Square in Zagreb by fathers whose parental rights have been denied, marking the International Day of Families celebrated on May 15.

About a dozen of association’s members gathered in the square in Zagreb city centre between the government building and the Parliament, carrying banners warning that fathers are being systematically discriminated by social welfare services advising in divorce cases.

“Similarly to last year, we want to send a message to the public that the system has double standards – one for mothers, and another for fathers, and nobody cares about the children,” head of HURP, Oliver Canic said.

The association has about 350 members and for years it has been organising rallies held on the International Day of Families, in an effort to raise awareness to the fact that many men in Croatia are stripped of their fundamental right – to see and spend time with their children.

Canic said that the system expects fathers to use their paternal leave, care for children, change their nappies, feed them, and help them fall asleep – but when parents start a divorce then the same system sends a message to children that they no longer need their fathers. He warned that although the new Family Bill is in the works, his association has no information on what its provisions would look like.

“We recommend that the bill includes provisions ordering joint parental care if one of the parents request this, rather than having both parents agree to it,” he said.

The association said that about 1,500 children in Croatia never meet with one of their parents, or get to see them a lot less frequently than what has been ordered by the court – and generally, this refers to their fathers.

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