An association which advocates for the rights of same-sex families said on Wednesday that Croatia systematically discriminates same-sex couples in allowing them provide foster care for children who cannot live with their own parents, even in cases when same-sex couples have passed all tests required by law to be deemed suitable as foster parents.

The group, called Rainbow Families, which brings together LGBT couples as well as individuals who already have their own children or want to become parents, said at a news conference in Zagreb that a draft bill on foster care, which is to receive a first reading in parliament on Wednesday, excluded same-sex partners from the ability to become a foster parent.

Coordinator for the group, Daniel Martinovic, said in a news conference that the draft bill does not envisage any possibility for life partners to become a foster family. He added that the majority of modern and developed European countries allow same-sex couples to foster children who cannot live with their biological parents.

According to Martinovic, figures from the United States, where this is possible, showed that same-sex couples in that country fostered children six times more often compared to heterosexual couples, and as such are an important resource for providing childcare.

“The government cannot restrict anyone’s access to the foster care procedure on the grounds of their sexual orientation, and the authorities are not supposed to deny children placed in group homes the right to be adopted by the best possible foster family,” Martinovic said.

He said that there were currently 1,000 children being brought up in state-run group homes instead of foster families.

According to 2016 data, foster parents in Croatia are mostly aged 50 or above, a third of them have less than a secondary school degree. Geographically, foster families are predominantly in rural areas. There are very few young urban highly educated foster parents, with their numbers continuing to drop year after year, Martinovic said.

Lawyer Sanja Bezbradica-Jelavic outlined details of a lawsuit which a same-sex couple she represents has launched against the government after the process of granting them fostering rights was halted, on the grounds of their sexual orientation.

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