Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Sunday that the government and civil society organisations were working together to strengthen the mechanisms to prevent and punish violence in society.

“We are sending a message of zero tolerance to violence against women and children and domestic violence, as well as a message of encouragement to victims to report every form of violence without fear,” Plenkovic said in a Twitter post marking the National Day to Eliminate Violence against Women, observed on September 22.

“In partnership with organisations for victims of violence, all government departments are committed to strengthening the mechanisms to prevent and penalise violence in our society, and criminal legislation will be amended to introduce harsher penalties for violence,” the PM said.

The National Day to Eliminate Violence against Women commemorates an incident that occurred in Zagreb’s Municipal Civil Court on September 22, 1999, when former policeman Mato Oraskic shot dead his wife Gordana, judge Ljiljana Hvalec and lawyer Hajra Prohic and severely wounded court clerk Stanka Cvetkovic during a divorce hearing.