To mark the International Day for the Eliminating Violence against Women, observed on November 25, Croatian NGOs warned of "a pandemic of violence against women," urging the government to prevent gender-based violence and promote awareness of the problem among youths.

“In the conditions of the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, violence against women is becoming increasingly malignant – fiercer, more frequent and more invisible, which means that many victims cannot seek help, let alone escape from their bullies,” the NGOs Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb and the Solidarna Foundation for Human Rights and Solidarity said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

They said that despite the efforts by NGOs, the government and its institutions had failed to establish a clearly defined and effective prevention system to curb violence. They said that almost no progress had been made two years after the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.

The two NGOs said that intimate partner violence was too often prosecuted as a minor offence rather than a crime. They criticised the bad police practice of dual arrests, when both the victim and the perpetrator of domestic violence are arrested, and lenient sentences for men found guilty of domestic violence against their wives and children.

“The biggest missing link in the system is prevention of violence against women and girls. Without education about gender equality and prevention of gender-based violence, violence will remain socially acceptable and proven bullies will remain upstanding citizens,” the statement said.

The two NGOs called on the government and parliament to ensure systematic financing for efforts aimed at preventing violence against women already in the budget for 2021 and in plans for absorption of EU funds.