In the first eight months of 2023, 1,000 women turned to the BaBe association for help, and 426 of them came forward because of domestic violence, the leading Croatian NGO for the protection of women's and human rights said on the National Day Against Violence Against Women, observed on 22 September.

“Most cases involve combined forms of violence. Beneficiaries are most often victims of several different forms of domestic violence – psychological, physical and economic violence, and we cannot say that some forms of violence are more prevalent than others,” the BaBe association told Hina.

“The number of victims who report sexual violence to us is the lowest, while the number of victims of online violence has been increasing enormously.”

The NGO added that until September, their safe house provided accommodation for 51 people – 22 women and 29 children who were victims of domestic violence. These figures roughly coincide with the number of victims of violence in the past years, and during this year there have been no major deviations in the number of reports received.

Escalation of violence during lockdown

“We are not recording an increase in the number of women users who complain about violence, the exception being 2020 and the COVID-19-related lockdown, when a larger number of women sought help due to domestic violence,” the NGO points out.

It also adds that at that time, due to restrictions on movement and contacts, women were forced to stay in the immediate vicinity of violent partners, and the violence escalated.

On the other hand, BaBe also points out that there has been a significant change in the attitude of society and competent institutions towards violence against women and domestic violence.

“With regard to the social attitude towards violence against women, we can say that over the years the perception has changed in the sense that domestic violence is no longer perceived exclusively as a ‘private matter’, and the public is more aware of the fact that it is a social problem, although there is still a lot of room for improvement in that regard, especially in smaller and more conservative environments,” it notes.

Legislative progress

The NGO adds that progress is also visible in the field of legislative regulation through the increase in legal forms for prosecution and punishment of domestic violence and that the legislative framework is constantly being improved.

It also recalls that work is under way on a new package of legal amendments aimed at more effectively protecting victims of violence in criminal and misdemeanor proceedings and more adequately punishing the perpetrators.

Although it emphasises that the competent institutions are increasingly open to constructive cooperation and accept its suggestions and criticisms, BaBe also recalls the still unresolved problems.

The attitude of individuals in the competent institutions is still not uniform and varies so that, unfortunately, victims still sometimes encounter misunderstanding and shaming, which is a consequence of entrenched patterns of behavior, BaBe says.

Their removal, it says, needs to be ensured through the education of experts and the transfer of knowledge, on which, it says, it has been actively working.

Recommendations by GREVIO

As a major drawback, it points out the still large uneven territorial representation and availability of civil society associations throughout  Croatia, which often puts victims in an unequal position.

The NGO also commented on the recent first evaluation report by GREVIO, a group of experts of the Council of Europe monitoring Croatia’s implementation of the Istanbul Convention, which points out that Croatia has taken steps against domestic violence against women, but is not doing enough with regard to other forms of gender-based violence.

According to BaBe, GREVIO highlighted, as one of the problems, the fact that the legal framework in Croatia is still largely gender-neutral.

“This results in the fact that justice may not always be provided to women as victims of domestic violence because without an in-depth understanding of the gendered nature of all forms of violence against women, the issues of power and control that lie in the background, and their impact on the victims, investigations and other procedures by the competent authorities may remain below the standard required of Croatia as a signatory to the Convention,” the association says.

The problem of multiple discrimination

It also emphasises GREVIO’s recommendation that the Croatian authorities must immediately develop a long-term strategy that will take into account all forms of violence against women, and adopt targeted measures aimed at solving the specific needs of all groups of victims, especially women, who are exposed or could be exposed to multiple discrimination.

It is also requested to increase the level of awareness about different forms of violence against women and cultural conditioning depending on the specific situation of women who are or may be exposed to multiple discrimination, such as Roma women, women with disabilities, women with addiction problems, migrants and other groups of women in Croatia, about which there is little research and case-law, BaBe concludes.

The National Day Against Violence Against Women is marked in memory of judge Ljiljana Hvalec, Gordana Oraskic and lawyer Hajra Prohic, who were killed at the Zagreb Municipal Court by Oraskic’s husband during a divorce hearing on September 22, 1999, as well as court reporter Stanka Cvetkovic, who was wounded.