MP Ivana Kekin of the green-left Mozemo! party on Thursday condemned actions of the police in the eastern Croatian city of Osijek in the case of a female college student who was killed when her acquaintance, a police officer, shot her with his service pistol.

Our institutions fail to prevent femicide, they carry out double arrests of the abuser and the victim, and do not take adequate measures,they turn a blind eye to violence and treat the abusers leniently and are therefore complicit in the abuse of women and children, Kekin said in parliament.

Changing the legal framework will not change anything, prevention and education are needed at all levels from an early age, MP Kekin pointed out, adding: “Let’s start with an investigation and sanctions for the shameful behavior of the police in Osijek. (Interior) Minister Bozinovic, it’s your turn.”

Anka Mrak-Taritas (Center/GLAS) also commented on the latest case of femicide. “On the very day of the fight against violence against women, that young woman became part of the terrible and devastating statistics that we repeat like parrots year after year,” she said.

Last year 14 women were killed, this year eight women, it is estimated that in Croatia one woman experiences violence every 15 minutes, and those who lose their lives were most often exposed to violence long before, she stated.

Mrak-Taritas, too, believes that legal changes alone are not enough, that laws need to be implemented, and that long-term systematic education and sensitization on cases of gender-based violence should be carried out.