A non-partisan and informal working group called "Female MPs for stronger protection of victims of sexual violence" was established in the parliament on Thursday and it will propose and monitor the implementation of solutions for stronger protection of victims of sexual violence.

The working group, initiated by MPs from the opposition Centar and Glas parliamentary group, consists of representatives from all parliamentary groups, except the ruling Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) and the opposition Most party.

The first goal of the initiative, said Dalija Oreskovic (Centar), is to amend the Criminal Code in order to change a provision that protects predators more than victims, and which stipulates that the victim must report violence within three months. Also, one of the goals is to educate and organise the system better in order to achieve stronger and more concrete support for victims, she said, adding that any initiative was needed, welcome and complementary.

Anka Mrak-Taritas (Glas) said that the purpose of the initiative was to do something about protecting women from violence together and that it had nothing to do with political parties.

We want to make an impact on changes in the society, and the importance of educating both girls and boys is tremendous, Mrak-Taritas said.

Mirela Ahmetovic (Social Democratic Party) said that her party supported the initiative with the aim of strengthening the protection of victims of violence. According to her, it is especially important to protect victims and not perpetrators through legal provisions.

Ahmetovic also underscored the need to provide victims of violence with psychological help and to prevent violence, which can only be done by equipping the education system for that.

Nada Murganic (HDZ) said that her party considered there was no need to establish a special initiative as parliamentary committees offered enough space and opportunities to consider all problems in the society.

She stressed that the HDZ strongly condemned every form of violence and sexual harassment, noting that this government took a significant step forward in the fight against any form of violence against women, including domestic violence.

“There is excellent cooperation with civil initiatives and associations on initiatives to protect the victim better,” Murganic said, underscoring the importance of education and prevention.

Marija Selak-Raspudic of the Most party said that the parliament’s Gender Equality Committee, which she chairs, had taken steps to tackle the problem of sexual violence, and that in cooperation with the Education, Science and Culture Committee and the Committee on Information, Computerisation and the Media it is planning a thematic session for next week.