Maja Ž. is one of many women who have gone through the hell of online violence, but Maja Ž. is also one of the few who, in these traumatic circumstances, did not choose silence, but rather fight. She told Forum.tm the details of the agony she experienced for months, which left serious consequences for her health.

You can find the article here.

As part of the SURF AND SOUND 2.0 project, the B.a.B.e association and the Electronic Media Agency continue to implement a national awareness campaign about online violence against women with the aim of changing attitudes and behavior among the general population - while targeting both perpetrators and victims of gender-based online violence.

Online violence is just as real as offline. Report it on the NEON Platform https://babe.hr/ne-online-nasilju/

Below we are reposting an article from the forum.tm portal titled "You are disgusted by sexual harassment at work, but you don't consider it serious in the virtual world? You are very wrong."

If television is a window to the world, then the internet can be compared to a wide-open door through which even a complete stranger can enter any home. The line between the real and virtual worlds is getting thinner every year, and the boundaries between the two worlds are becoming increasingly blurred, which is rapidly changing the way we communicate.

But, along with its many advantages, such as connecting distant family members and friends, it can also have serious drawbacks. In addition to the fact that through the 'open door' of the internet, anyone can enter your life and peek into your privacy, anyone can also initiate some form of communication with you, which can very easily go off the rails and become toxic, with serious and long-lasting side effects.

In short - harassment is no longer a reality only in the real world, but has also spilled over into the virtual world, flooding Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok... Online sexual harassment encompasses a very wide range of unwanted forms of behavior in which bullies, on various platforms, use digital content, photos, videos, posts, messages, send pornographic images or videos, force unwanted conversations about sex, threaten with revenge pornography... Ending such communication seems easy and quick, because there is a 'life-saving' blocking option, but things are not always so simple and the side effects can be long-lasting, and the response of the rejected bully can be extreme. Because of all this, the victim, who finds herself the target of a predator, feels anxious, insecure, threatened, exploited, humiliated or discriminated against, and most often remains silent about her experience in the virtual world.

According to a 2021 study by the Pew Research Center, about 33 percent of women and 11 percent of men aged 35 and under have been victims of sexual harassment online. While almost everyone condemns sexual harassment in real life, such as at work or in society, in the digital context it is often not considered serious, harmful or problematic. Acceptance of inappropriateness is increasingly entrenched in modern culture, and as a result, reporting rates of this type of harassment are still very low, with only about 16 percent of women and just 5 percent of men reporting sexual harassment.

The B.a.B.e Association, which has opened a specialized, free counseling center for victims of online violence and the online platform NEON – No to Online Violence!, has so far reported more than 150 cases of online violence, the most common forms of which are abuse by sharing or threatening to share footage of sexually explicit content without consent, online stalking and monitoring, harassment through fake profiles and publishing personal information, and online sexual extortion and blackmail.

One in 10 women in the European Union has experienced online harassment, including unwanted and offensive sexually explicit emails or text messages, and offensive and inappropriate content on social media, by the age of 15. The situation is no better in Arab countries, with a regional study showing that 60 percent of women internet users have been exposed to online violence. Almost 50 percent of women in Uganda have also experienced online harassment, and according to a 2016 survey by the Korean National Human Rights Commission, 85 percent of women have experienced hate speech online.

This, in short, means only one thing – in every corner of our planet, where the internet signal has reached, there are people who will abuse it and those who will, overnight, become their victims, because every comment, picture or video can be shared with thousands of people in a second, which can have a very negative emotional effect on an individual. In recent years, the number of reports of online sexual harassment, attacks and electronic abuse has increased, and in addition to adults, children are often also victims.

The only effective solution is education and awareness-raising, and honest and open discussions about harassment, for which the vastness of the internet has become very fertile ground. In addition to institutions, associations and campaigns, the responsibility also lies with technology companies, as well as society as a whole. The only effective 'cure' is a zero-tolerance policy for online sexual harassment, which includes any verbal, non-verbal or physical unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that is intended to or actually constitutes a violation of dignity or causes an intimidating, hostile, humiliating or offensive environment.

For the perpetrators who practice it, most often 'bravely' hidden behind their keyboards and computer screens, fake names and fake profiles, it should be noted that sexual harassment is not a game, but a criminal offense contained in the chapter of the Criminal Code (Article 156) that protects sexual freedom and in which the perpetrator exploits the victim's position of subordination (business sphere) or her vulnerability and dependence on the perpetrator. Behind online sexual harassment, predatory or humiliating communication, can also be colleagues from work, managers, superiors and even clients of the company where you work, and sexual harassment can also occur on company websites, forums and chat rooms.

Compared to other types of social power, influence in the virtual world is easily measurable, so people who have gained popularity on social networks and have 'great capital' in the number of followers, as well as the number of comments, views and clicks, sometimes abuse this influence, which can be very dangerous when it comes to sexual harassment, which is most often directed at people who are on the margins of popular social networks.

"Sexual harassment is a criminal offense that can be committed both in reality and online, and given the fact that it is related to a relationship of subordination and is typically located in the work sphere, in circumstances in which an increasing number of jobs are currently performed online and using information and communication technology, it is expected that in the future a significant number of such crimes will take place in the online sphere. A typical way of acting in the online sphere for this crime would be to send unwanted photos and comments of a sexual nature via online communication channels. Outside of situations provided for by criminal legislation, sexual harassment is also provided for as a misdemeanor under the Anti-Discrimination Act," explains the B.a.B.e association, which, in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate, is implementing the "SURF AND SOUND 2.0" project, funded by the European Union from the CERV program - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(2021-2027), and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

If you experience any form of harassment in the virtual world, do not look for the culprit in yourself, your profile photo, your posts and comments, and do not even think about closing your social media profiles, deleting apps and giving up the benefits of modern technology because of online bullies, because the damage has already been done to you, and such actions do not stigmatize the perpetrator and the abuse remains unpunished.

Instead, learn about your rights and gather as much evidence as possible that you have been harassed online. This could be emails, social media posts, photos, videos, comments, tweets, or direct messages sent to your inbox. It is crucial that you take screenshots as soon as possible that include the harasser's name or alias, email address, phone number, or any other visible information, and store it in a safe place and seek help.

"We have opened a specialized free counseling center for victims of online violence and have created an online platform NEON - No to Online Violence! babe.hr/neon, for reporting violence and accessing support services, and a phone number is also available: 01 4663 666," says the B.a.B.e association.

Thanks to the funding of the SURF and SOUND project by the European Union, specialized free support services for victims of online violence at the B.a.B.e association will be available until 2025, therefore they call on all people facing online violence not to remain silent but to report the violence, in order to receive all the necessary help and support.

20. and 21 June 2024, a two-day thematic multidisciplinary discussion entitled "Family as a Workplace: Research and Public Policies" was held at the Department of Sociology of the University of Zadar within the framework of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society in the area of ​​'Reconciliation of Private and Professional Life' . The multidisciplinary discussion brought together prominent Croatian scientists from various scientific and higher education institutions with the aim of discussing methodological approaches and experiences in the area of ​​reconciling family and professional obligations of women and men, and with the purpose of opening up space for understanding, creating and implementing public policies within the framework of reconciling private and professional life.

The first day of the multidisciplinary discussion was given by: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada from the Department of Sociology, University of Zadar and Associate Professor Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić from the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada presented research conducted in 2022 as part of the B.a.B.e association project. "The Impact of Public Policies on the Quality of Family and Working Life and on the Demographic Picture of Croatia - Spaces of Change". The research included multi-stage and multi-component action research using a mixed method, and showed that household chores, especially routine ones, are still most often performed by women; that women also more often have to manage resources, time, emotions and relationships in the family; that women more often experience tensions between family and work roles than men; that children from less developed regions and children from unemployed or single-parent households have a lower chance of using public care and education services.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić presented experiences from five projects she implemented in the period from 2017 to 2024, which included housework, work-life balance and mental work as research subjects. She presented different methodological approaches, which most often included mixed methodology, and highlighted individual findings such as the discrepancy in the amount of time and type of engagement that women and men devote to performing household and other family duties; the existence of gender inequalities in performing mental work between men and women in the private sphere, and the introduction of work flexibility for employees as a tool that would particularly contribute to a more successful reconciliation of the private and professional spheres.

After the presentation, a discussion was held about the possibilities of using digital tools to increase the quality of life of working mothers, about public services, about flexible forms of work and the procedures for constructing various tools for measuring family chores and mental work.

On the second day of the multidisciplinary discussion, a public panel was held, attended by scientists, graduate students, and representatives of the City of Zadar, Zadar County, the Croatian Employment Service, and the Croatian Institute of Public Health. In the introductory part of the panel discussion, Tamara Šterk from the B.a.B.e association presented activities from the first year of implementation of the Thematic Systematic Support of the National Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sc. Valerija Barada emphasized the intention that the research would serve to open a dialogue with key stakeholders, with the aim of designing and implementing public policies in the area of ​​improving the reconciliation of private and professional life.

The panel discussion was attended by Dr. Mirjana Adamović , Institute for Social Research in Zagreb, Dr. Blanka Čop , Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Law in Split, assoc. prof. Ph.D. sc. Anita Dremel , Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy in Osijek, Associate Professor Dr. Sc. Ksenija Klasnić , Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Dr. Marija Šarić , Department of Sociology, University of Zadar and Assoc. Ph.D. sc. Željka Zdravković , Department of Sociology, University of Zadar.

The conclusions of the public panel can be summarized in a few key points, as follows:

- men who are involved in household/family work mostly perform duties related to the outdoor space (walking with children, repairing and taking care of the car, buying groceries, etc.), which can place women in an isolating position within the household with repetitive tasks

- mental work is invisible, permanent, diffuse, unpaid and mostly performed by women, as a result of which they show the negative consequences of too much mental work that can lead to mental strain

- social aspects of mental work include organizing family life, maintaining social relationships outside the household, and providing emotional support to household members

- cognitive-emotional household management consists of two dimensions: resource and time management and emotion and relationship management, and within both dimensions, reach and intensity can be measured.

- work obligations more often have an impact on family life for women than for men

- men perceive that they perform family/household chores equally to their partners, while women estimate that they mostly do the above

- research shows that respondents are equally divided in their views on the division of household work, while practice indicates that behavior lags behind attitudes.

- public policies within the framework of balancing private and professional life should be gender, age and regionally adapted

In the closed part of the discussion that followed the public panel, the emotional and cognitive components of mental work and its social aspects, analytical dimensions in measuring mental work, and methods of researching mental work were discussed.

The two-day thematic multidisciplinary discussion is just one in a series of activities aimed at exchanging knowledge and experiences between different stakeholders with the aim of opening a dialogue and creating proposals for improving public policies for harmonizing the private and professional lives of women and men based on research data. We continue to work on raising awareness about the importance of equal sharing of family responsibilities between women and men and the importance of gender equality and enabling harmony between private and professional life.

On June 10, 2024, the second in a series of workshops for judicial officials as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project was held at the Judicial Academy in Zagreb. The workshop was attended by 11 participants, employees of county and municipal courts and state attorneys' offices from the City of Zagreb, Zagreb, Krapina-Zagorje and Sisak-Moslavina Counties.

The workshop leaders were Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, Ivana Bilušić, Judge of the County Court in Velika Gorica, and Renato Grgurić, IT expert from the Ministry of the Interior.

The workshop provided an interdisciplinary overview of the phenomenon of online gender-based violence, as well as strategies for combating it, including providing support to victims with a gender-sensitive approach. Special emphasis was placed on the legal and IT aspects of the problem, with practical examples and knowledge of evidence collection and other specific skills related to the topic.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the B.a.B.e association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is financed by the European Union from the CERD program - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

What the newly adopted EU Directive on Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence prescribes and what we should transpose into Croatian legislation in the next three years was the topic of a multi-sectoral discussion organized by the B.a.B.e association, which brought together representatives of the civil sector and national and EU institutions and organizations on May 28 at the House of Human Rights .

This is the second discussion on the prevention and suppression of online violence against women as part of the SURF AND SOUND 2.0 project, which is being implemented by the B.a.B.e association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The discussion was attended by representatives of ministries, the Ombudsman's Office, the European Commission, the social welfare system, safe houses, as well as lawyers and experts who work with victims and perpetrators of gender-based violence.

"Our intention is to stimulate discussion about the new Directive and potential steps we should take to bring it to life. In line with the project we are implementing with our partners, our emphasis here is on the issue of online violence against women, which this Directive clearly recognizes, especially in the areas of harassment, stalking, incitement to hatred and violence, and sharing of sexually explicit content via information and communication technologies," said Leonarda Novoselić, project manager of SURF AND SOUND 2.0.

The deadline for the transposition of the Directive into national legislation is June 2027, and according to the State Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transition, Vedrana Šimundže-Nikolić , we are in a good position in principle in terms of compliance with the Directive, but there will certainly be legislative amendments.

"Certain interventions in the Criminal Code will be necessary. Especially in the part that relates to the consequences of the misuse of sexually explicit content recordings, which will in the future be prosecuted ex officio, meaning that the victim will no longer have to wait for consent. In this way, the directive strengthens the rights and protection of victims. This act also introduces several new criminal offenses, some of which we can subsume under the criminal offenses we already have, and some we will still have to expand in certain modalities," explained the State Secretary.

She recalled that it was precisely such a discussion from the previous SURF AND SOUND project that resulted in the introduction of a separate criminal offense of misuse of sexually explicit content recordings into domestic legislation. “From July 2021 to today, there have been 41 ongoing court cases related to this criminal offense, of which 21 are final, 2 are in the appeal process, while 18 cases are still being tried. Most of these involve milder alternative sanctions – either suspended sentences or community service,” concluded Šimundža-Nikolić .

From her experience in working directly with victims, lawyer Ines Bojić , an external associate of B.a.B.e association, pointed out that online and offline violence overlap and that it is usually not an isolated act of violence. "It is necessary to have several conversations with the victim in order to get a broader picture of the violence, and this is precisely what is missing in the court proceedings. The institution of a trusted person plays a key role in creating a quality indictment, and it needs to be strengthened because it can significantly contribute to a better implementation of the Directive."

Lawyer Teuta Palčić emphasized the need for education for employees of social welfare centers: "In addition, the centers are overcrowded, there are not enough experts, and victims wait too long for psychological help. In such conditions, online violence is simply ignored, it is completely unrecognized."

The discussion concluded that, in addition to improving the legislative framework and judicial practices, a longer-term and more demanding challenge will be prevention. In this section, the indispensable role of the education system was highlighted.

The heads of the Department for Juvenile Delinquency and Crime against Youth and Families, Anita Matijević (Police Directorate) and Nikolina Grubišić Požar (PUZ), believe that prevention is key. “Online violence is on the rise among both adults and children, it is a big dark figure and we must approach it systematically. We need elementary education about online violence, just as children learn to read and write, so they should be taught the responsible use of information and communication technologies,” warned Grubišić Požar . “In Croatia, we are implementing an enormous number of projects, but we lack standardization, a list of must-have components that need to be processed through the education system. It is necessary to scan the situation and connect good practices into a systematic education adapted to age,” concluded Matijević .

Dean Ajduković from the Psychological Assistance Society, assessing all initiatives related to combating online violence as useful, emphasized that educating the younger generation is key: "As kids grow up, they must become aware that what they take pictures of now and share with someone can have long-term harmful consequences for them, they must know that some content is not to be shared."

"It is necessary to educate children in schools about critical thinking and the concept of consent, and there is also a need for education among adults. For the quality implementation of this Directive in its entirety, it is necessary to strengthen mechanisms for specialist assistance to victims and improve the keeping of statistics. However, what we lack most is strategic planning in terms of combating and preventing violence. We have a lot of laws, regulations and ordinances that regulate this area, but we do not have a comprehensive strategy that would connect all systems," concluded Tamara Šterk , deputy head of the B.a.B.e association.

The project "SURF AND SOUND 2.0" is funded by the European Union from the CERD program - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(2021-2027) and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. It is implemented by B.a.B.e association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate.

Photo: Women and the Media

The final conference of the project "puSHEd – protect, understand, support: help the elderly" was held at the House of Europe on Wednesday, 22 May 2024, starting at 12:00. The conference brought together important stakeholders from different sectors and thus rounded off an interdisciplinary view of the topic of gender-based violence against older women. Participants had the opportunity to hear more about economic violence, sexual violence and strategies to combat violence against older people.

Project manager Marina Gombar presented the project's activities and results to those present and emphasized that what the system needs most is education, awareness-raising, and mutual cooperation between all stakeholders in the system of support for women victims of violence.

Advisor to the Ombudsman Silvija Trgovec-Greif She highlighted a number of different forms of violence that citizens turn to her for help. She added that the system is focused on physical violence, but there are many other problems, such as a lack of palliative care, a lack of places in nursing homes, and inappropriate attitudes of doctors towards the elderly.

Anica Ježić , Head of the Sector for Development and Improvement of Social Services at the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, spoke to the participants about the operational plan of activities for connecting health and social services in the field of long-term care, as well as changes in the law on social welfare - changes in the field of development of social services.

Iva Prpić , Head of the Department for Support to Children and Families, City Office for Social Protection, Health, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities at the City of Zagreb, emphasized that the City of Zagreb is developing and supporting a local system of support and protection for victims of domestic violence and is paying special attention to respecting the rights and supporting particularly vulnerable groups, including the elderly.

Željka Barić , director of the Home for Children and Adult Victims of Domestic Violence 'Duga – Zagreb', pointed out that the number of calls from elderly women seeking help has increased at the Home. She also pointed out that the state, in cooperation with the profession, should develop a strategy to combat violence against the elderly with an appropriate framework and synergically network the activities of the social welfare and healthcare systems.

Attorney Ljubica Matijević Vrsaljko highlighted the problem of financial violence, especially through life support contracts, and the slowness of the judiciary in such cases. Psychotherapist and psychologist Marijana Senjak presented her work on victims of sexual violence to the attendees.

The aim of the project is to prevent and combat gender-based violence against older women by developing gender-specific responses in providing support to victims and building the capacity of relevant experts from the protection and support system. The project is also aimed at raising awareness among the general population and improving the community's response to gender-based violence against older women, primarily by increasing the number of reports of violence, but also by preventing it. The project "puSHEd - protect, understand, support, help the elderly" was launched by the B.a.B.e association in partnership with the City of Zagreb and Dom Duga Zagreb, with the support of the Ombudsman, the Association for Victims and Witnesses Support and the European Social Network. The project lasted 24 months and was financed by the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​(CERV) programme of the European Union and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs.

On May 22, 2024, starting at 9:00 a.m., the first in a series of workshops for judicial officials was held at the Regional Center of the Judicial Academy in Varaždin, as part of the SURF&SOUND 2.0 project. The workshop was attended by 12 participants, employees of county and municipal courts and municipal and county state attorneys' offices from the Zagreb, Varaždin, Međimurje, Bjelovar-Bilogora, Virovitica-Podravina and Koprivnica-Križevci counties.

The workshop leaders were Krunoslav Stjepan Rajačić, Deputy County State Attorney at the County State Attorney's Office in Zagreb, Ivana Bilušić, Judge of the County Court in Velika Gorica, and Renato Grgurić, IT expert from the Ministry of the Interior.

The workshop provided an interdisciplinary overview of the phenomenon of online gender-based violence, as well as strategies for combating it, including providing support to victims with a gender-sensitive approach. Special emphasis was placed on the legal and IT aspects of the problem, with practical examples and knowledge of evidence collection and other specific skills related to the topic.

The project "SURF and SOUND 2.0" aims to enable systematic work on the protection of women victims of domestic and gender-based violence in the online environment, and is implemented by the B.a.B.e association in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, the Judicial Academy and the Police Directorate. The project is financed by the European Union from the CERF - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values ​​program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.

Yesterday, 7 May 2024 , the Council of the EU approved for the first time in history a European law on preventing violence against women and domestic violence. EU Directive 2022/0066 contains measures to prevent violence against women and domestic violence and establishes standards for the protection of victims.

Below is a description of the basic features of this EU law . The following are criminalized: genital mutilation, forced marriages, sharing intimate content without consent in cyberspace, cyber stalking and cyber incitement to hatred and violence. Imprisonment for the aforementioned offenses ranges from at least one to five years.

The Directive contains a list of aggravating circumstances . For example, the commission of the above-mentioned criminal offences against a child, former or current spouse or partner (or spouse/partner), public figure, journalist or human rights defenders results in a more severe sentence.

The Directive also contains detailed rules for establishing support and protection measures that Member States are obliged to provide to victims. It is expected that comprehensive support for victims of violence and domestic violence will be further improved by including in the text the necessity and obligation to ensure victims have access to both general and specialist support services, shelters, and health services, including services related to sexual and reproductive health.

The Directive recognises as the most vulnerable victims of violence, those at greatest risk, persons who suffer multidimensional, intersectional forms of discrimination. In this regard, states must guarantee protection to all victims of gender-based violence, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics, with a special emphasis on the needs of LBTI women. Furthermore, victims of violence and domestic violence should be made more easily able to report violence, for example, by introducing the possibility of reporting cyberbullying online as a minimum standard.

EU Member States are also required to put in place measures to ensure that children receive professional help. When children report a crime committed by someone with parental responsibility, the authorities must take protective measures for the child’s safety before informing the alleged perpetrator of the child’s accusation. In order to protect the victim’s privacy and prevent further victimisation, Member States will have to ensure that information relating to the victim’s past sexual behaviour is admissible in criminal proceedings where this information is relevant and necessary.

In line with the idea of ​​building a safer future, the aim of the preventive measures introduced by this Directive is to increase the level of awareness among citizens about the root causes of violence against women and domestic violence and to acquire knowledge in the educational system about the role of the concept of consent in interpersonal relationships.

However, although the Directive takes a holistic approach to eliminating violence against women and domestic violence and contains measures for prevention, protection, support for victims, access to justice and prosecution of perpetrators, some forms of violence against women were not addressed in the text. Below are some of the missed opportunities .

First of all, femicide as the murder of a woman caused primarily by the fact that she is female, due to the lack of foundations within EU legislation, indicates that there is a great possibility that the practice of impunity will be maintained and the urgent introduction of gender-specific protection and adequate judicial action will be missed.

Likewise, to our regret, the opportunity to include the criminalization of rape in the European definition of consent to a sexual act was missed. Sexual violence against women, widespread across the EU, remains unpunished or subject to lenient penalties in many Member States, and the absence of a definition of consent is an obstacle to strengthening protection and access to justice for all women victims of rape. The Directive does, however, require Member States to do more to prevent rape by raising public awareness and making education on the concept of consent mandatory in schools, as well as by challenging harmful gender norms and roles. Despite some shortcomings, this is the first time that EU legislation has explicitly imposed an obligation on Member States to ensure that medical care is available to women victims of sexual violence. Member States will also have to provide training for professional and medical staff who come into contact with victims and survivors of sexual violence.

Unfortunately, there has also been a failure to recognize the connection between domestic violence and violence against children in the context of domestic violence. This omission is particularly significant because of its impact on child custody proceedings, where understanding the continuum of violence, from violence against women to violence against children, is crucial to safeguarding the rights of children and their mothers.

EU legislators have also failed to address migration trends in Europe in more detail, with the only concrete measures proposed relating to the need to ensure access to shelters for all women victims of violence, regardless of their residence status. The text of the Directive contains nothing that would address the protection of personal data of migrant women and the procedure for transferring personal data from shelters to other institutions such as immigration offices or judicial authorities.

Finally, while welcoming the adoption of Directive 2022/0066 , we point out that EU Member States have three years to transpose the Directive into national legislation.

The Croatian translation of Directive 2022/0066 is available at the link
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/PE-33-2024-INIT/hr/pdf

Today we celebrate 30 years of our association, three decades dedicated to fighting violence against women and achieving equal rights in society. This anniversary is also a time for deep reflection on our achievements to date and future challenges.

In the coming period and beyond, we will devote ourselves to a serious review of the strategy for the fight against ultraconservative trends that threaten the acquired women's rights, especially reproductive rights, and finding ways to maintain and improve the position of women in society. Furthermore, our primary task remains advocating for the improvement of public policies so that they are gender sensitive. This means ensuring that policies respect the diversity of the needs of women and men and actively contribute to eliminating all forms of inequality in society.