A member of the BaBe Association participated in the forum 'The position of women in society and the protection of their rights' on Saturday, April 27th, organized by Rotary E-club Croatia in the Algebra LAB premises.
As the organizers announced, the goal of the forum was to raise public awareness about current problems in our society and the need for change.
After the welcoming speeches, in front of the Rotary E-club Croatia Marina Šare presented the report of the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality for 2018 and the Status for 2018 prepared by the Human Rights House Zagreb.
In her presentation, the BaBa representative emphasized that violence against women is an unacceptable violation of human rights that should be severely punished. Likewise, violent behavior should be met with unwavering condemnation by the entire society; the perpetrator must not be justified and an excuse found for his actions, and the victim should be empowered, not imposed on her additional feelings of guilt and shame. Children must learn from a young age that violence is unacceptable and that we should strive for peaceful solutions, tolerance and respect for others and those who are different. Violence is not an isolated anomaly, it is frequent and daily. In order for us as a society to respond to violence, in addition to education at all levels, intersectoral cooperation, better policy coordination and integration of policies and strategies are necessary. Investing more resources in the fight against violence against women - from financial to human. And most importantly - it is important to understand that women are equal members of this society so that we can and should build a more just world.
We reiterated that the BaBe Association has been continuously and intensively fighting against all forms of gender-based violence for the past 25 years.
Two programs of the association directly deal with the prevention and suppression of gender-based violence:
- Prevention and suppression of all forms of gender-based violence, within the framework of which free legal aid and psychological counseling are provided.
- Providing existential protection and psychosocial support to women victims of violence and their children in Vukovar-Srijem County. Since 2008, more than 400 women and children have stayed at the VSC Safe House.
For years, BaBe has been implementing projects and activities through strategically designed programs to sensitize and educate the public about the problem of violence against women, but also by working directly with victims of violence, directly with professionals who work with victims of violence, and professionals who come into contact with perpetrators of violence. BaBe conducts educational programs for male and female students, campaigns, and points out unethical reporting to the media.
Right now, we are implementing two European projects that share a common goal: improving the support system for victims of violence by encouraging multidisciplinary cooperation between experts from different institutions and sectors (such as the police, judiciary, health, education and social centers) as a basis for building their capacities and the capacities of people who work directly with victims. The name of one is HELPLINE, whose main goal is to establish the foundations for launching a national SOS line through which emotional support and primary legal information will be provided to women victims of gender-based violence. The second project, called VIVIEN, has as its primary focus the prevention and suppression of violence against women through the work and education of experts from the system. As a result of activities to map the best training in the EU, quantitative and qualitative research, and a series of trainings and sectoral and cross-sectoral cooperation, a training model for professionals working with women victims of violence applicable to the EU member states will be developed. If you would like to support or contribute to these projects, or participate in any of the activities, please feel free to contact us.
She concluded that the synergy of the entire society is needed to eradicate gender-based violence because the responsibility lies with the reaction of each and every one of us.
Forum speakers and their topics:
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Ines Bezjak Kožnjak, "Why is a woman a woman's greatest enemy"
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Svjetlana Knežević, BaBe, "Prevention and suppression of violence against women through the work of civil society associations";
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Tarja Krehić, president of the Croatian Association of Women in the Legal Profession, "Tendency in EU countries regarding the elimination of the glass ceiling/percentage of women in business in the Republic of Croatia";
- Božidar Nikša Tarabić, "Women and Men in the Business World".
