This year, BaBe! marked the International Day for the Elimination of Violence in three cities – Gračac, Knin and Vukovar.
A roundtable discussion was held in Vukovar at Ružička's House, discussing more effective protection and support for women and children victims of domestic violence. Representatives of institutions in Vukovar-Srijem County (Dragana Tadić, employee of the Vukovar Police Station; Saša Užarević, lawyer of the Županja Social Welfare Center; Daniela Čukelj, Vukovar County Court, Department for Victims and Witnesses), employees of the Safe House (Ana Šutalo, social worker) and BaBa activists (Zdravka Sadžakov and Sanja Sarnavka), and head of the Legal Team Ljubica Matijević Vrsaljko discussed the possibilities of closer intersectoral cooperation in resolving complex cases of violence. Marijana Senjak, Croatian Employment Service, presented measures that encourage the employment of women victims of violence.
A presentation of the campaign and results of the project Paving the Way from Poverty and Violence to Financial and Emotional Stability was held in Knin and Gračac. The project started in December 2010 and is being implemented by BaBe! in cooperation with partner civil society organizations Delfin from Pakrac and ZvoniMir from Knin and the Municipality of Gračac, with the support of the City of Vukovar. The project was largely financed under the IPA IV program - Establishing Support for Social Integration and Employment of Marginalized Groups of the European Union. The funds necessary for the full implementation were obtained from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Open Society Institute, which also enabled the extension of the implementation of the activities from 12 to 18 months. The aim of the project was to include long-term unemployed women victims of domestic violence who are also beneficiaries of social assistance in the labor market by strengthening local capacities in Gračac, Knin, Pakrac, Šibenik, Vukovar and Zagreb. By creating and/or strengthening partnerships and long-term sustainable coordination between social service providers, local government units, the business and civil sectors, the aim was to increase the employability of women victims of violence.
