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International Women's Day celebrates the achievements and contributions of women to economic, social, cultural and political life and serves as a reminder of all those human rights that are still suppressed and contested. On this day, it is necessary to remember that we still live in an unequal society, we support gender stereotypes, sexism, homophobia, we do not react to discrimination, and we have difficulty accepting respect for diversity. Will we really leave such a reality to our descendants?
Historically, the idea of celebrating International Women's Day emerged during a period of rapid industrialization and economic growth, when women protested against poor working conditions and low wages. Women employed in the textile industry publicly protested on March 8, 1857 in New York. Protests continued later, and in 1908, about 15,000 women protested demanding shorter working hours, better wages, and the right to vote. The first Women's Day was marked on February 28, 1909 in the United States with a declaration adopted by the Socialist Party of America. An important historical moment that inspired the fight for women's rights and better working conditions is associated with the fire in a textile factory in New York in 1911, in which 123 women and girls tragically died. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly called on member states to declare March 8 as the official UN holiday for women's rights and world peace. Since then, the UN and numerous member countries celebrate International Women's Day and each year choose a theme and area of a more intense campaign. This year's campaign is about inclusion, the equal inclusion of women in all areas of life, regardless of their skin color, religion, belonging to a certain group or locality, and is called "Inspire inclusion".
All available data show that many more years of commitment will be needed for women and men to be equal participants in creating a better, fairer and more progressive society. For example, we are still, just like 100 years ago, talking about the violation of women's labor and social rights. In Croatia, women still receive lower wages for work of the same value as men, are exposed to sexual harassment in the workplace, have difficulty advancing to better-paid positions, agree to fixed-term contracts, take care of children and elderly household members for more time than their partners, and when they reach retirement, they live below the poverty line, so we are talking about the feminization of poverty. Poverty has a female face because women make up 70% of all the poor in the world. In addition to all this, every third woman is exposed to some form of violence during her lifetime, and the issue of her reproductive rights is decided in political decision-making positions where men are in the majority.
In such circumstances, only through joint efforts can we change society. Reactions to inequality must always and every time, regardless of ideology or political views. We have a history of struggle and won rights that we can refer to and on which we can build the future that we leave to our descendants.
BaBe Association and the Agency for Electronic Media they started national campaign raising awareness about online violence against women with the aim of changing attitudes and behaviors among the general population – while targeting both perpetrators and victims of gender-based online violence. Online violence against women is a global phenomenon that manifests itself in numerous specific forms of abuse via the Internet and information and communication technologies that disproportionately affect women and have serious consequences for the victims.
The campaign is being implemented as part of the project SURF AND SOUND 2.0, and its central part consists of billboards placed in 15 cities across Croatia and two animated videos on the topic of online stalking and online harassment.
"Project SURF AND SOUND 2.0 is a continuation of the project launched in 2021 with the aim of raising awareness of the prevalence of online violence against women. This national campaign will contribute to that goal. The project is focused on improving the established mechanisms of prevention and suppression of online violence through the work of the platform NEON – No! Online violence. "On the platform, we offer free psychological and legal assistance in collaboration with a telecommunications expert, as well as support services in the capacity of a trusted person," said the project coordinator. SURF AND SOUND 2.0 Leonarda Novoselić from the BaBe association
On the occasion of the launch of the national campaign, March 6, 2024 on the premises Croatian Employers' Association a meeting was held at which premiered video clipsThe public will have the opportunity to see them on all local and national television stations in the coming period.
Online stalking can be described as the repeated engagement in threatening or intimidating behaviour directed at another person, via ICT technologies, which causes the person to fear for their own safety or for the safety of people in their close circle. Online stalking can also involve placing another person under continuous surveillance, without that person's consent or legal authority to do so, using ICT technologies, in order to monitor that person's movements and activities. Perpetrators are most often former partners who want to forcibly control the victim. Online stalking often also includes so-called 'doxing', i.e. publishing material containing another person's personal data, without that person's consent, making it available to a large number of end users, via ICT technologies, for the purpose of inciting those end users to cause physical or significant psychological harm to the person. Perpetrators are most often people in their close circle, acquaintances or former partners, but they can also be victims of completely unknown persons.
"When we started collaborating with the BaBe association on the SURF AND SOUND project, the main intention of the Council and the Agency for Electronic Media was to emphasize the positive role of the media in combating online violence against women. With the video clips, we want to point out the ubiquity of various forms of online violence and encourage a proactive attitude in the fight against this social problem. All of this would not be possible without the strong support of the media, which decided to broadcast the clips free of charge in the public interest, as well as all other media and social stakeholders who showed great interest in this topic with their responses," said a member of the Council for Electronic Media. Anita Malenica.
Online harassment implies initiating and/or participating in an attack with third parties on the victim, by publishing threatening or offensive material to a large number of end users, through ICT technologies, with the effect of causing significant damage to the attacked person. The victims are often women in prominent public functions or roles, such as politicians, journalists or activists, and face sexist insults and specific gender-based threats, such as threats of rape or femicide, which cause distress, fear and concern for their own safety.
On the occasion of the launch of the national campaign, the multisectoral discussion on the topic of online violence against women in which they participated: Visnja Ljubicic, Ombudsperson for Gender Equality; Anita Prusina, expert associate in the Service for Substantive Criminal Law Regulations at the Ministry of Justice and Administration; Nikolina Grubišić Požar, Head of the Department of Juvenile Delinquency and Crimes against Youth and Families, Zagreb Police Department; attorney Ines Bojic, external associate of the BaBe association and Tanja Zaninovic, Senior Legal Expert at the Croatian Regulatory Agency for Network Industries.
Project SURF AND SOUND 2.0 is financed by the European Union from the CERC - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, and is implemented by BaBe association in partnership with Agency for Electronic Media and associated partners, Judicial Academy and Police Directorate.
On Wednesday, March 6, 2024. Starting at 10:30 a.m., a meeting will be held as part of the project at the premises of the Croatian Employers' Association, Radnička 37a. SURF AND SOUND 2.0 aimed at combating and preventing online violence against women, which the BaBe association is implementing in partnership with the Agency for Electronic Media, the Police Directorate, and the Judicial Academy as associated partners.
On this occasion, it will be premiered two animated videos on the topic of online stalking and online harassment, which the public will be able to see on social networks, as well as on all local and national television channels in the coming period. This premiere marks the beginning of a national campaign aimed at highlighting the ubiquity of various forms of gender-based online violence and encouraging a proactive attitude in responding to this social problem. The campaign also includes billboards aligned with the theme and visual style of the videos, which will be placed in 15 cities across Croatia.
After the introductory speeches and screenings of the videos, there will be a multisectoral discussion which will be moderated by Tamara Loos.
The following will participate in the discussion:
Following the presentations by the aforementioned speakers, representatives will contribute their insights to the discussion. Personal data protection agencies Anamarija Mladinić and Marija Vujeva and other participants will be invited to join.
SURF AND SOUND 2.0 project It 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.
We would like to inform all interested parties that a new report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has been published as part of the mapping of national child protection systems in the European Union. In 2014, the European Commission asked the Agency to conduct research on national child protection systems in the then 28 EU Member States, and in 2015, a mapping of child protection systems was published, which included the Republic of Croatia. The Commission requested that the data be updated by the end of 2022, and the report was updated based on data collected in the first half of 2023. The report was created in partnership between the Agency and the BaBe association, whose author is lawyer Ines Bojić, and provides an overview of the recent development of the child protection system in our country.
The report is available at the link: https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/hr_-_report_-_mapping_child_protection_systems_-_2023.pdf
Let's ensure that the oldest members of the community have a dignified life free from violence. Through the puSHEd - Protect, Understand, Support, Help the Elderly project, learn how to notice, report and act in cases where you suspect violence against the elderly.
The puSHEd - Protect, Understand, Support, Help the Elderly project was launched by the BaBe association with partners - the Zajednički put Foundation, the Home for Children and Adult Victims of Domestic Violence "Duga-Zagreb" and the City of Zagreb, and is financed by EU funds from the CERD (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) program and with the support of the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
On 12 December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights published its judgment in the case of Vučković v. Croatia, application number: 15798/20, which found that the Republic of Croatia, in criminal proceedings conducted for sexual violence committed against the applicant, Ms. Maja Vučković, by imposing a disproportionately lenient sentence on the perpetrator, violated the applicant's rights guaranteed by Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention.
At the end of 2019, the applicant contacted the BaBe association with a complaint that the perpetrator who sexually abused her at work had been sentenced to community service in criminal proceedings, after which, with the support of BaBe association lawyers Ines Bojić and Zvjezdana Kuprešak, a request was submitted to the European Court of Human Rights for violation of the applicant's right as a victim of sexual violence to effective punishment of the perpetrator of violence.
The applicant, as well as the BaBe association, contacted the Gender Equality Ombudsperson, who also provided her with support, made recommendations and spoke out in the media regarding her case. The European Court found that by imposing a community service sentence on the perpetrator of sexual violence, the Republic of Croatia violated the state's positive obligations arising from Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention, finding that the sentence was imposed on the perpetrator without carefully examining all relevant circumstances of the case, taking into account the interests of the victim and the context of the specific social danger of violence against women and the need to suppress such violence with effective and dissuasive penalties.
The European Court expressed the view that such an approach by domestic courts could be understood as an indication of leniency in punishing violence against women instead of conveying a strong message to the community that violence against women will not be tolerated and that such leniency could have a discouraging effect on victims to report violence, which is supported by the recent GREVIO report on Croatia, which highlighted that Croatia has adopted a lenient penal policy in handling cases of domestic violence and violence against women, which is why the Government is called upon to ensure that the penalties and measures imposed in such cases are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Therefore, with this ruling, the European Court has expressed a clear position on the unacceptability of the policy of lenient punishment of perpetrators of gender-based violence in the Republic of Croatia, which the BaBe association has continuously warned about, and we believe that this ruling will have a positive effect and contribute to a further change in awareness about the need to effectively punish perpetrators of violence against women.
The judgment was published in English and is available at https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?i=001-229399
The educational exhibition "Violence in the Shadows: An Exhibition to Raise Awareness of Older Women Victims of Violence", from 4 to 10 December, is on display on the ground floor of the Joker shopping centre. The exhibition is part of the puSHEd - Protect, Understand, Support, Help the Elderly project, carries the message "Report those who devalue the golden years" and is part of a public campaign aimed at raising awareness of violence against older women.
The campaign was launched by the BaBe association with partners - the Zajednički put Foundation, the Home for Children and Adult Victims of Domestic Violence "Duga-Zagreb" and the City of Zagreb, and carries the message Report those who devalue the golden years. It is part of the puSHEd project, which is supported by the Ombudsman, the Association for Victims and Witnesses Support and the European Social Network, and financed by the European Union from the CERD (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
In 1999, the United Nations declared November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in memory of the Mirabal sisters who were murdered in the Dominican Republic in 1960 by dictator Rafael Trujillo. The Mirabal sisters were political activists who were arrested several times for their revolutionary activities and fight for justice. They became a symbol of resistance to the dictatorial regime, and were killed by Trujillo's police while returning from visiting their husbands in prison.
Every year on this day, an international campaign is launched 16 days of activism against gender-based violence with the aim of raising awareness and encouraging the prevention of violence against women and girls.
One in three women in the European Union has experienced physical or sexual violence, and violence occurs in all member states. In Croatia, compared to previous years, the number of reported crimes has increased, while the number of misdemeanors has decreased. We hereby call on all actors in society to have zero tolerance for any form of violence, because every effort invested in preventing violence against women is a step towards a safer, more equal and more prosperous world.
We would also like to point out that the long-standing provision of legal and psychosocial assistance at the BaBe Association continues to be active on a daily basis, and we invite all victims of violence to contact us with confidence at 01 4663 666 or the toll-free number 0800 200 144.
On Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at the Rijeka Children's House in Art-blok, an educational exhibition "Violence in the Shadows: An Exhibition to Raise Awareness of Older Women Victims of Violence" was set up. It carries the message "Report Those Who Devalue Golden Years" and is part of a public awareness campaign on violence against older women as part of the puSHEd - Protect, Understand, Support, Help the Elderly project.
The campaign was launched by the BaBe association, the Zajednički put Foundation, the Home for Children and Adult Victims of Domestic Violence "Duga-Zagreb" and the City of Zagreb with the support of the Ombudsman, the Association for Victims and Witnesses Support and the European Social Network. The project is financed by the EU from the CERC programme and supported by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
You can see the exhibition until November 27, 2023.
On Tuesday, November 7, the educational exhibition “Violence in the Shadows: An Exhibition to Raise Awareness of Older Women Victims of Violence” was set up in the Osijek Portanova shopping mall. The exhibition is part of a public awareness campaign on violence against older women as part of the EU-funded project puSHEd - Protect, Understand, Support, Help the Elderly.
The campaign was launched by the BaBe association with partners - the Zajednički put Foundation, the Home for Children and Adult Victims of Domestic Violence "Duga-Zagreb" and the City of Zagreb, and carries the message Report those who devalue the golden years. It is part of the puSHEd project, which is supported by the Ombudsman, the Association for Victims and Witnesses Support and the European Social Network, and financed by the European Union from the CERD (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values) program and co-financed by the Office for Cooperation with NGOs of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
You can see the exhibition until November 14, 2023.
