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Description
The human rights situation of women in Croatia is worrying: the National Policy for Gender Equality has not been adopted for 6 years; The National Recovery and Resilience Plan does not include reforms that would address the burning issues of gender inequality; Almost 55% of the unemployed are women, 75% of the poor or at risk of poverty are women; The number of reports of violence against women during the Covid-19 crisis increased to 70%; the position of women in rural areas is particularly difficult, and adequate measures have so far not been included in any national policy (the only measures were rural women''s day and research not conducted).
The project will strengthen advocacy capacities of local women''s organizations for advocacy at local and national level which are the main target group, including representatives from state institutions (Parliament, Government), members of the European Parliament and general public. Advocacy activities of the project address the following priority issues: lack of a major strategy for women''s rights in Croatia, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on women''s rights, violence against women and position of women in rural areas.
Expected key results: evidence based advocacy for 4 national policies (gender equality, prevention of gender based violence, recovery and resilience plan, Law on protection of domestic violence); analysis of the position of women in rural areas and presentation of results; public debates, policy briefs. Networking of 16 local women’s organisations will improve their advocacy capacities for analysis on local, and consequently on national level. Cross-sectoral cooperation with state institutions and international organizations will strengthen mutual capacities for dialogue and continuous cooperation.
Summary of project results
In the Republic of Croatia, the state of women''s human rights is worrying in all areas and at all levels. Croatia has not had a main strategic document in the area of women''s rights protection - the National Policy for Gender Equality for 6 years. As a result, there is no systematic approach to the promotion of gender equality and the protection of women''s rights through the state budget and local budgets and policies. This is also reflected in the withdrawal of funds from EU funds.
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan does not include reforms or investments that would address the pressing problems of gender inequality that were further deepened during the crisis caused by the earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not in accordance with the Framework Agreement of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament from December 2020.
Held 3 two-day trainings to strengthen advocacy/watchdog capacities of local organizations at the local, national, European Union and Council of Europe levels, and at the UN level, with the participation of representatives of 10 women''s organizations at each training.
Local organizations for women''s rights (16 organizations) will actively participate in monitoring the process of adoption and preparation and analyzes of 4 policies concerning women''s rights.
2 analyzes were carried out in support of the advocacy of public policies and debates: the analysis of policies concerning violence against women and the analysis of the position of women in rural areas. The Croatian Women''s Network presented an analysis of violence against women - 10 local organizations participated in the presentation. 7 local organizations conducted research on the position of measures for rural women and will publish the results on their websites for the purpose of advocating the adoption of special measures.
The project strengthened the advocacy/watchdog capacities of local organizations for women''s rights, which are the main target group of the project, including local organizations from less developed areas and organizations dealing with the protection of the rights of particularly vulnerable groups of women - women who survived violence, Roma women, members of national minorities, lesbians , refugee/migrant, wife of victims of prostitution and trafficking.