Minister Grabar-Kitarović participated in round table “Together against Family Violence”, held on occasion of International Women’s Day in Bjelovar

In her speech, Minister Grabar-Kitarović presented a series of legislative and implementative regulations passed in recent years in Croatia with the aim of combating family violence, with a special emphasis on the Law on the Protection against Family Violence passed in 2003 and the National Strategy of Protection against Family Violence from 2004.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović also described as extremely important Croatia’s active participation in the Council of Europe’s campaign for combating violence against women, as well as family violence. Croatia presided over, during its first year of activities, the Council of Europe’s special group for combating violence against women, whose task was to suggest to all CoE members the measures necessary for an efficient struggle against the universal issue of violence against women.

“There is no justification for violence”, said Minister Grabar-Kitarović. “Violence against women is a violation of human rights and we all must raise our voices against it.”

Women ambassadors of Australia, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania and Turkey accredited to Croatia, together with the Head of OSCE Mission, UNDP representative and UNHCR representatives to Croatia, are for the third year in a row leading the initiative to offer assistance to local authorities in their efforts to combat family violence as a world-wide problem. As a part of the initiative, round tables were held this year in Bjelovar and Vukovar.

Vice-Speaker of the Croatian Parliament and Bjelovar Mayor Đurđa Adlešić hosted the Bjelovar round table, while the host of the round table in Vukovar was its Mayor Zdenka Buljan.

Minister Grabar-Kitarović held a lecture in Bjelovar to high-school students on Croatia’s accession to full EU membership.