November 02, 2019

Croatia finally calls rape by its real name

topic:	Human Rights
located:	Croatia
editor:	Katarina Panić

Under the strong public pressure and the protests over the last few years, the Croatian government was forced to toughen its penalties for sexual and domestic violence. The country finally sent a package of laws to parliament last week that would abolish the separate offence of “sexual intercourse without consent” and qualify this act as rape, punishable with three to ten years’ imprisonment instead of penalties between six months and five years.

Until the new laws enter into force, Croatia will remain the only European country distinguishing rape and “sexual intercourse without consent”, where most cases of marital rape haven’t been qualified as rape.

The trigger for the newest wave of protests was the release of five young men accused of gang-raping and blackmailing a 15-year-old girl in the coastal town of Zadar.

Amnesty International appealed to the authorities to work on challenging rape myths and stereotypes, as well as capacity building of the police and the judiciary to ensure that the amendments, once adopted, are properly implemented. The concept of the “conventional family” is rooted in a strong patriarchal legacy and very often rape victims are being accused of inciting such attacks by their choice of clothes.

Amnesty International is also concerned that the “traditional family unit” continues to be prioritised over individual rights and the safety of women, leaving many victims of gender-based violence without legal protection, contributing to an increasing number of unreported cases, in the ratio of one to twenty.

For instance, the Law on Protection against Domestic Violence excludes persons who do not have children with their partner, who do not share the same residence with their partner, or those who have lived with their partner for less than three years. These restrictions leave a considerable number of individuals without proper legal protection and, in some cases, force them to privately prosecute claims against their abusers.

Existing laws in Croatia do not effectively criminalise both domestic and sexual violence. It is now up to parliament to decide if such praxis could become history.