Letters to the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Justice and Administration

Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb, focal point of the Women Against Violence Europe – WAVE network sent letters to the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Justice and Administration so that the Government of the Republic of Croatia would vote for a more advanced version of the proposal of the European Union Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence – the version of the European Parliament.

The directive includes a number of important provisions, including the criminalization of rape based on the absence of consent. Also, the Directive recognizes the role of feminist civil society in the fight against violence against women.

The differences between the text of the Directive proposed by the Council and the one proposed by the Parliament are significant, the removal of Article 5 on defining common EU standards on the criminalization of rape, in the EU Council’s version, is particularly unacceptable.

Autonomous Women’s House Zagreb believes that the European Union Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence is an important legal act that sends a clear message that violence against women will not be tolerated in the European Union and that much-needed support will be provided to women who have survived violence.

The letters sent by AWHZ to the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the Ministry of Justice and Administration are available in the attachment.