Minister Habijan speaks at international conference on femicide in Rome

A High-Level International Conference against Femicide was held today, organised by the Italian government in cooperation with the OSCE, aimed at establishing stronger international cooperation and exchange of best practices in the fight against femicide.

'Femicide violates fundamental human rights, therefore effort must be tirelessly taken to combat and prevent this most brutal consequence of violence against women on a systematic and effective basis', stressed Minister Habijan.

In his presentation, the Minister also referred to the experiences of the Republic of Croatia in the fight against femicide.

'Fight against femicide and gender-based violence in general is of great importance, because it is a universal problem and an issue recognised across Europe. To address this important issue, Croatia has been systematically improving its legislative framework in the field of protection from violence against women and domestic violence in the last five years, through three rounds of legislative amendments, providing for stricter criminal law policy in this area, and a novelty in the form of a new criminal offence - aggravated murder of a female person or femicide.'

The Minister pointed out that the Republic of Croatia also puts emphasis on the continuous training of judges and prosecutors, conducted by the Judicial Academy. Workshops covering the topics of gender-based violence and domestic violence, delivered by practitioners in cooperation with the academic community, regularly form part of the annual Professional Development Programme of the Judicial Academy.

The recent adoption of new EU legislation on combating violence against women and domestic violence also supports the need to establish a comprehensive set of rules addressing this persistent problem of violence against women and domestic violence. The Member States of the European Union must adapt their legal and institutional frameworks to the requirements of the Directive, which are not limited to legislative changes in the area of criminal law, but also focus on the need to establish coordinated policies in the field of specialised victim protection, as well as the creation of multi-layered and comprehensive mechanisms aimed at preventing gender-based violence.

Combating violence against women and girls is a top priority for all the countries united in their cooperation and assistance, especially in developing programmes aimed at preventing all forms of gender-based violence. This conference is one of the tools that help countries collect best practices and set clear guidelines in the fight against femicide.

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