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We inform all those interested that the helpline for victims of violence of all forms (psychological and legal counseling) is open every work day from 10am to 4 pm.
Psychological and/or legal counseling can be obtained by phone (at the number 051 211 888), and it is also possible to arrange a time of persona arrival at the Counseling center for Victims of Violence.
You can also seek help by e-mail: pomoc@sos-rijeka.org
The Women’s Association “IZVOR” continues to organize a free English language course for adults. The course is implemented within the framework of the program “Let’s support the social inclusion of people affected by domestic violence”, financed by the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy in partnership with the City of Osijek and the Croatian Employment Institute.
Under the conditions of the Program, the course focuses primarily on persons exposed to domestic violence and their family members as well as unemployed persons and all employed, volunteers and other members of civil society organizations in the area of the City of Osijek and its surroundings, who have an advantage while enrolling
The course is held in the facilities of the City and University Library once a week for 90 minutes for 18 weeks in the afternoon. It is held by an English professor of language and literature. The groups are formed according to the levels below.
You can get the application form at the link: Prijavni-obrazac-za-tečaj-engleskog-jezika and forward it by e-mail: zenska.udruga.izvor@gmail.com or to the Association address: V.Mačeka 20,31207 Tenja
The application deadline for this semester is 31 January 2017.
Upon the deadline completion, the participants will be selected according to calling terms and order of application.
The selected will be notified about the course (beginning of February), while other candidates will be included on the reserve list (and will be invited in case of free places) and will be invited to apply for the next deadline (August 2017).
The groups are organized by the CEFR levels-Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
Groups are organized according to the interest of the applicants. You can test your knowledge level at: http://www.englishtag.com/tests/level_test. or similar web sites in order to correctly assess your level and orientate yourself accordingly to the description below:
A1 (beginner)
One can understand and use familiar everyday and simple phrases related to meeting specific needs. Can introduce her/himself and others, ask and answer questions about him/herself and others, such as where one lives, persons one knows, and things one possesses. One can conduct a simple conversation provided that the interlocutor speaks slowly and clearly and is ready to help.
A2 (elementary)
One can understand isolated sentences and frequently used words from areas of personal interest (eg. simple information of oneself and family, information regarding buying, immediate environment, job, etc.). One can communicate in simple and common situations that require simple and immediate exchange of information on familiar topics and activities. One can simply describe the aspects of her/his education, the immediate environment and content in the area of meeting his/her immediate needs.
B2 (pre-intermediate)
One can understand the main thoughts of clear, standard conversation on familiar topics they meet regularly at work, school, in their leisure time, etc. One can deal with most of the situations that may arise during travel through the area where the language is spoken. One can produce a simple text on a familiar topic of personal interest. One can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and aspirations and briefly explain her/his views and plans. One can understand the main thoughts of a complex text on specific and abstract topics, including technical discussion within the field of his/her expertise. One can communicate sufficiently fluently and unobtrusively, allowing a normal interaction with a native speaker effortlessly from either side. One can produce a clear, detailed text on a large number of topics and explain his/her view on a current topic, citing the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
B2 (intermediate)
One can understand complex, longer texts from diverse areas and recognize their implicit meaning. One can communicate fluently and unobtrusively without an obviously searching for appropriate expressions. One can flexibly and effectively use the language in social, academic and business situations. One can produce clear, well-structure and detailed texts showing a successful usage of language forms, connectors and cohesive means.
For other information contact “IZVOR” at 031/290-433 every work day from 9am to 2pm.
An SOS Telephone has been established for women victims of violence of the Krapina-Zagorje County on Tuesday, January 3rd by the Counseling center for women victims of violence in the Krapina-Zagorje county.
The counseling center is intended for women victims of violence, women who need information connected to domestic violence, partner abuse, as well as any other form of violence. The counseling center offers information services, counseling, psychosocial assistance and legal counseling to future users.
The working hours of the Counseling center are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 12 pm and in other terms according to arrangements made by phone, at the address Trg hrvatske kraljice Jelene 6.
“We invite all women in need of information, counseling or other forms of psychosocial assistance and support in regards to their experience with violence to contact us personally by coming to the newly opened Counseling center Tuesdays or Thursdays from 10 am to 12 pm or by phone at 049/639 281 (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 pm until 6 pm) and 091/639 2810 (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 am until 3 pm)”, reports the SOS phone line.
The Working group that is drafting a proposal for the National strategy for protection from domestic violence from 2017-2022 held its third meeting at the Ministry of Demography, Family, Youth and Social Policy. Given than the working text of the Strategy has been drafted at this stage, the members of the Working group discussed concrete individual measures with the aim of their further improvement and providing the best possible protection for victims of domestic violence. The Gender Equality Ombudswoman suggested measures related to the housing of victims of domestic violence, financial support for the shelters and counselling centers, as well as encouraging local and regional self-governing units to run a gender budget within which continuous financial support would be provided for the shelters. The mentioned measures were fully respected.
Measures related to the procedure of ratification the Convention of the Council of Europe on the Prevention and Combating of Violence against women and Domestic violence have also been proposed and adopted and within which the establishment of a Working group for legislating the confirmation of the Convention , which the Ombudswoman representative has been named into. Suggestions of the Ombudswoman regarding the legislative framework in the area of protection against domestic violence were also discussed. The Ombudswoman’s representative and a member of the Working group, counselor Martina Krnić, had once again made a proposal regarding the enablement of free legal assistance to victims of domestic violence in misdemeanor and criminal proceedings as well as offering the possibility to victims of domestic violence the right to appeal in all cases. The proposed Amendment of the Gender Equality Act has been specifically emphasized and discussed in order to specify the authorized prosecutor for filling the indictment proposal in Art. 31. of the Gender Equality Law, as well as the appropriate sanctions and protective measures for perpetrators with the aim of a more effective sanctioning of partner violence.
The problem of partner violence sanctioning was also dealt with in the Ombudswoman’s Work Report for 2015 where she noted that despite the great similarity of married and unmarried people in cohabitation, unmarried partners lack adequate legal protection (in misdemeanor and criminal proceedings) in the Republic of Croatia. That is, in the Republic of Croatia there has yet to be made an adequate and consistent legislative solution for protecting victims of partner violence. Until the necessary legislative changes are made the protection of partner violence victims is provided in two ways: the first way is that if the police establishes it to be a partnership (current or former) that has elements of extramarital cohabitation, then the partnership is considered an extramarital cohabitation with accordingly provided protection based on the Law on Protection from Domestic Violence. However, such a practice isn’t universal and it differs from one police department to another. In that sense, the Gender Equality Ombudswoman had given appropriate warnings and recommendations to the police in the previous years.
The second way is that the misdemeanor provision from Article 31 of the Gender Equality Act can be applied to cases of violence within a partnership. The Ombudswoman’s opinion is that partner violence shouldn’t be “shoved” under Domestic violence, but that partner violence in which the victim was in an emotional or love relationship for only a few months should be appropriately sanctioned under the Gender Equality Act which would necessarily have to be supplemented in order to designate an authorized prosecutor (we suggest the Ministry of the Interior) who would impose sanctions and safeguards. As a follow-up, the Gender Equality Ombudsperson has also proposed the implementation of the mentioned legislative change (as a Strategy measure)
In the context of the previously mentioned, that is the question of an authorized prosecutor- the Ombudswoman notes that some misdemeanor courts have firmly taken the position that the police is not an authorized prosecutor under the Article 31 of the Gender Equality Act. In that sense, the Ombudswoman had already earlier submitted a recommendation to the High Misdemeanor Court of the Republic of Croatia in which she had with explained with detail the problems and obstacles to applying the Article 31 of said Act. In the cases in which the misdemeanor courts do not consider the police as an authorized prosecutor, the Ombudswoman proposed and proposes that the police initiates a motion to the State Attorney’s Office in order to initiate misdemeanor proceedings as the competent state attorney has a right to file for all offenses.
A small night action of a group of activists edited the manipulative anti-choice movement „I want to live“ posters on several locations in Zagreb and stated how they want to live in a secular state in which the Church and its satellite associations do not decide on the reproductive rights of women and in which women don’t have the right of choice. The words on the poster that are addressed to us by the fetus were overwritten-an idea on which the whole Vigilare and Croatian for life and family movement campaign interwoven with hate speech towards women is based on . The messages sent were „I want to choose“ and „I want to live in a secular state“
„We would say that the posters look much better now“, say the activists.
A “Rijeka Feminist Spring” training was held in Rijeka from November 10th until November 13th, organized by PaRiter and sponsored by the Mediterranean Women’s Fund and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. The training brought together 15 feminists who had, within these three days, thought about elements of feminism and learned new skills of efficiently carrying out activist and advocacy projects.
Subjects such as gender and sex, women and the media, political participation of women, violence towards women, as well as ecofeminism, reproductive rights, justice and conducting advocacy activities have been discussed. The training also hosted lecturers of various profiles and throughout the weekend workshops were held by Ana Ajduković from the Centre for Women’s Studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka, Tajana Broz from the Center for Education, Counseling and Research, Nataša Vajagić from the Centre for Civic Initiative Poreč, Katarina Mikulić and Marinella Matejčić from PaRiter.
The training was designed and conducted as a combination of short lectures and interactive work in order for the participants to be able to instantly learn through various forms of group work. A feministic pop quiz, whose winner was the Štucavice grop, was held the second evening of the training. The last evening of the training was marked by a documentary film about body autonomy followed by a brief discussion.
One of the participants Antonella concluded : „The training was really great, only once I had talked more to people around me I realized how much knowledge I gathered about topics of which I knew nothing about, as well as broaden my knowledge in topics I knew something about. I also realized that it is quite possible to react in an activistic manner and that every step forward counts. I didn’t have the possibility to see this before or get the energy for activism as I did in the workshops. Besides, I met really amazing people and this is something that I will last forever- the stories, discussions, friendship and experience“.
The result of the training, other than those more difficult to measure like changes in attitudes and acquired knowledge, are also activist actions that the participants have designed themselves and that should be conducted within the next few months.
With the support of the IN Foundation and the Cultural Center of Gradiška, the Association “Most” on September 19th and 20th organized a two-day training for the project partners of the Day Center of the Gnijezdo Gradiška. Director of the Polyclinic for Child Protection of the City of Zagreb, prof. dr. sc. Gordana Buljan Flander hosted a training session attended by 15 participants – representatives of elementary school psychological and pedagogical profession, representatives of the Center for Social Work from Gradiska and Laktaši, representatives of the Center for Mental Health Protection and representatives of the General Hospital Gradiška.
The aim of the training was to take active and clearly defined roles of community-based experts in detecting and working with children suspected of sexual abuse. With the leadership of Professor Buljan Flander, the participants adopted and established knowledge about the definition of child sexual abuse, the criteria for its determination, the impact of sexual abuse on the welfare of children, access to sexually abused children according to their age, developmental stage and personal characteristics, and cognitive-behavioral therapy directed at trauma.
Participants are invited to a professional visit to the Child Protection Center of the City of Zagreb, where they will have the opportunity to learn more about the work of the multidisciplinary team.
On September 30, 2016, a round table on “Prevention of sexual violence against and among young people” was held in the area of the Volunteer Center Osijek. The round table was organized by SOS Children’s Village – Ladimirevci Children’s Village and Women’s Room – Zagreb’s Sexual Rights Center.
The Round Table was organized with the aim of presenting “Recommendations for Implementing Preventive Programs for Prevention of Sexual Violence in Schools”. The recommendations were made as a result of the implementation of 54 prevention workshops for 1089 children and young people and 25 lectures by 300 professors from the Požega – Slavonia and Bjelovar – Bilogora County, as well as associates and co-workers of the SOS Children ‘s Village Ladimirevci children’ s home in coordination of Women’s Room – Center for Sexual Rights.
Zoran Relić, director of the Children’s Home of SOS – Children’s Village Ladimirevci, spoke about “Prevention Programs on Sexual Violence in SOS Children’s Village Ladimirevci”, highlighting good practice examples. Anamaria Drožđan – Kranjčec presented the project “Safe from violence” in front of the Women’s Room, where the Round Table and the Recommendations itself are the result of the project. Krešimir Makvić, advocate for children’s rights at the SOS Children’s Village Croatia, presented the activities of SOS Kinderdorf International and SOS Children’s Village Croatia.
Representatives of the partner organization on the project from Daruvar Economy and Tourism School, Director Dinka Kavalir and Davorka Šorak, spoke more about prevention programs and prevention of sexual violence in educational institutions, while Mirjana Bilopavlović, coordinator of the Center for Support and Development of Civil Society “Dolphin “From Pakrac presented preventive programs and advocacy for the prevention of sexual violence in local communities. She highlighted examples of good practice of sensitizing and raising awareness that the organization of civil society “Dolphin” carries out in Lipik, Pakrac and beyond.
Mr. Darko Laksar presented the work of the Ombudsperson’s Office in the area of prevention of sexual violence against and among young people in front of the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children in Osijek, and the importance of advocating for the introduction of prevention programs in the educational institutions. Representative Ivana Milas from the Nansen Dialogue Center in Osijek presented a GOOD initiative and their commitment to the introduction of Civic Education into a school curriculum.
At the roundtable were representatives of state institutions and bodies, educational institutions, civil society organizations and interested citizens.
The Round Table is the final part of the project “Safe from Violence”, which financially supports the Ministry of Social Policy and Youth of the Republic of Croatia. The project leads the Women’s Room – the Sexual Rights Center in partnership with the Children’s Home SOS – Ladimirevci Children’s Village and the Daruvar Economic and Tourist School. Project partners are the Center for Support and Development of Civil Society “Dolphin”.
The Rijeka SOS Line Association has invited participation in a promotional campaign of the special “Call Dunja” helpline, which will be held on Rijeka’s Korzo from May 16 to 21, 2016 as part of the “Croatia volunteers” action.
This campaign will double as the launch of the “Call Dunja” helpline by the Rijeka SOS Line Association, dedicated to those who need a person to talk to or a look from a different perspective. The assistance is provided by trained volunteers, who will offer information on the psychological and legal counseling for victims of violence. The line is open every day from 5 to 8 p.m.
The Association invites everyone to contribute by spreading the word about this important line. The event will be ushered by a charity SOS BIRTHDAY PARTY on Saturday, May 13, 2016, at the Palach Youth Culture Center, as a tribute to all volunteers and members of the association. All collaborators, partner organizations, and interested parties are free to attend. The “Call Dunja” special helpline promotional campaign will be held on Korzo in the morning hours on Monday, May 16 and Wednesday, May 18 and on the afternoon of Saturday, May 21, 2016.
On May 3, from 4 to 7 p.m., the Center for Women’s Studies will convene a panel titled “The scent of jasmine in the Mediterranean―Women in the post-Arab Spring countries” as part of the Subversive Festival’s Mediterranean Forum at the Müller Hall of the Europe Cinema in Zagreb.
During the Arab Spring, the women and men of Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya took to the streets and squares to demand reforms and regime change, demonstrating side by side. The Jasmine Revolution inspired hope that women would actively participate as citizens and partners in the working of the new parliaments and governments to shape the future of their countries.
However, as the crumbling regimes fell, the old walls of gender division rose once again. Women have been abused, raped, and banished from public places. Nevertheless, their experience as participants in the protests can’t be erased. We will hear about their experience and the current situation and struggle of women for social justice and gender equality from: Amal Jackouby (Tunisia), Caroline Brac de La Perriere (France), and Samia Allalou (Algeria). The moderator of the panel is Rada Borić.
Everyone is welcome to participate in the panel.
