The Ombudswoman, Tena Šimonović Einwalter, participated on 22 May 2025 in the thematic meeting the Committee on Gender Equality in the Croatian Parliament. The session was dedicated to the topic “22 Years After the Adoption of the Act on Protection Against Domestic Violence: Do We Need a New Law on the Protection of Women from Violence?”
The Ombudswoman emphasized that the Act has still not sufficiently fulfilled its goal and purpose. She identified key issues such as the underreporting of violence, the housing of victims, the need to further develop public awareness of gender equality and various forms of violence, as well as the importance of educating and raising awareness among those responsible for implementing the Act. She also pointed to the still ineffective data collection on domestic violence.
Given the mandate of the institution she heads, the Ombudswoman specifically highlighted the issue of violence against older persons, with older women being the most frequent victims. She reminded that violence against older persons occurs not only within the family but also in care homes, and that there is a general lack of awareness that older persons are often victims of violence. Supporting this is the fact that there is still no convention on the rights of older persons; a decision to begin drafting such a convention was made only two months ago within the UN, to which the Ombudswoman also contributed.
Data show a significant increase in domestic violence against older persons: in 2018 there were 150 older victims, whereas in 2023 there were as many as 854. The Ombudswoman warned that non-physical violence often goes unrecognized and unrecorded in many situations, where competent authorities instead interpret it solely as, for example, property or legal disputes between family members.
More on the obstacles to better protection of older persons from violence, as well as recommendations for improvement, can be found in the Ombudswoman’s 2024 Annual Report.
The thematic meeting was organized by the Committee on Gender Equality and the Women’s Network of Croatia. The goal was to initiate a public discussion on the sanctioning of violence against women, current practices, the distinction between misdemeanour and criminal sanctions, and to consider the possibility of shifting domestic violence from the misdemeanour domain into the exclusive field of criminal law, in order to ensure stricter punishment of perpetrators and provide more adequate protection for victims.
In addition to the members of the Committee and the Women’s Network of Croatia, the session was attended by other Members of Parliament, experts in the field, and representatives of competent state institutions and civil society organizations.