CROATIA

Government
In the last ten years, Croatia has gone from a war-torn country to an emerging democracy. Its population is 4.4 million, and the national language is Croatian. The end of the Franjo Tudjman HDZ government in 1999 marked a new beginning for Croatia. In 2000, a new government, led by President Stjepan Mesic and Prime Minister Ivica Racan of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), was elected. The elections were considered by election monitors to be both fair and free. Women in Croatia face no legal restrictions on participation in government or politics. Women hold 22 of the 151 parliamentary seats and 4 of the 23 cabinet positions. The goal of the new government is to integrate Croatia into the European Union. Croatia has worked hard to cooperate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and many Croatian military figures have been arrested on suspicion of the massacre of Serbs and other ethnic minorities.

Economy
Croatia's economy is in transition from former socialist constraints to a market economy. This transition has been initiated by the government as a strategy to boost trade and commerce. In early 2003, Croatia's application for membership into the European Union (EU) was formally filed - a major milestone towards economic stability. The average annual income is 4,550 USD, with many jobs being 'free labor' or casual employment. From 1999 to 2002, the national unemployment rate has decreased from 20 percent to 15 percent. The majority of those unemployed are women. An increasing situation in rural and southern Croatia is that young people are migrating to the capital in pursut of gainful employment, leaving the rural areas bare of youth. This leaves the countryside bare of its most valuable resource: its youth. Approximately ten percent of the population lives in absolute poverty, with many more merely scrapeing by on occasional work and money sent from family living abroad.

Media and Human Rights
Since the end of the Tudjman reign, the media has enjoyed a significant increase in freedom and independence. The main television station, Croatian Radio-Television, HRT, is a national state-owned public broadcaster and is financed by both advertisers and license fees. To protect the freedom of expression in the media, the Croatian News Agency, HINA, passed a law in 2002 to ensure media objectivity is not compromised for interests of the government or other parties.

The challenges of creating a post-war democratic, independent country include establishing a solid human rights platform. While most activists agree that significant improvements have been made, many problems still persist. Ethnic Serbs and other minorities suffer arbitrary arrest and unwarranted detention. Other citizens often harass Serbs attempting to regain their property, and the police rarely intervene. There are reported cases of Serb women being raped and sexually harassed in an attempt to move them out of the country.

Gender Issues
The women's movement in Croatia is very strong. Organizations focus on issues ranging from war counseling to reproductive rights. The Penal Code prohibits domestic violence, rape, and spousal rape, but these problems persist. Many women are afraid to report these problems to the police, as they are generally ignored. The only women's shelter, Autonomous Women's House, is located in Zagreb. While it has housed over 10,000 women in the last 12 years, it is difficult to reach for rural women outside the city. In fact, only 1 in 4 women requesting refuge are able to stay at the shelter. Currently, another group, Vukovar Women's Association, is seeking funding to provide an additional shelter. To further promote gender equality, the Government Committee for Gender Equality drafted two new laws - on gender equality and on protection against violence in the family - both of which are pending parliamentary action. For the first time, restraining orders have been introduced into the Law on Criminal Proceedings, in addition to obligatory psychosocial therapy for family violence cases.

Roma women face double discrimination in Croatia - discrimination from Croats due to their ethnicity and discrimination within the Roma community based on traditional Roma views of women. Croatia has signed the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination, but wide discrimination persists. The estimated number of Roma in Croatia is between 30,000 and 40,000. Obstacles facing Roma women range from a lack of education to language barriers. The majority of these women have never held a job, and less than 1 percent complete high school. Additionally, Roma women face discrimination by doctors. Roma women in Croatia traditionally bear a large number of children, as is the Roma cultural norm. Because large families are not the cultural and social standard in Croatia, doctors often encourage and harass Roma women to under go sterilization. Many of these women have no transportation and lack knowledge about contraception. According to the Croatian Helsinki Committee, Roma children are still segregated in schools across Croatia. Roma girls generally do not attend school due to both this discrimination and traditional Roma pressures to remain in the home.