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15 March 2013 HRV104323.E
Croatia: Treatment of sexual minorities in Zagreb by society and authorities, including state protection and support services Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa For information about the treatment of sexual minorities more generally in Croatia, including legislation, state protection and support services, see Response to Information Request HRV104072.
1. Societal Attitudes
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Coordinator of Iskorak Centar, a Zagreb-based NGO that provides legal help to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people who experience violence and discrimination, characterized social attitudes towards LGBT people in Zagreb as "generally negative" (Iskorak 20 Feb. 2013). However, the Coordinator of Zagreb Pride, also in correspondence with the Research Directorate, expressed his personal opinion that acceptance of LGBT people in Zagreb has grown within the past couple of years and that LGBT people have become "generally more visible" (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). He explained that LGBT rights have become "of a public importance" and that a significant change in media attitude has affected general societal attitudes (ibid.). However, he also noted that public display of same-sex affection is rare in Zagreb and can provoke a "violent reaction" (ibid.).
2. Incidents of Violence
The Iskorak coordinator said that sexual minorities in Zagreb "suffer discrimination and violence in everyday life" (Iskorak 20 Feb. 2013). Similarly, the Zagreb Pride coordinator stated that hate crimes are "still of major concern" to the
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LGBT community in Zagreb (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). The European Commission has also expressed concern that LGBT people in Croatia "continued to be subjected to threats and attacks" (EU 12 Oct. 2011, 51). The Zagreb Pride coordinator indicated that in 2012 six "hate crimes" against LGBT people in Zagreb were reported to his organization (7 Mar. 2013). In one case, a "butch" lesbian woman was attacked by a man on several occasions and sustained serious physical injuries (Zagreb Pride 7 Mar. 2013). Her attacker was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, but the state attorney appealed the sentence to a higher court requesting a punishment of three years imprisonment (ibid.). In addition, there were two cases in which gay couples were physically attacked and the perpetrators were not apprehended (ibid.). Other hate crimes included a threat to an LGBT activist, a case of hate speech against the Zagreb Pride, and the use of a Nazi salute (ibid.). AI conducted field research in Croatia in March 2012, in which they interviewed 30 LGBT individuals and groups, as well as local and state officials in Zagreb and Split (June 2012, 3). Their report, Inadequate Protection: Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Crimes in Croatia, provides details on several hate crimes against LGBT people in Zagreb (AI June 2012, 6-9). In one example from 2010, a few hours after the Zagreb Pride parade, three men attacked a man and his two friends after first asking if they had attended the “‘faggot parade’” (ibid., 7). One victim had his collarbone broken, while another sustained damage to his teeth (ibid.). The perpetrators, who the victims believed were members of the soccer supporters’ group “Bad Blue Boys,” were not identified or charged (ibid.). In another AI example from 2010, a lesbian woman was attacked and verbally abused by a man when leaving a club in Zagreb, after she rebuked his sexual advances and said that she was a lesbian (ibid., 9). She was repeatedly kicked in the head and body and was kept under observation in the hospital for several hours (ibid.). She reported the incident to the police, including the homophobic comments, but the police did not register the hate bias and processed the crime as a minor offence with a punishment of a fine of 300 kuna [approximately $53 CAD (XE 14 Mar. 2013)] (AI June 2012, 9). In addition, AI provided details on a case from 2011 in which a gay couple was verbally abused and attacked by three men on a tram in Zagreb (ibid.). One of the victims was punched in the face until he fell to the floor, while the other victim sustained a broken nose (ibid.). The police, who initially lost the case files, tried the perpetrators in the minor offences court and the criminal charges were dropped (ibid.). The victims were not informed until after the fact (ibid.). Iskorak and Lesbijska grupa Kontra (Kontra), a Zagreb-based NGO promoting lesbian human rights (Kontra n.d.), in a joint report on the status of LGBT people in Croatia, provide details of "hate crimes" against LGBT people in Zagreb (Iskorak and Kontra [2011], 79-83). For example, in 2009, four men attacked a gay man and stole his bag, after making contact with him through the Internet by posing as a bisexual man (ibid., 79-80). The victim sustained a head injury, broken nose and eye injury (ibid.). In another example, in 2010, a man was attacked and beaten after leaving a gay bar (ibid., 82). The perpetrators--a football player and his brother--knocked the victim to the ground and kicked him repeatedly in the head, while threatening to kill him and using homophobic slurs (ibid.). The victim suffered “serious physical injuries” including a broken nose, hematomas on his face, a cut lip requiring stitches, and a head injury (ibid.). The perpetrators were charged and convicted of causing serious bodily harm as a hate crime, and sentenced to 7 months imprisonment, which was the minimum legal punishment (ibid., 82-83). According to the Zagreb Pride coordinator, perpetrators of homophobic or transphobic violence in Zagreb are often young men between the ages of 15 and 25 who are soccer "'ultra supporters'" or right-wing radicals, such as "Nazi- skinheads or Ustasha-admirers" (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). This information could not be corroborated among the sources consulted by the Research http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=454455&pls=1[4/3/2018 4:36:42 PM] Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. According to Kontra and Iskorak, although there are more people willing to speak out publicly than in past years, the majority of people who experience discrimination or violence because of their sexual orientation "never report those incidents due to lack of trust in the Croatian legal system and due to fear that their sexual orientation or gender identity will be made public" ([2011], 6). Basing his information on 2007 surveys, the Zagreb Pride coordinator said that 90 percent of hate crimes against LGBT people in Croatia are not reported (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013).
3. Discrimination
The Zagreb Pride coordinator stated that LGBT people in Zagreb rarely report discrimination (5 Mar. 2013). He expressed the opinion of his organization that the underreporting was due, in part, to people being unaware of the 2009 anti-discrimination legislation, and the “conviction that reporting would not change social or institutional attitudes towards LGBT people” (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). Iskorak and Kontra reported that LGBT people rarely report discrimination “due to lack of faith in the legal system and fear that their sexual orientation will become publicly known, while citizens in general do not report discrimination at the workplace for fear of losing their jobs” ([2011], 96). The Zagreb Pride coordinator said that within the last five years, his NGO has received reports of discrimination against LGBT people in Zagreb, including: being denied access to goods and services, such as being asked to leave bars and restaurants; having their employment contract in private and public sector not renewed when their sexual orientation was discovered; and not being allowed to rent apartments (5 Mar. 2013). He explained that housing discrimination against LGBT people was the most common form of discrimination in Zagreb, but that of three cases reported to his group in the last two years, only one person filed a legal complaint and the case is still ongoing (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). For his part, the Iskorak coordinator said that his organization has documented cases of employment discrimination against LGBT people in Zagreb (20 Feb. 2013). The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) Europe reported on a case in which a professor at the Faculty of Organisation and Informatics of Zagreb University in Varaždin was subject to internal ethical proceedings at the university for bringing a case of harassment based on sexual orientation forward, while the perpetrators did not face sanctions by the university (ILGA May 2012, 55). This is corroborated by Iskorak and Kontra, who provide details of the case and note that it was the first report of discrimination based on sexual orientation in accordance with the Anti- Discrimination Act ([2011], 91-96). Sources indicate that same-sex partnerships are legally recognized in Croatia (ILGA May 2012, 54; Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). However, the Coordinator of Zagreb Pride noted that the Same Sex Union Act offers only two of 60 family rights--the division of common property and one year of alimony, and has never been enforced (ibid.). He said that his NGO has received several reports of discrimination against same-sex partners (ibid.).
4. Right to Assembly
Sources report that Zagreb has held the Zagreb Pride event annually since 2002 (AI June 2012, 6; HINA 16 June 2012). AI notes that the event has been subject to counter-protests and is "now well protected by the police," but sometimes results in attacks against LGBT people in other parts of the city after the event (AI June 2012, 6). However, sources indicate that the 2012 Zagreb Pride, which included participation by the Foreign Minister of Croatia and two MPs (HINA 16 June 2012), passed without any incidents (ibid.; Zagreb Pride 5 Mar.
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2013). According to the Zagreb Pride coordinator, there were approximately 5,000 marchers, up from 300 marchers in 2008 (ibid.). The Croatian media agency HINA reports that 400 police officers secured the event (HINA 16 June 2012). The Coordinator noted that the 2012 Pride was the first time that participants were able to walk in and out of the march freely and safely (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). Media sources also report that in January 2013, members of the LGBT community in Zagreb staged a demonstration in front of the Zagreb Cathedral to protest homophobic statements made by the Croatian Catholic Church (EuroNews 13 Jan. 2013; HINA 12 Jan. 2013). The church reportedly demonized LGBT people and accused them of "'destroying Croatia'" (ibid.; EuroNews 13 Jan. 2013). According to HINA, there were approximately 100 protesters, 500 counter- protesters, and 100 riot police (12 Jan. 2013). Counter-protesters included 100 members of an association for disabled war veterans, as well as teenagers and members of the soccer support group "Bad Blue Boys" (HINA 12 Jan. 2013). The riot police reportedly formed a barricade between the protesters and counter- protesters (EuroNews 13 Jan. 2013). According to EuroNews, three people were arrested (ibid.), while HINA reports that four counter-protesters were detained for throwing eggs and lighters (HINA 12 Jan. 2013).
5. Treatment by Police
According to AI, there are flaws in Croatia's protection of LGBT victims of hate crimes, "particularly in the police investigation of hate motives and in providing prompt and accurate information to victims" (AI June 2012, 3). Kontra and Iskorak state that police officials "continuously behave in a discriminatory manner while processing cases of discrimination and violence against LGBT persons" ([2011], 78-79). The Iskorak coordinator noted that there have been cases of police misconduct towards LGBT people in Zagreb, as well as cases in which the police did not treat hate crimes seriously (20 Feb. 2013). However, he also said that this is changing and that the police are beginning to take these crimes seriously (Iskorak 20 Feb. 2013). The Zagreb Pride coordinator said that in the recent past, there were cases in which LGBT people complained that the police did not take them seriously, or that the crime was not recognized as a hate crime since the victim’s sexual orientation was not included in the police reports (5 Mar. 2013). He noted, though, that Zagreb has nine police stations, and that some treat LGBT people with respect, while in other police stations LGBT activists had to publicly address mistreatments (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). Both Zagreb Pride and Iskorak are reportedly active in police training about crimes against LGBT people (ibid.; Iskorak 20 Feb. 2013). Iskorak, in partnership with Kontra, is working with the police academy in Zagreb to educate police officers about hate crimes against LGBT people starting in the 2012-2013 academic year (Iskorak 20 Feb. 2013). Zagreb Pride has reportedly organized training on how to treat LGBT hate crimes for the basic police forces (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). According to the Coordinator, the elder policemen have shown some passive resistance to the training (ibid.).
6. Support Services
According to the Iskorak coordinator, there are no government-funded support services for LGBT people in Zagreb, and their organization receives international funding (Iskorak 20 Feb. 2013). According to the Zagreb Pride coordinator, there are "several" NGOs in Zagreb, such as Zagreb Pride, that provide legal assistance of LGBT victims of violence, as well as individual or group counselling (5 Mar. 2013). He indicated that most of these services are funded by the EU rather than the central government, but also noted that municipal authorities in Zagreb have granted "limited funds" for some services (Zagreb Pride 5 Mar. 2013). This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/ResRec/RirRdi/Pages/index.aspx?doc=454455&pls=1[4/3/2018 4:36:42 PM] Responses to Information Requests - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Amnesty International (AI). June 2012. Inadequate Protection: Homophobic and Transphobic Hate Crimes in Croatia. (EUR 64/001/2012)
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: Attempts to contact representatives of the following organizations were unsuccessful: Lesbijska grupa Kontra, Women's Room – Center for Sexual Rights. Internet sites, including: Balkan Insight, ecoi.net, Human Rights Watch, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Lesbijska grupa Kontra, Pink News, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, United Nations – Refworld, Women's Room – Center for Sexual Rights.
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