The Istanbul Convention in Croatia: challenges and opportunities in tackling violence against women and domestic violence

This chapter examines the reception of the Istanbul Convention in Croatia, focusing on anti-gender and women’s movements and their influence on legal and institutional change. The chapter begins with an analysis of the Istanbul Convention and explores the implications of the political compromise that resulted in it taking both a gender-specific perspective on violence against women and a gender-neutral approach to domestic violence. It then explores the reception of this Convention in Croatia, examining how conservative movements used the concept of “gender ideology” to oppose its ratification, and considers whether the government’s attempts to mitigate these tensions with an interpretative declaration may have settled these anxieties. The final part of the chapter explores Croatia’s #MeToo movements as catalysts for legal and institutional change and considers both the challenges and opportunities these women’s movements present in pushing for the thorough implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Croatia.