2020 Country Page – Croatia

RIJEKA

Event: STOP DISCRIMINATION IN SCHOOLS
Direction: Lesbian Organisation Rijeka LORI is established in 2000 as 1st registered lesbian organisation in Croatia. Our mission is to promote and protect the human rights, identity and culture of the LGBTIQ population, to inform and sensitize the public to accept the LGBTIQ community, to eradicate prejudice and homo/bi/transphobia in society, to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, and empower and ensure support for LGBTIQ persons. 
LORI activities are focused on:
– informing, supporting and empowering the LGBTIQ community;
– promoting and protecting LGBTIQ rights and increasing the visibility of LGBTIQ persons;
– conducting campaigns and undertaking projects that aim to raise public awareness and point to problems of, the forms of discrimination against and violence towards sexual and gender minorities;
– informing and educating professionals about LGBTIQ issues and LGBTIQ rights;
– informing and sensitizing the public to accept LGBTIQ persons;
– reducing prejudice against and stigmatization of LGBTIQ population;
– creating a more tolerant environment and a society that respects the rights of all citizens.
LORI marks IDAHOT in Rijeka since 2013 and Rijeka is still the only city in Croatia which supports IDAHOT by flying a rainbow flag above the entrance of the City Hall Rijeka.
Date: May 15th – June 8th 2020
Time: 0/24 h (Online)
Info: Homo/biphobia and transphobia are quite high in Croatian Education system: there is a worrying presence of peer violence, bullying based on sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression, along with general lack of LGBTIQ education for students as well as for professional staff. From 2012 LORI conducts programme Decreasing Homo/bi/transphobia in education system and in that sense is a pioneer in Croatia in conducting lectures for secondary school students in several schools in Rijeka, aiming at educating and sensitizing them along with pointing the effects of homo/biphobia and transphobia in the education to the general public. Unfortunately, Croatian government and Ministry of Science and Education in 2019 brought new curriculum which excludes gender equality, human rights and LGBTIQ topics in Health Education. 
As this spring LORI is unable to conduct lectures in schools due to pandemic, we have decided to mark IDAHOT 2020 by breaking the silence in Croatian Education System in terms of creating a small-scale media campaign with the aim of raising visibility of importance of education on LGBTI topics. Under the mentorship of LORI staff, two students of Rijeka University that are currently interns in LORI will create series of articles and videos that include LGBTI youth stories for LORI web page and social media (Facebook and Instagram), as well as press release. Activities also include flying a rainbow flag above the entrance of the City Hall Rijeka, which is the contribution to IDAHOT from City of Rijeka that traditionally marks IDAHOT since 2013.
With these activities we hope to contribute to reducing prejudice against LGBTI youth and stigmatization of the LGBTIQ population, as well as to bring necessary changes to Croatian Education System and finally, to creating a more inclusive school environment and a more humane society in general.

ZAGREB

For the upcoming #IDAHOBIT activists from Zagreb Pride 🇭🇷 launched a recent research, concluding that 6 out of 10 LGBTI persons in the Republic of Croatia experienced some sort of violence in the streets, squares, workplaces and households