The project will strengthen the advocacy capacities of associations for repositioning women’s health from the medical sphere in the sphere of human rights, initiating strategic litigation in the area of women’s reproductive rights, advocating women’s reproductive rights on the basis of evidence, and will develop mechanisms for a stronger role of associations in the protection of women’s human rights.
Project duration:
From 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2022 (24 months)
RADAR
Open media group is a partner to the organization Parents in Action in the implementation of the project Radar – empowering advocacy potentials of civil society organizations for the protection of women’s human rights in health care. The project is financed by the Active Citizenship Fund, and the O.M.G. contribution will be in the drafting and implementation of the campaign with the aim of increasing the visibility of activities and project results and the issue of violating the reproductive rights of women in the Republic of Croatia. In addition to our organization, the project partner is Women’s counselling from Iceland.
The problem of systematic violations of women’s reproductive rights in the Republic of Croatia was recognised during the campaign #StopTheSilence in 2018, which had a strong public reaction and during which over 1,000 female testimonies of verbal and physical violence, refusal of gynecological care and anesthesia during painful gynecological procedures were gathered. Despite widespread resonance among domestic and world, general and professional public, there has been no improvement in the care system for women’s health.
Although a large number of associations support vulnerable groups of women, the lack of capacity and resources does not systematically advocate public policies to protect women’s reproductive rights. At the same time, the health care system is non-transparent and closed to involving women in the formation of public policies, and the issue of women’s reproductive rights remains exclusively a medical issue. Although many associations proposed the adoption of the Action Plan and the Declaration on Women’s Health in 2018 as part of the campaign #StopSilence, the competent institutions ignored this proposal.
In order to bring up the changes that will ensure dignified evidence-based care for women’s health at least eight associations will strengthen their advocacy capacities for the protection of women’s reproductive rights, through training to monitor breaches of women’s reproductive rights, overview of case-law and international standards, launch of strategic litigation, research on compliance with expert guidance, participatory workshops with the aim of drawing up proposals for documents for women’s health, creating a shadow report on women’s health rights and development of programmes, and training tools for the techniques to combat possible domination.
All activities will involve women, especially those at higher risk of gynaecological violence, vulnerable groups of women such as Roma women, asylum seekers, women with disabilities, rural areas and the islands.
The project will strengthen the advocacy capacities of associations for repositioning women’s health from the medical sphere in the sphere of human rights, initiating strategic litigation in the area of women’s reproductive rights, advocating women’s reproductive rights on the basis of evidence, and will develop mechanisms for a stronger role of associations in the protection of women’s human rights.
