WOMEN AS SEXUAL OBJECTS - DIRECT PRODUKT OF THE CLASS SOCIETY

news sport j2 money culture scene video subscription IN CLOSE FRAME Why are women in Croatia treated as sexual objects and is it possible to change that? The environment most often notices what is happening, but as a rule no one reacts, but the bully is tolerated Writes: Ivanka TomaPosted: September 10, 2020 11:22 pm Illustration Illustration Andriy Popov / Panthermedia / Profimedia Facebook Twitter Messenger E-mail Apart from the fact that they are not equal in terms of income for their work, the harder it is for them to progress, the harder it is to get a permanent job, take on household responsibilities and take care of children, women in Croatia are also frequent victims of sexual violence. It happens not only inside the home, but also at work, at the doctor's, on the street. The environment most often notices what is happening, but as a rule no one reacts, but the bully is tolerated. Victims are therefore exposed to systematic and prolonged sexual violence and are reduced to a sexual object. There is a current case of a psychiatrist in Varaždin who, according to the testimony of some of his patients and colleagues, manipulated young girls and had sexual relations with them. It has recently been shown that there has been sexual abuse in the Croatian Employers' Association for years, which everyone knew about and pretended that everything was fine. The case of Autoclub Siget is also fresh, where Damir Škaro used the position of power and political influence for sexual abuse of women. The lawyer, psychiatrist and state secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy explain why women in Croatia are treated as sexual objects, why they do not report sexual violence and whether it is possible and how to change it. "It simply came to our notice then. Wars were fought and kidnapping of women was very popular. This has not stopped to this day, although we have fought for different relationships. It has remained in the culture that women are sexual objects. A sign of power is to have a good car, a horse, gold, money, power, and even to kidnap a woman ", says psychiatrist Ante Bagarić from the Vrapče Psychiatric Clinic. Lawyer Višnja Drenški Lasan points out that the cases discussed in the media are not the real picture. "Statistics show that we do not have such a large increase in sexual violence. Thus, in 2018, 51 rapes were reported, and in 2019, 52. The problem is the dark number of crimes, "says the lawyer. State Secretary at the Ministry of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy Marija Pletikosa points out that sexual violence is one of the most widespread areas in which human rights are violated. When asked why victims report violence severely and rarely, the psychiatrist says that sexual violence is formally condemned, that there are many associations that deal with it, and that the state is oriented towards the fight against violence. "But, all that is declarative, and as soon as she turns around, deep questions arise - is she to blame, she got what she asked for, what she was waiting to report. We would like the society to be more mature, but it is not ", concludes Bagarić