The campaign ‘I Did Not Say YES’ focuses on the concept of true consent through the testimonies of ten individuals who have survived sexual violence, transformed into literary forms of prose and poetry, and turned into the first booklet of testimonies arising from individual psychotherapeutic work at the Center for Victims of Sexual Violence, Women’s Room. The ‘I Did Not Say YES’ booklet will be handed over to individuals who have survived sexual violence.
Sexual violence is one of the most serious crimes that is least reported. This is not only the case in the Republic of Croatia but worldwide. There are many reasons for not reporting any form of sexual violence experienced, including sexual harassment. These reasons can be categorized into three groups: personal reasons, insufficient support for individuals who have survived sexual violence, and fear of reporting and the outcome of legal proceedings.
– Even when women report sexual violence, the most common social reaction is to blame the person who survived sexual violence and shift the responsibility from the perpetrator to the victim – emphasizes Kristina Mihaljević, head of preventive programs at Women’s Room.
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‘I Did Not Say YES’! Any Sexual Activity Without Consent is Sexual Violence
An analysis by the global movement ‘Amnesty International’ shows that in sixteen European countries, including Scandinavian countries, Belgium, Spain, and Slovenia, there are laws that clearly define that any sexual activity without consent is sexual violence and that consent must be voluntary, clear, and can be withdrawn at any time. If a person does not express clear consent or withdraws consent during a sexual act, it is considered sexual violence. In the Republic of Croatia, the legal regulation states that the age for sexual consent is 15 years.
Changes in Legislation in Recent Years
Kristina Mihaljević, head of preventive programs at Women’s Room, emphasizes that the legal definition of rape in Croatia has undergone significant changes with the criminal amendments that came into effect in 2020. The crime of sexual intercourse without consent has been abolished, but the legislation has retained the distinction between committing the act using force or threats or without using them, and everything has been reduced to Article 153 – the crime of rape.
Despite positive legislative changes, in practice, Women’s Room still encounters problems highlighted in the evaluative ‘Grevio’ report for Croatia. Grevio urges the state to fully implement the newly adopted provisions of the Criminal Code that encompass the crimes of rape and sexual violence and to ensure that the bodies responsible for law enforcement, prosecution, and judiciary effectively apply them in practice, including when there is no resistance from the victim, as the most common reaction to sexual violence is freezing in fear.
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– We most often encounter the problem of disbelief towards victims, which affects the reporting and prosecution of crimes. When a woman survives sexual violence, it often happens that everyone questions in what ways she said ‘no’. Did she defend herself, did she scream, but no one asks whether she said ‘yes’ and whether she could say ‘yes’ freely, consciously, and without fear of consequences.
For every reported rape, there are 15 to 20 unreported cases
Research and the experience of Women’s Room indicate that for every reported rape, there are 15 to 20 unreported cases. More than 90 percent of women who survive rape will not confide their experience to anyone for years, and even fewer will report it. Similar data applies to children who experience sexual violence in the family or from other close individuals, and the same applies to all other forms of sexual violence.
– There is almost no girl or woman who has not experienced some form of sexual harassment. Sexual violence is one of the two dominant forms of gender-based violence alongside domestic violence, where in more than 90 percent of cases, the victims are girls and women, and in more than 90 percent of cases, the perpetrators are young men and men – emphasizes Kristina Mihaljević.
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Sexual violence is a problem that is covered by silence, but it does not have to be
Data from the Council of Europe, the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and other key actors indicate that one in three women will experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, that one in five women will experience an attempted rape and/or rape during their lifetime, and that one in five children will experience some form of sexual violence by the age of eighteen. The testimonies of individuals who have survived sexual violence are a step forward in the fight against prejudice and advocate for the concept of true consent.
If you have survived sexual violence, seek free support at the Women’s Room counseling service via email: [email protected] or contact number 01 6119 444.
The campaign ‘I Did Not Say YES’ is conducted in collaboration with Women’s Room and HAIKU communications. The design of the campaign and the booklet is credited to Josipa Tadić and Sven Sorić.
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