Open Society Foundation (OSF) is an organization which highlights the importance of the improvement of the democratic processes, the prevalence of rights, civic participation and human rights. The organization operates by encouraging politics that provide greater justice in political, legal and economic systems.
OSF supports current strategic activities of Zagreb Pride which are directed towards keeping the present level of rights in the current socio-political context, but also developing those rights through activities of monitoring the application of The Law on Life Partnership, drafting proposals on The Law of Gender Identity and other associated strategies of advocacy through Pride Month, Pride March and other activities.
The Pride March of LGBTIQ persons and families, the most important and largest event of the LGBTIQ community, is our longest-running activity aimed at increasing the visibility of the community and achieving a society of solidarity and equality, free from gender sexual norms and categories, and any other kind of oppression. The Pride March is preceded by the Pride Month – a cultural and political manifestation of the LGBTIQ community that which opens on May 17, on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). The Pride Month consists of a series of cultural, social and activist LGBTIQ-themed events. The Pride Month also includes Partycipation – LGBTIQ clubbing event. The Pride March is organized with the financial support of the City of Zagreb, the Embassy of Sweden in Zagreb, the Embassy of the United States in Zagreb, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Zagreb, the Netherlands Embassy in Zagreb and the donations of citizens.
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice is a philanthropic organization which concentrates on the improvement of human rights of LGBTIQ people in the world, and the removal of racial, economic, social, and gender oppression. The foundation mostly operates in countries in which LGBTIQ people are exposed to threats that violate human rights.
Astraea supports the work of Zagreb Pride in the area of connecting with other feminist organizations for the purpose of protecting reproductive rights, in the area of educational activities in schools, on colleges/universities, working in LGBTIQ communities, and developing rights for life partners and rainbow families.
Raising Awareness of Anti-LGBT Hate Crime
Despite the efforts of LGBTIQ organizations, other NGOs and governmental institutions in improving the protection of LGBTIQ persons, anti-LGBT hate crime is still widespread through Europe but often remains invisible due to high underreporting rates. This is why shared effort to raise public awareness about anti-LGBT hate crime is needed, as well as to empower victims and encourage them to report.
CALL IT HATE! Raising Awareness of Anti-LGBT Hate Crime is a project aimed at researching attitudes and public awareness about anti-LGBT hate crime in 10 EU countries, raising the visibility of those crimes in the media and the general public and tackling underreporting. The project is led by the University of Brescia (Università degli Studi di Brescia) in Italy in partnership with organizations and institutions from nine European countries – Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ireland, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Great Britain and Slovenia. The project started in January 2018 and is financially supported by the European Union and the City of Zagreb.
The project Diversity and Childhood – Changing social attitudes towards gender diversity in children across Europe was launched in October 2019 and will be implemented over the next two years in nine countries within the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship program. The goal of the project is to create a safe and affirmative environment for gender non-conforming children through the prevention of violence and abuse. Project activities include assessing the needs of institutions and organizations in dealing with gender-based violence, with particular attention to the needs of LGBT children and other gender non-conforming children, mapping good practices in the field of gender and age-based violence monitoring in five key areas: school, health, family, public places and media; raising the professional, personal and group capacities of institutions and organizations in ensuring of the well-being of LGBT and gender non-conforming children and proposing innovative practices and new legal protection measures for the said group. In addition to Zagreb Pride, the project partners are: University of Girona (Spain) as project coordinator, Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain), Çavaria (Belgium), Center d’Estudos Sociais, CES (Portugal), Hátter Society (Hungary), KMOP (Greece), Lambda Warsaw (Poland), National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Association LGL (Lithuania), and University of Ljubljana (Slovenia).
The project Inclusion4All – Trans, Intersex and Nonbinary people at work started in November 2020 and will be implemented for the next two years in five countries as part of the European Union’s Rights, Equality and Citizenship program. The aim of the project is to promote the effective implementation of the principle of non-discrimination between trans, intersex and non-binary persons at work. Project activities include:
Conducting in-depth research (with quantitative and qualitative elements) among trans, intersex and nonbinary people people on their work experiences, as well as among Human Resources professionals
Training and capacity building for trans, intersex and nonbinary people
Training and capacity building for Human Resources professionals
Raising awareness on workplace equality for trans, intersex and non binary persons through campaign activities
In addition to Zagreb Pride, the project partners are: Háttér Társaság (Hungary) as project coordinator, University of Brescia (Italy), SURT, Fundacio de dones fundacio privada (Spain) and Stichting Transgender Netwerk Nederland, TNN (Netherlands).
“Enough of the brutal reality – let’s protect the rights of LGBTIQ people” is a project by Zagreb Pride, whose main goal is to counter and combat discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ people in Croatia. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people are often still victims of physical, verbal and psychological violence and harassment. They are also often victims of discrimination – in public, at school or university, in the workplace or in the family. Due to the distrust of the police and the judiciary, much of the violence and discrimination experienced goes unreported and never goes to court, and some of it is not even documented in the reports of civil society organisations.
A large field survey conducted by Zagreb Pride in 2019 showed that as many as 64 per cent of respondents experienced some form of violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and/or sexual characteristics. Out of fear of discrimination or violence, a third of LGBTIQ people adjust their behaviour by hiding their identity or avoiding displays of tenderness and intimacy towards a loved one.
The project aims to empower, inform and encourage LGBTIQ people to report the experienced violence and discrimination, and to actively advocate for their own rights. At the same time, in order for the reports to be properly processed, it is necessary to work on strengthening the capacity, knowledge and skills of organisations advocating for LGBTIQ rights, to educate activists on how to approach victims, where and how to forward their statements for further processing, and how to cooperate with the police and the judiciary. Therefore, an important part of the “Enough of the brutal reality” project is cooperation and a mutual exchange of knowledge. It is especially important for us to strengthen the capacities of LGBTIQ groups outside Zagreb, particularly in Dalmatia. We will also work on briefing institutions and political parties so that they, too, are better prepared to protect the rights of LGBTIQ people. An annual report on the state of LGBTIQ human rights in Croatia will be prepared and published, and criminal charges for hate speech and hate crimes will be filed. Finally, it is important to raise the awareness of the general public about the negative experiences of LGBTIQ people and the community, and we will conduct training for journalists and report in detail on the cases we follow.
Experts from the FRI (Foreningen for kjønns- og seksualitetsmangfold), a Norwegian organisation for sexual and gender diversity, are also taking part in the project as partners.
The project started on February 1, 2021, and will last until the end of February 2023. Its total value is €121,500.