But after a few months of dating, Mario became increasingly possessive and jealous, demanding to know where Tanja was at all times and telling her to stop dressing like a whore when she wore a low-cut shirt. Tanja and Mario are fictional characters in a small hardcover booklet packaged like a chocolate bar and distributed to Croatian teens in schools and youth centers.
Although the two may not be real, the abuse depicted in their story is. Sixty percent of Croatians between 16 and 19 years of age have experienced some form of violence in a romantic relationship, according to a survey by the same organization that created the booklet, the Center for Education, Counseling and Research, in Zagreb, Croatia. The survey also asked these high school students about their views on physical, emotional and sexual violence.
The center is taking part in a three-year initiative across Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia to educate young people about all forms of prevalent gender-based violence. Surveys conducted in and by local nongovernmental organizations have found that between one-third and two-thirds of women in Croatia and Bosnia have experienced some sort of abuse from their partners.
In addition, a study by the World Health Organization reported that 23 percent of women in Serbia have suffered physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner. No statistics can be found to measure whether violence against women has increased since the wars that took place in the region from to following the break-up of Yugoslavia. During that conflict, sexual violence was used as a weapon and an estimated 20, Bosnian Muslim women were raped.
Milicevic says that present-day violence against women has to be understood in relation to the social and political changes that took place during and after the war. Joblessness may prevent women from leaving abusive relationships, and can put them at risk of being trafficked or forced into prostitution.
