ZAGREB, February 20, 2020 – An informal initiative of associations and individuals Survivor2020 on Thursday observed the World Day of Social Justice staging a protest rally in Saint Mark’s Square in Zagreb to raise awareness about disabled people’s disadvantageous status.
The protesters also called on the government to adopt a National Strategy for Civil Society Development as soon as possible.
Senada Halilčević of the Association for Self-Advocacy warned about the social deprivation of disabled people, condemned to a life of poverty, about poorly implemented deinstitutionalisation and about the practice of encouraging adult foster care, which does not exist anywhere in Europe but in Croatia.
“Manipulations of property owned by people under guardianship is another way of deepening the poverty of people who are already in a disadvantaged position,” Halilčević underscored at the demonstration “Survivor2020 – Day of Social Justice in Croatia”.
Nikola Tadić of the Croatian Autism Association said that parents of children with disabilities who were members of associations were exhausted as they were the only ones providing information and social services.
The initiative Survivor2020 called on the government to support the proposal by the European Parliament and vote for an increase in the budget of the Rights and Values programme, which amounts to 1.83 billion euro for the entire European Union.
The initiative Survivor2020 is supported by 30 organisations and associations, such as the Centre for Peace Studies, the Centre for Women’s Studies, the Rainbow Families association, the Forum for Freedom in Education, the GONG election monitoring NGO, the civic initiative “Let’s help children with disabilities”, the Croatian Youth Network, the Roda (Parents in Action) association and the Green Action.
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