Bridging the Gap: Towards a Coordinated Response to Racist Hate Speech and Violence in Croatia
How can we better identify, monitor and address racist hate speech and hate crimes? How can we ensure better support for victims and improve cooperation between institutions and civil society organisations?
These are the questions addressed by the new project “Bridging the Gap: Towards a Coordinated Response to Racist Hate Speech and Violence”, jointly implemented over the next two years by the Human Rights House Zagreb, the Centre for Peace Studies and the Ombudsperson’s Office.
The project aims to strengthen Croatia’s capacity to prevent and respond more effectively to racist hate speech and hate crimes, particularly in the context of discrimination against Roma, Serbs, Muslims, migrants and people of African descent. Although Croatia has a well-developed legal framework for combating discrimination, racism and intolerance remain present, while many cases go unreported. At the same time, institutional responses are not always sufficiently coordinated, while civil society organisations often work separately. The project therefore seeks to bring together monitoring and data collection, victim support, institutional action and public advocacy within a more sustainable and coordinated framework.
Better monitoring of racism and hate speech
One of the project’s key components will be the improvement of the system for reporting and monitoring racist hate speech through the dostajemrznje.org platform. The platform will enable the continuous collection of reports from citizens, including the possibility of anonymous reporting and submitting supporting documentation or screenshots.
Based on separately collected data, annual reports on racist hate speech, analyses of court decisions and policy briefs with recommendations for improving institutional responses will be developed. The project will also collect data on public attitudes towards racism, xenophobia, Roma and discrimination, connecting data on social attitudes with data on institutional responses.
Supporting victims and connecting institutions
Particular attention will be paid to people who experience racist hate speech or violence. The Human Rights House Zagreb, the Centre for Peace Studies and the Ombudsperson’s Office will develop a victim referral mechanism between organisations and institutions, making it easier for people reporting discrimination or hate speech to access information, legal assistance and other available forms of support.
The project will also map the existing support system and involve communities that are most exposed to discrimination. A victim-centred approach will be applied throughout, taking into account different and intersecting forms of discrimination.
Training the police, judiciary and public institutions
An effective response to racist hate speech and violence also requires strengthening institutional capacities. The project will develop a programme of specialised training for the police, the judiciary, and local and other public officials, aimed at improving the identification, recording and handling of cases of racist discrimination and hate speech.
The training will cover European standards, gender-sensitive approaches and different forms of discrimination. The project results are expected to contribute to more consistent and effective institutional practices.
From research to public debate
The project will not focus solely on institutions and experts. Through workshops, focus groups, public forums and other activities, it will create opportunities for citizens and communities exposed to racism and discrimination to participate.
An important project output will be a study on public awareness, understanding and experiences of racial discrimination, conducted by the Ombudsperson’s Office. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of citizens’ attitudes and experiences and inform the development of future policies and activities.
The project will conclude with a national conference in Zagreb, where research findings, policy recommendations and experiences from the project will be presented. Representatives of public institutions, civil society organisations, academia, the media, and relevant European and international organisations are expected to participate.
Cooperation for a more sustainable system
Bridging the Gap aims to produce results that remain useful beyond the end of the project. One of its objectives is therefore to establish lasting cooperation between the Human Rights House Zagreb, the Centre for Peace Studies and the Ombudsperson’s Office, while ensuring the continued operation of the improved dostajemrznje.org platform.
The project will also develop a sustainability plan covering platform maintenance, data management, future funding opportunities and continued cooperation between the partners. The results and models developed through the project will also be presented to European networks, allowing experiences from Croatia to inform work in other EU Member States.
Funder and project value
The Bridging the Gap project is funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme, under the CERV-2025-EQUAL call.
The total value of the project is €267,547.03, which corresponds to the maximum amount of the EU grant awarded.
Implementation period
The project runs for 24 months, from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2028.
