Spasime movement
The Spasime movement (or #Spasime movement, translated as #SaveMe movement) is a 2019 Croatian social movement which fights domestic violence, and is an example of the MeToo effect.[1][2]
Background and origin
The #Spasime movement was launched on Facebook in March 2019, and in 2 weeks gathered more than 46,000 supporters online. The movement has been supported by many Croatian celebrities, among others actress and screenwriter Jelena Veljača, who was one of the main organisers behind the protests that followed, organised by the movement. Veljača said she started the #Spasime hashtag 'driven by the incredible wave of violence spreading across Croatia' and that she had been especially shocked by the news about a father in Pag (island) who threw his children off a balcony.[3][4]
Vanja Deželić, a journalist for the Croatian news site vijesti.hr, compared the #Spasime movement to the You Know Me movement which started two months after the Spasime movement, in May 2019, and is a movement by abortion rights advocates to fight abortion stigma.[5][6][7] Deželić wrote that anti-abortion movements had become more active in Croatia and were aiming for similar law changes such as the 2019 Heartbeat bill that passed in Alabama.[8] Deželić stated that resistance against these anti-abortion movements could happen in Croatia based on the #YouKnowMe movement and thanks to Busy Philipps.[9]
Protests
On March 16, 2019, in a protest organised by the #Spasime movement, several thousand Croats demonstrated in Zagreb, Split, Šibenik and Dubrovnik, against domestic violence. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic participated in one of the demonstrations, stating 'I’m here less as the Prime Minister and more as a concerned citizen.'[10][11][12]
References
- "Jelena Veljača dosad je na Facebooku okupila 40 tisuća ljudi: #spasime za sve koje nismo uspjeli spasiti". March 12, 2019. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019.
- "Predstavnice inicijative #spasime točno u podne kod premijera, evo što očekuju". March 12, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019.
- "Croats protest against domestic violence". March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019.
- "Father hurls 4 children out of upper floor window in Croatia". March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019.
- "#YouKnowMe: why women are sharing their abortion stories". May 16, 2019. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019.
- ""A real life version of The Handmaid's Tale": Why everyone is talking about US abortion laws". May 16, 2019. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019.
- "#youknowme – women mobilise against U.S. abortion crackdown". May 16, 2019. Archived from the original on May 18, 2019.
- "Najbrojniji Hod za život dosad, no i dalje ne odgovaraju jesu li za zabranu pobačaja: 'Mi smo za zaštitu života'". May 25, 2019. Archived from the original on May 25, 2019.
- "Potresni i iskreni istupi žena koje su bile na pobačaju: 'Nisam željela to dijete, ali nisam čudovište'". May 28, 2019. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019.
- "REUTERS: Croats protest against domestic violence". March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019.
- "Protests against domestic violence sees thousands on the streets of Croatia". March 17, 2019. Archived from the original on March 19, 2019.
- "Croatians demand more action against domestic violence". March 16, 2019. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019.