Croatia

Croatia has taken several legal measures to address LGBTIQ equality. The criminal code was amended in 2006 to include provisions that criminalize violence and hate speech based on sexual orientation, and new provisions of the penal code, adopted in 2012, punish crimes based on gender identity. Croatia’s 2008 Anti-Discrimination Law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in access to public and private services, as well as to establishments serving the public. The Office of the Ombudsperson for Gender Equality accepts and reviews citizen complaints of discrimination, and the Office for Gender Equality monitors, reports, and makes recommendations regarding human rights policies. However, the political climate deteriorated in 2024 after the far-right Homeland Movement joined the ruling coalition, leading to increased anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric from high-ranking officials.

Although marriage is defined solely as a union between a man and a woman, the Law on Life Partnerships of Persons of the Same Sex, adopted in 2014, established civil unions for same-sex couples. Civil unions provide all legal and economic benefits of marriage, except the right to adopt children. However, a subsequent decision of the High Administrative Court in 2022 held that same-sex couples can jointly adopt. This right was defended in March 2024 when a Zagreb court ruled that a petition by the conservative group Vigilare aiming to ban same-sex adoption constituted discrimination and harassment.

Croatia does not require medical procedures, such as sterilization, surgical interventions, or hormonal treatment, as preconditions for legal gender recognition. However, it requires a mental disorder diagnosis, an assessment of time lived with the new gender identity, and a single civil status, forcing those who are married to get divorced​​. Intersex children are subjected to intersex genital mutilation, often without the informed consent of either the children themselves or their parents.

Public attitudes remain sharply divided, and the country has seen an increase in anti-LGBTIQ hate speech in recent years. Physical violence persists, with the 2024 ILGA-Europe Annual Review noting incidents such as an attack on a same-sex couple in Split. Consequently, the 2024 Zagreb Pride was held under heavy police security amid a tense atmosphere. While the 2025 Pride march took place without incident, Zagreb Pride organizers have raised concerns about recent attacks on gay men by organized gangs.