Source: rctzg.hr
A new psychosocial support service for whistleblowers has been launched in Croatia. The service will be managed by the Rehabilitation Center for Stress and Trauma Zagreb and was officially launched on 1 September 2024.
The free and confidential service, awarded and funded through a Ministry of Justice tender, is the first service of its kind in the country, and provides emotional and psychological support for whistleblowers and related persons such as relatives, colleagues and those who assist or facilitate reports. The program will be funded with an annual budget allocation totalling โฌ60,000 over the next three years. Support is provided via telephone line, video call or personal arrival (meeting) on-site.
Sandra ล ipka, of the Center for Stress and Trauma, who has been in charge of the service reportedly said at a recent event of the Croatian Ombudswoman launching new Guidance on whistleblowing โthat the centre had over 30 years of experience working with extremely vulnerable people and that Whistleblowers who contact them will be able to express everything that is bothering them at that moment without criticism and without judgment, which is extremely important for people who are under great pressure, and they will be able to do it live, by phone or via video call.