Serbia celebrated the 10th anniversary since family violence in Serbia was criminalized in 2012. The problem of family violence has left the realm of the women’s CSOs, becoming a wider social issue. On this occasion, the Commissioner spoke on family violence at the first public hearing of the Parliament’s Committee for Human and Minority Rights,…
Read Article →The Roma population in Serbia faces widespread, open, and frequent use of hate speech; as well as physical assaults. There are schools which segregate Roma pre-school and school children in separate facilities from other children, while swastikas and hate-grafitti are sprayed on the walls in many cities. It is disturbing that almost 70% of the…
Read Article →Racism, in its all forms, is not going to disappear if we turn a blind eye and ignore it. An efficient fight against racism requires a swift reaction of the authorities to, and prosecution of, the individuals who commit hate crimes and spread race hatred and xenophobia. In her public statement regarding observance of the…
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The International Day for Tolerance is observed on November 16. The “Blic” newspaper and Commissioner for Protection of Equality published the Marko Somborac’s daily comic strip, which talked, in its recognizable style, about discrimination and tolerance in today’s Serbia. This joint effort aimed to contribute to building a more tolerant society, which respects and accepts…
Read Article →Like the rest of the world, Serbia is still suffering the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis, with almost 10% of the population living in extreme poverty and many social groups remaining on the margins of life, unable to excercise their rights to healthcare, education, and housing. Today, more than ever, it is necessary to…
Read Article →The Roma, poor, disabled, senior citizens, women, and the LGBT population are among persons most discriminated against, based on the answers of almost 1,200 citizens of Serbia who took part in an extensive public opinion survey. Furthermore, this survey revealed that almost every fifth citizen of Serbia (18%) had discriminatory attitudes towards vulnerable groups. “Serbia…
Read Article →The International Day of Persons with Disabilities should raise awareness of the fact that persons with disability in Serbia are still discriminated against in all areas of their lives. Education remains unavailable to them, especially to children with a mental handicap, and textbooks are not adjusted to their needs. The facilities of various state institutions,…
Read Article →As Albert Einstein, a famous physicist, said, laws alone cannot secure freedom of expression; in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be a spirit of tolerance in the entire population. There is much to do in Serbia, if our society wants to teach tolerance to its citizens, and especially children…
Read Article →The humanity of a society is measured by how it treats older persons. Every sixth citizen in Serbia is older than 65 years and living in difficult circumstances. Many of them live in poverty, on the edge of mere existance, discriminated against, abused, and neglected. The authorities need to provide them with safe living conditions,…
Read Article →The 2013 Pride Day observance on June 27 is another opportunity to ask ourselves why the LGBT population in Serbia is faced with continuous discrimination and the only group that can’t exercise one of the basic human rights – the right to assembly. The 2013 Pride Parade-related events will test to what extent we, as…
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