No. 07-00-202/2017-02  Date: 15 August, 2017

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the procedure following complaint from U. R. i. c, Belgrade, against M. Dj. on account of the text published on 13 April, 2017 in the daily newspaper “Politika”, in the section “Pogledi” under the heading “School Handbook  for the Fight against Homosexuality”. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality conducted a procedure in which she considered the allegations in the complaint and the declaration, the text by the author M. Dj. as well as the messages referred to in the text, taking into account the spatial and temporal context. When analyzing the text, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality did not go into the evaluation of the validity of educational handbooks, as it was not the subject of that legal matter, but in the analysis of the text and messages referred to in the text from the aspect of anti-discrimination regulations. Bearing in mind the entire context of the text, the terms linked to homosexual orientation, the denial of adopting regulations governing the prevention of violence, as well as the conclusion of the text: “Serbs are not violent people. But there are limits when oppression and violence the powerful people exert against us and our family can no longer be tolerated. With the Law on Mandatory Vaccination, the Law on Domestic Violence and these satanic education packages, we have dangerously come close to that limit.” The Commissioner was of opinion that the text “School Handbook for the Fight Against Homosexuality”, published on 13 April 2017 by author M. Dj, in the daily newspaper “Politika”, in the section “Pogledi”, expressed attitudes that were disturbing and humiliating and insulting for dignity of persons of a different sexual orientation from heterosexuals, creating a fear, hostile, humiliating and offensive environment, and in that way there was a violation of the provision of Article 12 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. Therefore, the author of the text, M. Dj. was recommended to publish an apology to members of the LGBT population within 15 days from the date of delivery of this opinion with the recommendation, and in the future not to express distrubing and humiliating opinions and ideas in his texts which would offend the dignity of male and female members LGBT population.