Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic submitted a Regular Annual Report about the situation in area of protection of equality in 2017. to the National Parliament of the Republic of Serbia.

The majority of complaints were filed because of discrimination on grounds of disability, almost one fifth of the total. Following are the complaints with age as a ground of discrimination and complaints with discrimination ground of sex which appear almost in the same number.

When looking at areas of discrimination, the area of labor and employment is at the first place, same as in the previous year, with almost every third complaint relating to it, followed by area correlated to the proceeding in front of public authorities, while complaints because of discrimination in the area of providing public services and using of objects and surfaces holds the third place.

There are 29 recommendations for suppression of discrimination and improvement of equality given in the report, among which are: intensifying of work on the improvement of architectural and informational accessibility for persons with disabilities and providing of conditions for full achievement of all guaranteed rights (e.g. the election right); enacting of the Law on Free Legal Aid; intensifying of work on the improvement of the position of elderly, especially in rural and unreachable areas; undertaking measures and activities to ensure inclusion and encouragement of equal representation of women and men in all spheres of political and public decision-making in exercising of public functions in the bodies of local self-government units; undertaking measures to encourage employment and women’s entrepreneurship aimed to the economic empowerment of women; improving the position of Roma, especially Roma women, regarding the provision of personal documents, access to adequate housing, health, education and social protection services, as well as employment; improving the legal position of transgender persons; undertaking measures for responsive reporting that must not be characterized by hate speech, sensationalism, sexism, misogyny, discriminatory attitudes, and offensive reporting of persons of a different sexual orientation and gender identity or other marginalized social groups, as well as other recommendations.