The fight against hate speech will be the focus of the institution’s work in the coming period due to the ever-present hate speech, followed by sexism, misogyny, humiliating and offensive behavior, as evidenced by the significant number of complaints that the Commissioner receives, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković at an expert meeting for media dedicated to combating discrimination and hate speech, organized by the Council of Europe.
At the meeting attended by representatives of REM, UNS, portals, printed and electronic media, the Commissioner said that almost everyone is the target of hate speech –from politicians and journalists to non-governmental organizations and public figures, with women, Roma, LGBT, and the elderly especially exposed to this kind of speech. There is also impermissible speech aimed at members of some national minorities, but often also at the majority population. Unfortunately, content that deepens stereotypes, prejudices, and various forms of violence is present daily in almost all European societies, with the justification that it is about freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is the universal human right of every individual to express their opinion without fear of censorship, but it cannot be a justification for hate speech. Discussion or expression of views on various political or social issues based on argumentation often give way to mutual insults, humiliating, vulgar, and aggressive statements, said the Commissioner.
She pointed out that the responsibility lies with everyone individually, but above all with public office holders, politicians, and the media, who must not be promoters of insults, disqualifications, and especially hate speech, but must be the first to respect the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which explicitly prohibits hate speech and other forms of discrimination. Of course, they must also be the first in respecting all other laws, concluded Janković.
The seminar was organized in cooperation with the Council of Europe within the Horizontal Facility project in Serbia. Young influencers from the Yong European ambassadors network joined the expert workshops for journalists.
