OPINION

The opinion was issued in the procedure regarding the complaint lodged by G.B. of N.S. against the Acting Director of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. The complainant stated that he went to the Institute to get information about his child’s health status, where he was informed that he, as the child’s father, was not allowed to accompany the child, as laid down in the Decision of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. He pointed out that this Decision specified that mothers should accompany children, and that he believed that this way fathers were discriminated against based on gender. The analysis of the Decision of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. No. 311 dated 25 January 2018 showed that the decision was made due to the current influenza-related epidemiological situation in the AP of Vojvodina as well as earlier measures related to the epidemic of measles, and that in the forthcoming period visits to the patients of the Institute were prohibited. The Decision also stated that the mother accompanying the child was allowed stay with the child in compliance with the prescribed epidemiological measures (healthy mother, proof of vaccination), on the basis of which it may be concluded that only mothers were allowed to accompany patients. The declaration of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. stated that under normal circumstances in the Institute, a hospitalized child can be accompanied by parents, foster parents and guardians of both gender, without any discrimination on the grounds of gender, and that the Decision in question primarily focused on breastfeeding mothers. It was then pointed out that in order to demonstrate gender equality, the text of the Decision was corrected so that the new Decision of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. No. 1068 dated 23 March 2018 uses the expression “a person accompanying the child”, which allows both parents to accompany the child. Given all of the above, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality issued the opinion that by prescribing the requirement in Decision No. 311 dated 25 January 2018 that only the mother can accompany the child, the provisions of Articles 6 and 20 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination were violated. Since Acting Director of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. realised that the existing decision was not in accordance with legislation and that she passed a new decision as a remedy for the violation of the rights, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality recommended Acting Director of the Institute for Health Protection of Children and Youth of V. in N.S. to act in accordance with anti-discrimination regulations in the future when performing activities within its competence.