no. 07-00-558/2023-02 date: 8 March 2024.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the proceedings regarding the complaint of the “AA” association against the author of the text “Genderization of Serbia: Violence against the majority”, BB, because the author of the text criticizes the very fact that in 2013 the Republic of Serbia ratified the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), stating that it is a product of a new gender, transgender or queer ideology whose goal is to undermine the biological division of people into natural sexes, i.e., male and female, and that by popularization of intersexuality, freedom of sexual choice and identity it incictes, above all, young people to experiment with various forms of sexuality and to change identities. The complaint further states that the text negates the generally accepted definition of gender and gender identity in modern science, presenting a series of positions that encourage discrimination against the LGBT+ population, especially against transgender people. It was further stated that the author criticizes the media coverage of the tragically injured girl Noa Milivojev with the argument that in this particular case, it is not a case of femicide because a “legal transition” was not carried out, so the prosecution should not have accepted “such an illegal statement” from the media, and that the author made untrue claims that certain countries that have ratified the Istanbul Convention, along with popular culture and social networks, with the support of corporations and foundations that are “pushing all this” have allowed preschool children to start receiving hormone therapy and enter the transition process. Also, that this Convention encourages divorce and prohibits mediation between spouses, whereby someone who is not familiar with the content of the Convention concludes that the goal is the complete abolition of mediation before the court, not being aware of the content of Article 48 of the Convention, in which way women who are victims of domestic violence are indirectly discriminated against. In addition, the author’s views were pointed out that “the so-called (trans)gender or queer ideology that stands behind this whole package of systematic destruction of language, tradition, family, religion and ultimately the biological survival of a nation is an ideological fashion that is being pushed under the allegation of protection of minority groups by rulers of the modern world, corporations, political elites, and the Brussels bureaucracy. It was further specified that the author states that this ideology is violent and dangerous for any society in which it takes power, as shown by the disastrous demographic results of the Western countries where it rules”. On the other hand, in his statement, the author of the text, among other things, states that there are no discriminatory qualifications in his text, nor was the intention of the text to discriminate or induce discrimination, as well as that the Association condemns him for criticizing the ratification of the Istanbul Convention, which has not been ratified or is not applied in ten European countries, and that the filed complaint is not a fight against discrimination, but an attempt to deny him freedom of speech, freedom of thought and free scientific research, which the Constitution guarantees. In the course of the proceedings, the entire text entitled “Genderization of Serbia: Violence against the majority” was analyzed. Analyzing the text as well as the messages sent to readers, it can be concluded that the text does not objectively approach the topic of transgenderism but instead presents views that are not based on facts and scientific knowledge but encourage prejudices and misinformation that aim to intimidate and deepen intolerance towards LGBT people, especially towards transgender and intersex people, further reinforcing prejudices and misunderstanding. Public expression of such views constitutes a violation of the dignity of a group of persons based on their personal characteristics and creates a hostile, intimidating, degrading, and offensive environment. As to the specification from the statement that the intention of the text was not to discriminate or incite someone to discrimination, the Commissioner points out that for the existence of discrimination, which also includes incitement to discrimination, not only is the intention not necessary, but neither is the awareness nor the will to commit the act discrimination. It is enough that a person or a group of persons, based on their characteristics, are placed in a less favorable position, i.e., in this case, that attitudes are expressed that insulted the dignity of persons based on personal characteristics and created a hostile, degrading and offensive environment. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality issued the opinion that the author of the BB text violated the provisions of Article 12, paragraph 1, and Article 20, paragraph 2 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality recommended BB to publish a written apology for the views expressed in the author’s text “Genderization of Serbia: Violence against the Majority” within 15 days from the day of receipt of this opinion with a recommendation, as well as to comply with the regulations on prohibition of discrimination in the future.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković