no. 07-00-00488/2021-02 date: 26.11.2021.

OPINION

The opinion was issued in the procedure regarding the complaint of AA from BB, against VV, the President of the Municipal Assembly of BB. The complaint states that at the 12th session of the Municipal Assembly of BB, held on September 3, 2021, during the discussion on the profit achieved by JKP “GG”, VV stated, from the assembly rostrum: “A man can beat his wife when she puts salt on the table, and the man can beat his wife when she doesn’t put salt on the table”. Furthermore, it was stated that in the DD district, out of a total of six, five municipal presidents are women and that it is inadmissible to “send” a message about violence from the assembly rostrum, which is why the complainant asked the president of Municipality Assembly of BB to apologize to all women, but he refused. In a statement, VV stated that he did not intend to promote violence against women, but that the councilor AA his “ridiculed” his words and “took them out of context”. He further added that he believes that no woman should feel “called out” by his statements, because there was no talk about women and gender equality at the session, but that he used a popular saying and “filler word” to compare the situation related to the public company under discussion. The Commissioner first states that there are no procedural obstacles to conducting proceedings against the President of the Assembly of the BB, given that the representative’s immunity protects him only from criminal liability for the opinion expressed. In analyzing VV’s statement, the Commissioner took into account the importance of freedom of expression, on the one hand, but also the prohibition of public advocacy, support of and action based on prejudices, customs and other social patterns of behavior based on the idea of gender subordination or stereotypes on gender roles, as, on the other hand, prescribed by the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. After the conducted procedure, it was determined that the statement of VV, at the session of the Municipal Assembly of BB, held on September 3, 2021, promotes stereotypical and traditional gender roles in accordance with which women have a subordinate role in society. Also, apart from the fact that this statement indirectly sends the message that the inferiority of women in relation to men is what is “natural”, stereotyping and promoting prejudice against women in this way can be very dangerous, especially if we bear in mind that violence against women is based on outdated and patriarchal social norms and patterns of behavior according to which the woman is “owned” by the man. Namely, it is indisputable that freedom of all kinds of expression is of key importance for the development of a democratic society, however, these freedoms must not be placed in the context of excuses for discrimination, based on any personal capacity. Especially having in mind that VV is the president of the Assembly of the BB, and that this function entails his greater responsibility for the publicly spoken word, as well as the obligation not to support and encourage stereotypes and prejudices about women with his statements and attitudes. Regarding the allegation of VV that he did not intend to insult anyone, and that no woman should feel “called out” because of the words spoken, the Commissioner points out that in cases of discrimination the intention is not legally relevant, i.e., it does not matter whether there was an intention to discriminate against some other person. Taking all the above into account, the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality gave the opinion that VV violated the provisions of Article 12 in connection with Article 20 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. Therefore, VV was recommended to issue a public apology to all women during the next session of the Municipal Assembly of BB regarding the discriminatory statement he made at the session of the Municipal Assembly of BB held on September 3, 2021, and to take care in the future, while performing his tasks and activities, to comply with regulations prohibiting discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković