OPINION

The opinion was issued in the procedure regarding the complaint of AA against BB radio and television, due to discrimination on the grounds of sex. The complainants stated in their complaint that in the show “Antidepressant” on BB radio, which was broadcast on September 29, 2021, from 4 to 6 pm, the hosts, by reading the answers of the listeners to the survey entitled “What would you do if you were invisible?” and commenting on them, discriminated against women, especially women survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. On the other hand, in the statement of the director of BB radio – television, the complaint was completely contested, explaining that in this case, it was a humorous show in which the hosts read messages from listeners who answered the poll “What would you do if you were invisible?”, that the actual question is abstract and that any answer to it is not subject to realization, that is, that the stated messages cannot be subsumed under hate speech, because they are neither ideas, nor information, nor opinions that incite discrimination, hatred or violence. At the request of the Commissioner to submit a recording of the disputed show, which was removed from their official website – https://tdiradio.com/antidepresiv/, the director of BB radio-television stated that she is unable to proceed pursuant to Article 69 of the Law on Public Information and Media and submit a recording of the mentioned show due to the fact that the recording was destroyed. During the procedure, and by inspecting the clip from the show “Antidepressant” published on the Twitter account Women’s Solidarity, it was determined that the hosts, with their statements, agreed with the degrading and insulting comments of listeners addressed to women, that is, that the hots, with their affirmative tone and reaction, supported and relativized sexual violence against women regardless of the fact that it was a hypothetical situation. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality gave the opinion that the provisions of Article 12 and Article 20, paragraph 2 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination were violated in the show “Antidepressant” on BB radio, which was broadcast on September 29, 2021, from 4 to 6 p.m. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality recommended that BB radio and television d.o.o. inform the employees about the opinion of the Commissioner and in the future take care to comply with the regulations on the prohibition of discrimination.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY

Brankica Janković