The day after marking of the International Day for Tolerance, Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic warns the public that, in spite of progress, some cases in media reveal that offensive and insulting relation to certain social groups still exists.

The latest example is the front page of daily newspaper Alo that published a nude photo of the woman next to the text of the message containing a death threat that was sent to her. Commissioner Jankovic strongly condemns such highly inappropriate and sensational media publishing, stressing that, in this particular case, publishing of woman’s nude photo next to death threat is disturbing on the one hand, while on the other, the threat of violence is being relativized.

By publishing the nude women’s photos, sometimes along with humiliating and sexist messages, some daily newspaper in Serbia misuse the female body and discriminate all women, reducing them to no more than an object, insulting their human dignity and potentially endangering their safety.

Placement of such content in media space influence primarily children and youth, creating social patterns in their mind that are based on stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes, which in some cases can lead to intolerance, conflict, and ultimately to peer violence, which we all have witnessed in the previous days.

Commissioner appeals to all who can influence the shaping of public life in Serbia, among which media have one of the most important roles, to respect both regulations and professional standards, stop with the publishing of insulting and discriminatory content and respect dignity of women, children and all other citizens.