On Christmas Day, around 16:XNUMX p.m., there is a man with a hood on his head hit the window Pride Center in Kralja Milan Street, until he broke it. Thus began the year 2024. Just one month after that, on February 14, there was also a case of police brutality against members of the LGBT+ community at the beginning of this year, when two young people were psychological, physical and sexual abuse.
These are just some examples of how the LGBT+ community is treated in Serbia. This week marks "Pride Week" under the slogan "People are proud". The protest walk will be organized on Saturday, September 7, at 16 pm in Belgrade. Participants will start the walk from Manjež Park, then move through the central city streets and return to Manjež Park, where the event will end with a concert.
The representatives of "Beorgad Pride" announced that a total of 39 events will be organized and invited citizens to come and learn about the problems of LGBT+ people, writes Radio Free Europe (RSE).
The opening was attended by the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković, representatives of embassies and the non-governmental sector, as well as the head of the European Union (EU) delegation in Serbia, Emanuel Žofre (Giaufret), who told journalists that the EU supports equality, non-discrimination and human rights.
"Pride Week" is open in four walls - "we are not allowed to open the 'Pride Week' in any institution, which is the practice in many countries where this kind of event is held, and last year we were surrounded by police cordons at the Pobednik monument, because the event was assessed as highly unsafe. That's why we 'retired' to our four walls, from which we send a message that the institutions are still deaf to our demands, but that we will also not give up the protest and fight for equality and a dignified life for all LGBT citizens of Serbia," said Filip. Vulović from Belgrade Pride.
What is the position of the rights of LGBTQ+ people?
Matija Stefanović from the organization "Da se zna" told "Vreme" that the position of the LGBTQ+ community in Serbia is slowly but surely improving from year to year, but that it is much slower than they would like.
"What would improve the position of the community the most is the legal regulation of our life, that is, the adoption of a law that would protect us." These are, first of all, the law on same-sex unions and the law on gender identity and the rights of intersex persons, and in addition, the respect of already existing legal regulations that should protect us," Stefanović points out.
For example, Article 54a of the Criminal Code stipulates that if a criminal offense is committed out of hatred due to race and religion, national or ethnic affiliation, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity of another person, the court will appreciate that circumstance as an aggravating circumstance, unless it is prescribed as feature of the crime.
However, our sagvoornik says that in practice this article is almost never applied.
"In the last 10 years that this article has been in existence, it has been applied only five times, and for example, the association 'Da se zna' records dozens of incidents motivated by homophobia and transphobia every year, and in reality it happens much more than that," emphasizes Stefanović.
And he adds that without the support of the system, they cannot move away from the margins - "we are forever condemned to be second-class citizens, so this is the only way to fundamentally improve our position."
Law on same-sex unions
The proposal for the Law on same-sex unions has been in the drawer since March 4, 2021. At that time, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, stated that his duty is to protect the Constitution, which is why he cannot sign the Law on Same-Sex Unions, if the National Assembly adopts it.
Vučić also said that he showed his personal attitude towards that law "by electing Ana Brnabić as prime minister", but that at the same time he is not an "ardent advocate" of same-sex unions.
After this statement by the president, our interlocutor says that nothing further happened with the draft law.
"It is terribly frustrating when you are waiting for a favorable political moment and when you are constantly dependent on some kind of political will." "As far as the law on gender identity and the rights of intersex people is concerned, nothing is happening there yet, it is not even in the making," Stefanović points out.
Pride demands
The demands of Pride have not changed for years, say the organizers. They demand from the authorities the adoption of laws on same-sex unions, the adoption of laws on gender identity, a quick and adequate reaction of state authorities to discrimination against LGBT+ persons, education on sexual orientation and gender identity, and more.
Stefanović invites people to look at the "Pride Week" program and to stop by events that seem interesting to them. And at the protest walk, he says, all people who want to fight for a democratic society in which everyone is equal and in which there is a place for everyone are welcome - "it is a form of civic solidarity".
