Pride info center, dedicated space to the LGBTI+ community in Belgrade, will be closed on Saturday, September 28 "due to a lack of financial support, as well as institutional support", announced from Belgrade Pride on Instagram.
How is it for Radio Free Europe (RSE) explained Goran Miletić from Belgrade Pride, space Pride of the info center have over the years, in different periods, been financed by the embassies of Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States of America.
However, Belgrade Pride's Instagram post states that the sustainability of the Pride info center was no longer possible.
"The Pride Info Center has played a key role in providing information, resources and gathering space, allowing members of the community to share experiences and participate in discussions, panels, workshops and trainings, all on a wide variety of LGBTI+ topics," the announcement reads.
It is stated that the Center also tried to raise awareness about the needs of LGBTI+ people, and that through free support programs it also provided psychological, legal and trans-specific counseling services, with the possibility of anonymous testing for HIV and syphilis.
"Therefore, the Pride Info Center was more than a physical space; it was a symbol of resistance and hope. "Despite almost daily threats and insults, the rainbow flag has been flying six days a week on one of the most prominent streets in Belgrade since 2018," the announcement reads.
A frequent target of attacks
The beginning of the year 2024, on Christmas Day around 16 p.m., a man with a hood on his head was hitting the window Pride Center in Kralja Milan Street, until he broke it.
In an interview with RFE/RL, the coordinator of this Center, Nikola Brkljač, recalled that this area was often the target of attacks.
"The space has survived 24 attacks recorded and reported to the police, which concern the direct destruction of the Center and a direct threat to the safety of those who were in the space. "Unfortunately, none of those cases were adequately prosecuted," Brkljač said.
In 2023, the NGO "Da se zna", which provides legal and psychological support to LGBTI+ people, documented more than 80 cases of violence and discrimination against members of that community in Serbia.
What is the position of the rights of LGBTQ+ people?
As he told Vreme earlier Matija Stefanović from the organization "Da se zna" the position of the LGBTQ+ community in Serbia is slowly but surely improving from year to year, certainly much slower than we 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 pointed 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 said that in practice this article is almost never applied.
"In the last 10 years that this article has existed, it has been applied only five times, and let's say the association 'Da se zna' records dozens of incidents motivated by homophobia and transphobia every year, and in reality much more happens than that," emphasized Stefanović.
And he added that without the support of the system, they cannot escape from the margins - "we are forever condemned to be second-class citizens, so this is the only way to fundamentally improve our position."
