Back One third of Montenegrin citizens do not want to live in the same country with LGBTI persons

One third of Montenegrin citizens do not want to live in the same country with LGBTI persons

One third of Montenegrin citizens do not want to live in the same country with LGBTI persons, while almost 43 percent of them believe that these people should not have the same rights as all other citizens, has shown research of the European Union and Council of Europe which was conducted by the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM).

The research, conducted from September 11 to 19, was presented at a panel discussion on patterns and levels of discrimination in Montenegro for 2020, organised by European Union and Council of Europe, in co-operation with CEDEM.

The author of the research and the main methodologist of CEDEM, Phd Miloš Bešić, said that the data on the attitude towards the LGBTI community in Montenegro are alarming, and that they indicate a serious problem in our country.

"It is simply a striking fact that in Montenegro every fifth person has the opinion that LGBTI people are no better than criminals and that they should be severely punished. Such a strong attitude of every fifth person in Montenegro shows us very negative attitude towards LGBT people," said Bešić.

The research showed that the degree of discrimination is most pronounced when it comes to the field of employment.

"More than 50 percent of citizens see employment as the biggest problem. We should pay attention to the mechanisms that currently exist, how they protect against discrimination in employment, and what could be done to combat it," said Bešić.

He explained that in the past ten years, every research has shown the same value when it comes to the perception of discrimination in employment.

The CEDEM's director, Milena Bešić, reminded that organisation has been conducting research for more than a decade, which shows the perception of citizens about the pattern and degree of discrimination referring to the derogation of human rights and freedoms.

"Unfortunately, we witness that the results of our research are most often viewed as a mere indicator of the situation. That is why I believe that we are obliged to open a space for fruitful discussion that includes all relevant social actors, at all levels and areas, in order to focus on the causes and finding mechanisms for prevention and suppression of these negative phenomena," said Bešić.

The Head of the Co-operation section in the EU Delegation to Montenegro, Hermann Spitz, said that respecting of fundamental rights, non-discrimination and protection of vulnerable groups are important elements of the political criteria for the EU membership.

"States wishing to join the EU must show results to protect the integrity and dignity of all persons and to ensure that fundamental rights are respected in practice," Spitz said.

He added that LGBTI people deserve special attention because of the disturbing findings from the research, emphasising that „the European Commission will present an initiative to extend the list of so-called EU crimes which aligndown in the Article 23 of the Treaty to include those targeting the LGBTI population“.

The Head of Operations of the Council of Europe Programme Office, Evgenia Giakoumopoulou, said that the epidemic of the new coronavirus has not only exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities, it has generated new ones and unfortunately has increased the stigmatisation of already marginalised groups.

"That's why research like this is an important tool to see what the perception of discrimination from the side of victims is, there are highly recommended to guide different institutions, stakeholders and CSOs in order to respond to these challenges," Giakoumopoulou said.

The Deputy Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, Nerma Dobardžić, said that the institution recorded a far higher number of complaints in the field of protection against discrimination compared to previous years.

"In the period from January this year, to the Protector were submitted 140 complaints due to discrimination. This is the largest number since the establishment of the Protector's institution. In the same period last year, there were 80 cases, while in 2018 were 82 cases,” said Dobardžić.

The member of the Parliament of Montenegro, Božena Jelušić, said that a serious indicator is the fact that more than a quarter of the Montenegrin citizens do not trust the Parliament and assessed that it indicates the fact that the Montenegrin Parliament lost its control function in the previous period.

"What can be demanded at the level of the parliament is to insist on control hearings, to show whether the whole issue is bureaucratised.The only thing that encourages me in this research is that young people still show less distance and less rigid attitudes towards LGBTI people and Roma population," said Jelusic, assessing that the research is a good diagnostic tool and a confirmation that Montenegrin society is stagnant in social and value terms.

Director General of the Directorate for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, Blanka Radošević Marović, assessed that a lot has been achieved in the legislative part, but that implementation is always a stumbling block.

"I am pleased that this series of research has continued and that we have new results again that will help us in our plans for the development and improvement of human rights. When it comes to Montenegro, regarding LGBT persons, despite the negative phenomena, especially hate speech through social networks, the fact is that a significant improvement has been made in the strategic, legislative part, but also in the awareness of citizens," said Radošević Marović.

Executive director of NGO Phiren Amenca, Elvis Beriša, emphasised that, although there have been developments over previous years, hate speech against Roma is at a very high level.

"State bodies should be open to all citizens, and non-governmental organisations should be there to help to point out a certain problem and propose solutions, but state bodies are the first actors before whom everyone should have complete freedom, trust and easier access to address them," Beriša said.

He believes that the education system can significantly reduce ethnic distance by enabling young generations to learn about the history, culture and language of the Roma, "because only by getting to know something we do not know can we make a judgment that will not be at the current level."

The President of the Board of Directors of Queer Montenegro, Danijel Kalezić, explained that when the messages heard in public discourse turn right, towards misogyny, homophobia, clericalisation, it always reflects on the LGBTI community so that "the general population has more negative attitudes towards us in different ways."

"In relation to gender equality and discrimination, I would say that everything is very connected and that homophobia comes from misogyny and that whenever we have additionally endangered women's rights, we have greater homophobia and more vulnerable LGBTI rights and additional endangerment of the rights of other groups. I think that misogyny is something that is terribly pronounced and we must all find a way to get back on the path that will go towards equality," said Kalezić.

The executive director of the Center for Women's Rights, Maja Raičević, pointed out that in addition to being inadequately represented in the executive and legislative governance and power, women are, on average, far poorer than men.

"I am afraid that the pandemic will deepen that problem even more. I will remind you that the poverty of women largely conditions the poverty of children and all those they care for, most often as single parents. We should especially monitor the impact of the pandemic, which also showed that we have an increase in the number of reports of violence," Raičević explained.

Milenko Vojičić, Senior Program Advisor at the Association of Youth with Disabilities of Montenegro, believes that it would be very interesting to examine the causes of discrimination against persons with disabilities in the field of employment.

"We have a feeling that the level of discrimination against employers towards people with disabilities has been decreasing with the efforts of the entire society. But the effects are not satisfactory, not even close," Vojičić said.

Angela Longo, Programme Manager, Anti-discrimination Department of the Council of Europe, believes that common responsibility should be in education to explain how important issues of equality and diversity are.

"A lot can be done in the future regarding the fight against hatred. We want to continue the debate with other NGOs, to see what are the instruments not only to provide material support to combat discrimination, but to better understand how to defend victims from hatred, how to better collect data, how victim to present their cases and that we have one common responsibility for these challenges," Longo said.

The research was prepared within the action "Promotion of diversity and equality in Montenegro", which is part of the joint programme of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022", implemented by the Anti-discrimination department of the Council of Europe. This action has been working with partners in Montenegro, in accordance with the recommendations of the Council of Europe Commission against Racism and Intolerance from 2017.

 Research: Patterns and degree of discrimination in Montenegro

 Analytical report 

Podgorica 27 November 2020
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