Both "cat" and "doll" are sexual harassment

The driving school vehicle stops at the driving range. The instructor lowers the seat to a lying position and says: "Something made me fall asleep."

The candidate waves disinterestedly and opens the car door to check if she parked correctly. As she exited, she waved her hand so that her t-shirt slipped out of her jeans, revealing only a fraction of her back.

"You have nothing under that shirt," the instructor quipped. The described situation is real. Due to the feeling of discomfort, the candidate demanded from the school management that she get another instructor. The case was not reported to the police, because in Montenegrin laws there is no offense for which the instructor could be held responsible. The described situation is just one example of sexual harassment, explains Jovana Hajduković from Safe Women's House (SŽK). Sexual harassment is one of the forms of sexual violence, it happens to many people, in different places, but since such behaviors are so normalized - in general and in Montenegro, hardly anyone recognizes them.

"Many women who have experienced some form of sexual harassment consider it completely normal - because we live in such a society. And when you ask a woman whether she has experienced sexual harassment, she will say that she has not," said Hajduković. Sexual harassment is also when someone throws "ksh, ksh" at you on the street, says "cat", "doll", and when a person snuggles up to you in public transport. This includes taking photos and recording without permission, showing genitals, groping, hugging, kissing, pinching, persistently asking for a date despite a clear answer that the person is not interested. Sexual harassment also includes inappropriate and unwanted sexual comments and suggestions, invitations, looking, entering personal space, or giving different signs that cause the victim a sense of shame.

"Sexual harassment is any verbal, non-verbal or physical behavior that is aimed at or represents a violation of the dignity of a person, that causes fear or creates a hostile, humiliating or offensive environment," the Safe Women's House explains.

The NGO indicates that sexual harassment happens very often and in every place - on the street, in public transport, at school, university, at work, as a pupil/student, as well as during driving training. Such behavior, says Hajduković, is unfortunately tolerated and it is considered to be a problem that the victim can easily solve. "And it's not like that, because it often repeats over a long period of time... Most women and girls state that they have no one to turn to for help, they are confused, they feel uncomfortable, insecure and ashamed, they question their actions... Our task is to let's make it clear that she is never to blame, that only the perpetrator bears responsibility for such behavior," said Hajduković.

The victims are mostly women

Sexual harassment is not a product of sexual desire and attraction, say SŽK. It is, as they said, based on the need, usually of men, to express dominance and power through this kind of behavior. A large study conducted at the level of the European Union in the late nineties shows that from 30 to 50 percent of women and 10 percent of men have experienced some form of sexual harassment. Recent studies show an even greater prevalence of this form of violence, says Hajduković. "Research by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency shows that sexual harassment is still a very common experience for many women. Depending on the type of harassment, this research shows that 83 to 102 million (45%–55%) women in the 28 EU member states have been exposed to some form of harassment since the age of fifteen, including harassment at work,” she said. Research mainly deals with the experiences of women, and Hajduković says that this is because "in most cases, women are the ones who are exposed to sexual harassment." "In 99 percent of cases, men harass women. Those who research the sexual harassment of men show that of the number of harassed men, 35 percent of them are harassed by other men," she explains.

The amendments call for a prison sentence

Sexual harassment is mentioned in several Montenegrin laws, but it is treated as a misdemeanor, as a violation of work discipline, and it is not discussed much... "The Act on protection against domestic violence stipulates that sexual harassment is one of the acts of domestic violence, if the same committed between family members, for which the perpetrator's responsibility is determined within the misdemeanor procedure. "Unfortunately, in practice, we have had cases where forcing a wife to have sexual intercourse was qualified as sexual harassment in accordance with this law, and marital rape is a criminal offense, not a misdemeanor," says Hajduković. The Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, she adds, treats harassment and sexual harassment as special forms of discrimination, while the Labor Law prohibits harassment and sexual harassment at work or in connection with work, but treats it as a violation of labor discipline. "Although it is defined by the aforementioned laws, in practice we have very few cases that are reported and processed, and this topic is rarely discussed," says Hajduković. Considering that sexual harassment should be treated as a criminal offense, the SŽK, in cooperation with the NGO Prima and SOS Nikšić, submitted amendments to the Criminal Code. If the amendments are accepted, perpetrators of sexual harassment could be fined or imprisoned for up to two years in the future. In the event that the victim is a minor, only imprisonment is proposed - from three months to three years. Sexual harassment should not be ignored or minimized, say SŽK. "We believe that if sexual harassment were defined as a criminal offense, it would have an additional preventive effect, because in this way the state would let the perpetrators know that they will bear the consequences - that they will be punished," said Hajduković.

From staring to porn

Sexual harassment is one of the topics of the research "Position of female journalists in the Montenegrin media" published last year by the Society of Professional Journalists. The author Duška Pejović points out that even female employees in the media often do not recognize sexual harassment - because many forms are socially acceptable. "Although 17 percent of them confirmed that they personally experienced such behavior, as many as 37 percent or every third respondent circled some form of sexual harassment that happened to them. The difference in percentages testifies to the fact that some female journalists are not familiar with what behavior constitutes sexual harassment", says the author. The respondents stated that unpleasant non-verbal communication happens to them most often - staring, standing too close, giving various signs, as well as calling them inappropriate names, making jokes and making inappropriate comments of a sexual nature. The research also showed that every fourth respondent has knowledge that a female colleague was sexually harassed at work, and one of them states that an older colleague sent a younger female colleague pornographic videos... It is not uncommon to comment on someone's clothing. "Sometimes when one of the journalists wears a very tight and short dress, she gets certain comments or looks. In my opinion, they are disturbing...", said one of the interviewed journalists.

In Serbia and Croatia, prison sentences are also provided for

In 2017, amendments to the Criminal Code were adopted in Serbia, so sexual harassment and stalking became criminal offenses. The prescribed sanction for this is a fine or imprisonment for up to six months, and if the criminal offense is committed against a minor, the prescribed punishment for the perpetrator is between three months and three years. In Croatia, a prison sentence of three months to two years is prescribed for sexual harassment.