It is evident that the rate of discrimination, violence and hatred is not decreasing, despite the fact that Montenegro is eighth in Europe this year on the Rainbow Europe map, which ranks countries according to the existing legislative and normative framework. Therefore, although the legal acts in our country are very much in line with international standards, their implementation remains almost a dead letter, as indicated by all relevant international reports.
This was assessed by the LGBT Forum Progres and the LGBTIQ Social Center on the occasion of May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT).
As they state in the announcement, there is significant room for further work and advancement in the field of education, especially bearing in mind that quality reform of the education system is needed at all levels.
"As things currently stand, LGBTI people almost do not exist at the level of primary, secondary and higher education, that is, there is an evident lack of affirmative content and subjects that deal with this topic in a scientifically based way. It is important to point out two studies, one which was conducted by the LGBT Forum Progress at the Faculty of Political Sciences, which analyzed homophobic content in textbooks, and another conducted by the LGBTIQ Social Center among teachers and teaching staff in secondary schools in the north of Montenegro, analyzing their views on LGBTI issues, the results of which confirm the need for reforms," they state in the statement.
As they add, in order to be able to solve the key problems not only of LGBTI people, but also of wider social communities, there must be clear, meaningful and comprehensive public policies, which will define systemic solutions and contain concrete measures and plans with tangible end results.
"Systemic support must exist, not only for vital services for LGBTI people - the Shelter and the SOGI Center - but also in a broader sense, at the level of every institution. When we look at the context of the human rights of LGBTI people, then we can clearly see that the existing national LGBTI strategy primarily a wish list that can be very difficult to realize in a quality way during its duration. Therefore, we expect the new Government of Montenegro to approach the revision of this document and its essential changes, so that the end result is a clear and solid state policy, which will to take the reform process forward", these NGOs emphasize.
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