The "Standard" portal should promptly moderate and remove comments that contain elements of sexist and misogynistic speech, and the Police Directorate should take measures and actions within its jurisdiction in order to identify and prosecute the persons who spread such speech according to Bojana Jokić from the LGBT Forum Progres. who filed the complaint.
This, among other things, is stated in the protector's opinion on Jokić's complaint about the writing of the "Standard" portal and the text from April 25, 2021. "Member of the RTCG Council, Bojana Jokić, was amused by the harassment of Šofranc at the Podgorica airport", and the text in which the apology was published portal with the title "Jokić demands an apology and threatens a lawsuit: A member of the RTCG Council plays the victim, and draws three-colored hearts over the head of the attacked journalist".
In her complaint, Jokić stated that the portal and the unsigned author in the first text appreciated what was fun for her and what was not, based on her private posts on the social networks Facebook and Twitter, in which she publicly condemned the events at the Montenegrin airport and in connection with the attack on journalist Nebojš Šofranc.
In her complaint, she states that such actions by "Standard" are part of an organized and targeted attempt to discredit her, that her safety and that of her minor children were called into question, and that she was exposed to organized attacks on social networks, primarily on Twitter. For the second text of "Standard", after asking for an apology, she clarified that the controversial photo to which the portal refers was published/created by the user of the Facebook page "Neprijatni/psalam118", and that she shared the photo a few minutes after the original was uploaded.
In the opinion signed by Deputy Protector Nerma Dobardžić, among other things, it is stated that on April 24, 2021, Jokić wrote on Twitter "What a day" next to the photo of Šofranc, and then the video accompanying the post "Shameful intimidation of journalists @MMC_RTCG". Sports events must not be used for political or national calculations". Her posts were followed by insulting comments, in which, among other things, it was mentioned "lousy bitch", "garbage"...
"Standard" then, the protector established, published the first disputed text, which was also followed by offensive comments against Jokić, which was the case even after the same portal published an alleged apology.
In the final assessment, as stated by the protector, the applicant indicates that her honor and reputation were injured by the unprofessional reporting of "Standard", that she was the victim of hate speech on social networks, primarily on Twitter, after posts in which she publicly condemned the events at the airport, and in connection with the attack on the journalist Sofranc.
The Protector found that under the text with the title that Jokić is asking for an apology, there are still offensive misogynist comments on her account.
The protector, among other things, reminds that freedom of speech is the core of a democratic society, but at the same time obligates to avoid as much as possible statements that offend others and are an attack on their rights. He also points to the growing problem of increasingly frequent occurrences of sexism in Montenegro and states that sexism is not adequately sanctioned, but that quite often it is not even recognized as a problem.
The content of the disputed comments on the applicant's tweet account is offensive, socially unacceptable and the disputed comments contain elements of sexist hate speech and misogynistic speech, the opinion says and adds that the administrators of "Standard" allowed the publication of such comments and that they were not deleted until the opinion was passed.
"The comments below the texts, which label the complainant as a 'chicken, complex, turkey, trash...' are undoubtedly examples of intolerant, misogynistic and discriminatory speech in the online sphere," the opinion reads.
Jokić told "Vijesta" that women in public space are "extremely unprotected when it comes to sexism, misogyny and discrimination".
"And I'm very sorry that we have to launch external mechanisms to protect ourselves, even though the portals are legally obliged to remove these types of comments. In my case, the "Standard" portal showed that it is not an ally of women in the fight for equal treatment, but that, depending on the political context, they are ready to silently tolerate comments that aim to belittle and humiliate women," she said.
"Standard" and UP are obliged to submit to the Protector a report on the actions and measures taken in order to implement the recommendations within 30 days of receiving the opinion.
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