LGBT Forum Progres invited members of the LGBT community to freely participate in the upcoming census in order to obtain accurate data that could provide more efficient protection against discrimination.
The executive director of the LGBT Forum Progress, John Barac, said that for the first time in the census form in Montenegro, there is a question about the status of life partnership of persons of the same sex.
This, as he stated, is the result of the entry into force of the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex and the harmonization of the Law on the Census in that part.
Barac told the MINA agency that without precise data, which in Montenegro is chronically lacking in a large number of areas related to the human rights of various social groups, one cannot even talk about effective protection against discrimination.
"Because it is necessary to have a realistic picture of the situation before creating system responses. Changes, in this part, cannot happen "by rote" and that is why statistical processes, such as the census, are important and need to be implemented as well and efficiently as possible", said Barac.
He said that after the census it will be possible to talk about rough estimates of the number of the LGBT community.
Barac said that people living in a same-sex union will probably avoid stating these facts during the census, precisely because of the fear of "caring" and the negative consequences that this entails.
He said that the LGBT Forum Progress, in cooperation with Monstat, held a lecture for state instructors and provided guidelines for all enumerators in Montenegro, so that as many same-sex partners as possible would feel free and comfortable to announce this fact during the census.
"But we also have to be aware of the overall social climate in Montenegro, which is very negative towards LGBT people," said Barac.
He pointed to the data researched by the LGBTIQ Social Center showing that as many as 77 percent of LGBT people state that they are afraid that they will be rejected and/or discriminated against if others find out about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
As he added, as many as 43 percent of the surveyed citizens stated that homosexuals should not be accepted in society.
"With all that in mind, it is clear that there are numerous problems, primarily of a systemic nature, that must be solved before LGBT people feel free to openly announce that they are in a same-sex partnership or community," said Barac.
He called and encouraged LGBT people to fully participate in the upcoming census.
Barac stated that, if any problems arise in the form of hate speech or discrimination, the LGBT community can contact them at podrska@lgbtprogres.me or through social networks in order to provide them with legal support.
He, when asked about the alignment of the Law on Life Partnership of Persons of the Same Sex, which was pointed out in the previous period, said that there were no concrete developments.
"Nor have we seen the efforts of the state in the previous period to make this happen. The law is actively applied, an increasing number of same-sex couples are deciding to enter into a partnership, but all those problems from before, which arose from the inconsistency of the law, are still present", said Barac.
He recalled that in June of last year, LGBT Forum Progress filed a lawsuit against the state of Montenegro for discrimination, in connection with the discriminatory application of the Law on Life Partnerships of Persons of the Same Sex, but that to date no preliminary hearing has been held in connection with that lawsuit.
"Our expectations are the same as before - harmonization of all relevant laws, full application of legal mechanisms in practice, concrete and meaningful public policies in the field of human rights of LGBTI persons and respect for the dignity of all citizens," concluded Barac.
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