Something extremely important happened today, the leader of Western humanity, the President of the United States of America, announced that there are two genders - male and female. America will dedicate itself to restoring common sense. This was stated by the President of the Parliament of Montenegro Andrija Mandic in one show.
Just a few days before Mandić's performance, foreign citizens, members of the LGBTIQ community, were attacked on two occasions in Podgorica by a group of minors.
According to information from the non-governmental organization (NGO) Queer, the first attack took place on January 15, in the evening. About 15 minors threw stones and glass bottles at people, shouting homophobic insults. One of the victims suffered minor injuries to his hands.
The second attack took place on January 17th in front of the victim's rented apartment, when a group of minors, armed with metal rods and stones, surrounded a taxi carrying foreign nationals. The attackers tried to force open the vehicle's door and damaged the car.
"We call on the competent institutions to quickly and efficiently prosecute and sanction the perpetrators, and on society to show solidarity and condemn all forms of violence. We also appeal to educational institutions to urgently include topics on human rights, diversity and non-violence in school curricula," the NGO appealed.
This violence is just a continuation of widespread prejudice and hate speech against LGBTIQ people.
Psychologist and psychotherapist Al-Ammar Kasic expires for Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) that it is important to educate citizens in order to prevent violence and discrimination. New subjects, such as emotional literacy, should be introduced into the education system. In his opinion, compassion and understanding of the needs of other people, who may be different from us, are crucial for society. Creating conditions in which people can freely express their identity is a characteristic of mature and stable societies, but also of individuals who contribute to a healthy community.
Montenegro has somewhat adjusted its legal framework in this area. However, the existence of laws is not enough - effective implementation by institutions is needed. This requires positive actions, such as adequate police action, implementation of laws by courts, and measures taken by government bodies.
According to a 2023 survey by the LGBTIQ Social Center (Social Center) on the impact of hate speech on the safety of LGBTI people, 84 percent of respondents had experienced hate speech, while 55 percent had never reported such behavior. This survey included a total of 62 respondents.
"A state with a low penal policy and absolute inaction, or non-prosecution of such cases, except upon reports, gives the wind in the back of the violent and thus encourages them to spread hatred," he tells CIN-CG. Bojana Jokić, President of the Board of Directors of the LGBT non-governmental organization Forum Progres (Forum Progres).
Jokić claims that Forum Progress files the largest number of reports to the authorities, and that more efficient work by the Police Directorate (PD) can significantly contribute to the protection of minority groups in this area. He also believes that hate speech should be prosecuted ex officio, because, as he says, there might be less hatred and violence.
According to data from non-governmental organizations, the largest amount of hate speech is spread on social networks, and it is the most difficult to prove.
The report of the Higher Court of Misdemeanors of Montenegro on processed cases of discrimination, violence and other forms of attacks against members of the LGBTIQ population, which were in the work of misdemeanor courts from 2021 to the first half of 2024, indicates significant challenges in processing these cases. Procedures take a long time, cases often become statute-barred and inadequate legal qualifications are almost always used.
Mostly not criminally prosecuted
Human Rights Action (HRA) addressed hate speech in its 2022 Handbook - Combating Hate Speech: European Standards and Practice. In that analysis, HRA points out that in recent years, all complaints of hate speech against LGBTIQ people have been directed to misdemeanor courts and treated as misdemeanors under the Public Order and Peace Act, rather than as criminal offenses.
"It is unclear what criteria are used in practice to decide whether it is a misdemeanor and not a criminal offense," the HRA manual states.
In that document, they claim that a criminal offense of racial and other discrimination punishes anyone who "propagandas hatred or intolerance," and a misdemeanor punishes anyone who "insults another" based on sexual orientation.
HRA indicates that the most common reports of hate speech are related to insulting LGBTIQ people as "sick" or "perverted", which is hate speech, as recognized by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
CIN-CG found that from 2021 to the end of 2024, no Basic Court in Montenegro considered or issued a final verdict for the criminal offense of racial and other discrimination.
The Higher Court for Minor Offences of Montenegro (Higher Court) confirmed the HRA's finding that the greatest challenge in processing cases of discrimination and hate speech against LGBTIQ persons is precisely the fact that this act is processed mainly by courts as a violation of public order and peace.
"When a case is qualified as a violation of public order and peace, the sanctions are quite minor compared to those prescribed by the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination," Bojana Jokić tells CIN-CG.
Out of a total of 93 cases in the work of the minor offense courts of Montenegro in the first half of 2024, only five proceedings were processed based on the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. All five in the court in Bijelo Polje.
Forum Progress indicates in its latest semi-annual report for 2024: On the Trail of Hate: A Report on Cases of Hate Speech and Verbal Violence against the LGBTIQ Community in Montenegro that the majority of comments online containing hate speech are not directed at a specific person, but at the entire LGBTIQ community.
They point out that, under the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, as members of the LGBTIQ population, they have the right, after filing a complaint, to be treated as injured parties in the proceedings, and not just as witnesses, which is the case in most proceedings. This approach would reduce the chances of acquittals.
A big problem is the length of the procedure.
In this semi-annual report, Forum Progress also points out the problem that cases become statute-barred after two years from the date the offense was committed. At that time, courts often issue decisions to suspend proceedings due to statute-barring, and the defendants remain unpunished.
"The relatively short statute of limitations of two years, as well as the large number of cases pending before first-instance judges, as well as other circumstances that affect the duration of the proceedings, such as the police's actions in accordance with issued orders to take the defendants and witnesses, lead to the absolute statute of limitations in some cases," the High Court told CIN-CG.
In the first half of 2024, the courts had a total of 93 cases pending, of which three started in 2021, 30 were initiated in 2022, and 59 in 2023. Only one case was initiated in the first half of 2024.
"The data on the large number of cases still pending raises the question of the capacity of the courts, their resources, as well as the necessity of speeding up court procedures in order to provide timely protection to victims," warns the latest report by the Progress Forum.
Police often do not initiate investigations due to limited resources
In the first half of 2024, Forum Progres filed 142 reports to the Police Directorate for hate speech directed at LGBTIQ people.
The NGO's report states that verbal attacks on LGBTIQ activists were recorded in the first six months of 2024, especially during the public campaign for the adoption of the Law on Legal Recognition of Gender Identity Based on Self-Determination and the Pride Parade.
Jokić claims that more efficient work by the Office of the Prosecutor General would significantly contribute to combating hate speech against minorities. She believes that hate speech should in practice be prosecuted ex officio.
"The fact that the five of us, who are in the social media monitoring team, can file around 300 reports in one year, go to countless hearings, give so many reports to the Police Inspectorate, manage to process all that data and in the end have people being sanctioned for it, raises the question - why doesn't the Police Inspectorate work so efficiently?", points out the President of the Board of Directors of the Forum Progress.
The Police Department states that in most cases, police investigations into hate speech begin after citizens, organizations, or other institutions file a report.
"This is common because the police are often unable to monitor all online activity due to limited resources," the UP says.
The Police Directorate says that in certain situations, police authorities launch investigations on their own initiative, especially when hate speech is spreading on a larger scale or poses a serious threat to public order or if content inciting violence or terrorism is detected.
"A combination of proactive and reactive approaches is key to effectively dealing with this problem, but it requires an adequate legal framework, technical resources, and mutual cooperation between the police, social networks, and citizens," the UP indicates.
Most hate speech is spread on social networks, but some keep data
When it comes to investigations in the online space, from the department Danilo Saranovic They argue that the way these cases are approached depends on the legal system, the priorities of the authorities, the available resources, as well as the place where the crime was committed, i.e. the social network through which the hate speech was expressed.
"We see the most hate speech on the social network X, but we have the least room for reactions there, because that platform has a policy that better protects data and information about its users. Because of that policy, reports often have no legal effect, because it is difficult to track these people, since they mostly comment under fake names and bot profiles," Jokić tells CIN-CG.
The UP indicates that most well-known social networks and communication applications have departments for responding to legal requests, however, the degree and method of cooperation vary.
"Most platforms require a legal document to provide identification data about users, as well as in urgent requests for cases where there is an immediate threat to people's lives. If the platforms are registered in another country, the request often has to be submitted through the international legal assistance mechanism," the UP indicates.
A very important circumstance in investigations is the passage of time.
The UP adds that Internet service providers (ISPs) can only reveal the identity of an IP address user with a court order, and the process of obtaining an order can be lengthy.
ISPs are companies that allow users to access the internet in any form, providing services such as website hosting, email services, and network security solutions.
"Since many ISPs only store traffic data for a certain period of time, if the report is not made within a short period of time, it is possible that these providers no longer have records of the user's IP address," UP points out.
They state that it happens that the IP address of the end user is dynamic, that is, it changes or that a large number of users use the same address at the same time. This happens because most ISPs assign IP addresses from their network range for a certain period of time. The UP concludes that end users often use anonymization tools.
Extremely pronounced degree of social distance - undesirable as neighbors
The worrying data comes from the Report on the research of citizens' attitudes on the presence of stereotypes, prejudices and social acceptance of LGBTIQ people in Montenegro, which was conducted by the Social Center in 2023, where 284 citizens were surveyed.
When asked to what extent they would not want to have each of the above groups as neighbors, 68 percent of respondents in the study stated that they would not like them to be LGBTIQ people, while only 18 percent had nothing against it.
The highest degree of social distance was shown towards HIV-positive people (86 percent), towards the Roma and Egyptian population (82 percent), drug users, convicted persons and migrants (79 percent), while the LGBTIQ community was in fourth place, and finally poor people (64 percent).
"Like all phobias, xenophobia, homophobia, and transphobia are irrational fears that, if nothing else, fix our unpleasant experience and emotional charge on some object, creating a false connection between some vague negative experience on the one hand and a specific object on the other," explains psychotherapist Al-Ammar Kašić.
Kašić believes that prejudice and discrimination are often used as a tool to maintain social control, which we have the opportunity to see in our country, where various artificial conflicts are repeatedly incited that are fundamentally related to national, religious, sexual or other affiliation, making it difficult for people to have the quality and fulfilling lives that they deserve.
The same report states that 44 percent of respondents believe that homosexuality is dangerous to society and as many as 62 percent think that LGBTIQ people are dangerous to children.
The psychotherapist points out that LGBTIQ people are not immune to projections and labeling stemming from prejudice and stigmatization, nor to discrimination that threatens the realization of many human and often taken-for-granted rights and freedoms.
"As is usually the case, freedom is best understood by those who have had it taken away, and in this case we can talk about the freedom to live a dignified life with all the rights that people in society already exercise and enjoy," he points out.
More than a quarter of respondents hide their LGBTIQ identity
Kašić explains that respecting sexual orientation and gender identity, both for oneself and for others, can be extremely difficult in conditions where there is a constant fear of rejection, judgment, or violence.
Results of the Study on the Mental Health of LGBTIQ People in Montenegro conducted by the Social Center in 2023, show that 46 percent of LGBTIQ people have not admitted their sexual orientation or gender identity to others, while 45 percent have. As many as 27 percent of respondents have not told their friends or family members.
The psychotherapist explains that we all have fundamental needs related to other people – for security, acceptance, love and self-determination. When these needs are not met, we are deprived of important life experiences. He believes that in LGBTIQ people, due to an unaccepting social environment, parts of their identity often remain hidden and unaffirmed. Everyday situations that are common to other people can be uncomfortable or disturbing for LGBTIQ people.
"Imagine not being allowed to tell anyone who your crush is, having to fake your greatest love as your roommate or friend, or never being able to publicly show even the slightest sign of affection for the person you secretly share your entire life with," the psychotherapist points out.
More than half of the respondents, or 51 percent, stated that they try to make their identity less visible in public, so that other people do not think that they are members of the LGBTIQ minority.
"As society fails to show that people who are different in any way are welcome and safe, many LGBTIQ people are forced to diminish themselves and hide, hiding parts of their identity from colleagues at work, friends, family members, and in some cases even from their spouses," explains Kašić.
He points out that hiding such an important part of one's identity can lead to the creation of a double or parallel life, which entails many problems and unnecessary human suffering.
"Prejudice and discrimination deeply permeate Montenegrin society. The incidents of violence that occurred on January 15 and 17 are reminders of the urgent need for a systemic fight against hatred towards minorities. It is necessary for institutions, individuals and society as a whole to take responsibility for creating a non-violent, safe and inclusive environment for all," said the NGO Queer Montenegro.
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