Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujović said that she is concerned about the increase in misogynistic attacks, insults and hate speech directed at women via social networks and digital platforms simply because they are involved in politics.
As Vujović stated, this is a systemic phenomenon that does not discriminate, and the purpose of the attack is to silence, intimidate and discourage women in politics.
The Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality is questioning Vujović and Minister of Justice Bojan Božović on the topic of "Cyberviolence against women in politics".
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Vujović said that the normalization of violence under the guise of freedom of speech or expression is unacceptable.
"Such behaviors must have no place in social life, and if they do, they deserve a reaction. We will never be able to suppress this even with the most perfect law, but it is important that we as a society have concluded that this is unacceptable behavior and that we deal with it correctly," Vujović stated.
She said that there are 27 percent of female MPs in the state parliament, which is the European average, and that the desire is to reduce that number through misogynistic attacks.
Vujović said that politicians should have a higher threshold of tolerance in debates and public discussions, but that this does not necessarily mean that hate speech and discrimination go hand in hand with that type of work.
She assessed that the social atmosphere in Montenegro is now better, unlike in previous periods where reactions to such attacks on some social activists were not satisfactory.
"There will be attacks on women and hate speech, but there is clear condemnation of attacks on women and no one is on the side of the perpetrators. Things are moving in the right direction and this may be the way to reduce, if not eradicate, violence against women in politics," said Vujović.
She said that the Ministry of Culture and Media recognizes cyberbullying as a social problem, but also as a challenge concerning media and digital culture, noting that large online platforms also have responsibilities.
Vujović said that investigative authorities have the ability to initiate court proceedings for hate speech, but that this is not enough, and that misdemeanor sanctions are not a good mechanism.
As she reminded, the Ministry of Culture and Media has introduced an important innovation that enables a person seeking protection of special rights to initiate urgent court proceedings for a temporary ban on media content that spreads hate speech, while Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković has issued binding instructions to state prosecutors for handling cases of hate speech.
"We are aware that legal norms alone are not enough, and that is why we are trying to create a social climate in which violence has no foothold," added Vujović.
She said that the Ministry is working on forming a network against hate speech, online violence and discrimination, which will be able to point out all those who dare to spread hate speech.
Supreme Court President Valentina Pavličić said that the criminal offense of persecution was introduced in 2018, but that there have been no reports.
She encouraged all public figures who are victims of hate speech to report violence.
"It is visible that proceedings are being initiated before the Basic Court in Podgorica. We have protection for journalists, but I would like us to have protection for female politicians as well, to give the legal response that is expected and to suppress this phenomenon as much as possible," said Pavličić, emphasizing that the media must help in this.
She explained that cases of insults, misogynistic and sexist attacks on the internet are resolved through misdemeanor proceedings, and added that the fines that have been imposed do not even deserve to be mentioned.
"I see that synchronization of all stages of the system is needed. You have an ally on this issue in the Supreme Court," said Pavličič, adding that the case law regarding violence against women will be analyzed in detail.
The Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms Siniša Bjeković believes that the problem is not the legislation, but rather its implementation.
He said that digital violence has moved to social networks and that it is an uncontrolled area, and that the reason why this is so most often lies in the response that "the network administrator is not available or does not cooperate in the procedure, and that it is not possible to detect the perpetrator and prosecute such a case."
"I don't think that's really the case. In addition to the outpouring of hate speech on social media, we often have an unidentified perpetrator and very often the police, when interested in uncovering other crimes, resort to revealing the IP address and in a simple way find out who made such a comment," Bjeković said.
The issue, he concludes, is not simply a lack of ability to prosecute, but a lack of will.
The President of the Basic State Prosecutor's Office (ODT) in Podgorica, Duško Milanović, announced that the ODT has formed four cases that could be classified as cyber violence against women in politics - three in relation to a former MP, and one in relation to a current MP.
He said that the ODT's actions are made more difficult by the fact that fake profiles are hidden behind sexist and offensive comments, for which they need close cooperation with the Police Directorate, and that numerous comments are sent from abroad.
"We have to act through the requested channels through the competent authorities, and it will take a long time for our letters of request to be acted upon," Milanović said.
He assessed that there is much more cyber violence against women in politics than is reported and noted that some of the cases were filed ex officio.
Milanović encouraged all female MPs and women involved in politics to report violence.
Independent MP Jevrosima Pejović believes that women in politics do not have enough information, knowledge, or the ability to adequately respond to cases of cyber violence.
She said that sometimes they don't have the time or resources to report cases and fight battles in the courts.
"Also, by filing a report, you are in a way agreeing to the position of a victim, which is incompatible with the role you have on the political scene. This is all the more reason to have more procedures initiated ex officio," said Pejović.
She said that women who are public figures are not public goods and that they therefore expect institutions to do their job.
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