Serbian LGBTI group Da se zna! at InterPride in Phuket and an OSCE hate-crime conference in Sarajevo

Da se zna! (“Let it be known”), the Belgrade group that documents hate crimes and other homophobic and transphobic incidents in Serbia, has taken part in two international gatherings over the past fortnight.

InterPride in Phuket

The group’s executive director, Bojan Lazić, represented Belgrade Pride at the annual conference and General Meeting of InterPride, the global association of Pride organisers, held in Phuket, Thailand, from 29 October to 1 November.

More than 300 Pride organisers and LGBTI activists from around the world attended to share experience and discuss common challenges and plans.

“For Belgrade Pride, meetings like this are especially important because they let us learn from one another, build new partnerships and strengthen our ties with Prides around the world,” the group said. “At a time when LGBTI+ rights face growing challenges, international cooperation and solidarity matter more than ever.”

OSCE conference on hate crime in Sarajevo

Matija Stefanović of Da se zna! attended a regional conference organised by the OSCE in Sarajevo on gender-based hate crimes and on applying different legal provisions consistently so that victims are better protected.

Representatives of the judiciary, police, academia, civil society, OSCE field missions from South-East Europe and the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) discussed how to recognise gender bias as a motive for crime, the links between hate crime, gender-based violence and femicide, and the difficulties of investigating and prosecuting such cases.

Understanding how prejudice turns into a motive for violence is key to recognising, recording and prosecuting these cases, the group said. “Only through consistent application of the law and cooperation between institutions and civil society can we protect victims more effectively and build a society in which hate-motivated violence is not tolerated.”

Source: dasezna.lgbt. English adaptation: gay-serbia.com.