News
RTCG and Reporting on Trans Rights: When Public Broadcaster Allows Religious Leaders to Judge
In March 2024, Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG), through its broadcasts of the programmes “Dnevnik” and “Argumenti”, as well as in an article on its website, contributed to spreading gender disinformation by presenting unbalanced views, dominated by religious figures, on LGBTIQ+ rights. The topic was the Draft Law on Legal Gender Recognition Based on Self-Determination. …
Who is Out to Get Whom?
The Impact of Gendered Disinformation in Kosovo In Kosovo, activists are raising the red flag on the rising impact of anti-gender movements and their agendas targeting human rights. Anti-gender movements have had a significant impact on the sexual politics of the region in the last couple of years. Experiences of feminist and LGBTQI+ activists in …
Deletion of the term gender identity from the Criminal Code of the Republic of Srpska
The initiative was launched due to incorrect information and prejudice In its 11th session held on 30 October 2024, the National Assembly of Republika Srpska (RS) adopted the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code of Republika Srpska, which replaces the words “gender identity” with the words “other personal characteristics”. The words “gender identity” are …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights October: Ethnic division and sexism alongside unprofessional media reporting in the Western Balkans
During October, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by ethnic discrimination, anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric, sexism and unprofessional media reporting. Sexism in Kosovo and Montenegro In Kosovo, a debate was held on TV7+ – a popular television channel in Albania and Kosovo – which focused on the topic of family …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Chairman of the Assembly of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Džafer Alić
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region. During an interview with Džafer Alić, Chairman of the Assembly …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights September: Ethnic and religious divisions alongside sexism in the Western Balkans
During September, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fueled by religious and ethnic discrimination and sexism. Religious discrimination in Montenegro On the 4th of September, portal Borba published an article from the unregistered portal Srpska 24, titled ‘Concert for Nermin – Islamization of Podgorica’, in which ethnic and national …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Prime Minister Edi Rama in Albania
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region. Prime Minister Edi Rama was questioned during a parliamentary session …
Women may be beautiful, but is that really a topic for discussion in Parliament?
This raises a critical question about how we perceive and treat women in the public sphere, particularly women in politics. Once again, we witness how seemingly harmless comments, such as calling a woman “beautiful,” reveal deep-seated sexism that continues to undermine their participation in public life. In a recent session of the Serbian Parliament, a …
Hate speech and ethnic divisions in an anti-Albanian campaign on social media
An anti-Albanian campaign was launched on social media following a post on Facebook from a suspicious closed account. In the Facebook post, the author, without giving further details, said that at the cash register in the “Kipper” market in Gjorce Petrov, a saleswoman refused to tell the prices of the products in the Macedonian language, …