Publication: Barriers to LGBTI People Accessing Justice in Serbia
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2022
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2023-02-14
2023-03-06
2023-03-06
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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) people face significant social and legal vulnerabilities and disparities in accessing justice. LGBTI people are more vulnerable to bias, discrimination, harassment, and violence due to their real or perceived Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC). Despite some legal protections, few LGBTI people report cases of violence and other bias-motivated incidents to the police, and even fewer complaints proceed to court. The barriers that LGBTI people experience in accessing justice are rooted in societal homophobia, transphobia, their own fear to report incidents, a disconnect between formal laws and their implementation, and a lack of skills and knowledge among personnel in key justice institutions to effectively respond to the needs of LGBTI people. In most countries, including in the Western Balkans, government responses to discrimination and violence against LGBTI people are inadequate, as highlighted by previous research undertaken by the World Bank. The lack of safe reporting structures and inaction when cases are reported dissuades LGBTI people from engaging with the justice system, which limits their ability to have their rights fully protected. This report is organized in four parts. Part A provides the rationale for the research and outlines the research methodology. Part B includes an examination of the Serbian legal framework, the experience of Serbian LGBTI people accessing justice mechanisms, circumstances where LGBTI people in Serbia face discrimination or exclusion from justice based on their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), and a broader examination of the structural barriers to Serbian LBGTI people accessing justice. Part C outlines a collection of policy actions to address the barriers to access, the agencies best suited to steward the reforms, and anticipated timelines. Finally, the stakeholders who were interviewed and the questionnaires and survey instruments used to collect information, experience, and practices from the different stakeholders are included in the Annex section.
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“World Bank. 2022. Barriers to LGBTI People Accessing Justice in Serbia. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39417 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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