BELGRADE – Pride Week is being held this week in Belgrade under the slogan “For the Family”, with the tradition Pride March scheduled for Saturday.
Organizers announced that this year’s march will take the form of a protest walk. Instead of music, participants will generate noise to emphasize that Pride “stands in solidarity with students and citizens in their struggle for a more equal and just society”.
Sofija Todorović from the Youth Initiative for Human Rights told that organizers, in agreement with the police, decided to change the march route because of “the illegal camps installed” outside top state institutions. She noted that organizers would adapt to changing circumstances and inform citizens of any adjustments.
One of the main themes of this year’s Pride Week, alongside current social and political developments in Serbia, is family, Todorovic said. She stressed that families from the LGBT community exist in Serbia – perhaps silent out of fear – but they exist.
According to her, the society they are fighting for is one where everyone has equal rights, where diversity is not a reason for fear, and where LGBT people are part of this society, affected by injustices like anyone else.
The core demands of Belgrade Pride have remained unchanged for years, as non have been fulfilled by the state.
The first two are the adoption of a Law on Same-Sex Partnerships and a Law on Gender Identity.
Drafts of both laws were prepared several years ago and confirmed by the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, but President Aleksandar Vučić has repeatedly stated that, as long as he remains in office, they will not be adopted.
Pride also demands improved healthcare services for trans people, swift and adequate responses from state institutions and public condemnation by officials of hate speech and hate-motivated crimes against LGBT+ community, as well as explicit recognition of LGBT+ people in local action plans as a vulnerable social group.
Additional demands include an official apology to all citizens of Serbia who, before 1994, were persecuted through the courts or other means because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, education of young people, and free, easily accessible pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP).
