Matija Stefanović at the Regional Conference on Hate Crimes in Sarajevo

Our Matija Stefanović participated in a regional conference organised by the OSCE in Sarajevo, dedicated to gender-based hate crimes and the proper and harmonised application of different legislative frameworks to ensure more comprehensive and effective protection for victims.

The conference brought together representatives of the judiciary, police, academia, civil society organisations, OSCE field operations in South-Eastern Europe and ODIHR. Participants discussed the recognition of gender-based bias as a motive for criminal offences, the links between hate crimes, gender-based violence and femicide, as well as the challenges involved in investigating and prosecuting such cases.

Participation in events like this is particularly important for Association Da se zna!, which works to document and monitor hate crimes and other incidents motivated by homophobia and transphobia.

Understanding how prejudice and discrimination can become motives for violence, as well as exchanging knowledge about legal protection mechanisms, is essential to improving the identification, documentation and prosecution of these cases. Only through the consistent application of the law and cooperation between institutions and civil society organisations can we contribute to more effective victim protection and a society in which hate-motivated violence is not tolerated.