Unacceptable Attacks on Students and Staff of Primary School “Petar Kočić” in Inđija

The organization Da se zna! strongly condemns the hate speech and threats directed at the
teachers and female students of Primary School “Petar Kočić” in Inđija, following a drawing
depicting two girls holding hands with the messages “Tolerance is not a foreign word” and “It’s
ok to be gay.”
On the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance, November 16, as part of the elective
subject Virtues and Values as a Life Compass, students of one class at Primary School “Petar
Kočić” in Inđija were assigned to create posters on the theme of tolerance. One group of girls
chose to illustrate their poster with two girls holding hands, the rainbow flag, and messages of
tolerance.
After the posters were displayed publicly in the school hallway, a photograph of this particular
poster was shared on social media, sparking a wave of online harassment and attacks against
the girls and their teachers, who were accused of “promoting homosexuality in schools.” Among
those spreading hate speech was the local parish in Inđija, which demanded that the school
principal publicly comment on the case.
Da se zna! extends its full support to the students of Primary School “Petar Kočić” who created
the drawing, as well as to the teachers and school staff who have become targets of malicious
individuals and groups. Hate speech and threats directed at children and teachers are
unacceptable, and teaching children to hate their peers of different sexual orientations is
harmful and dangerous.
Da se zna! will file appropriate complaints against those who threatened the students and
teachers, as well as against those who spread hate speech in this case.