INTRODUCTION
Labris, one of the oldest lesbian human rights organizations in the region, is an organization that considers the right to different sexual orientation as one of the basic human rights. Labris works on protection, advancement and promotion of gender equality and diversity through: empowerment and social inclusion of LGBT community; creation, monitoring and advocating inclusive politics; advancement of institutional systems of support and networking on national and regional level. Since its foundation Labris has been implementing over 60 projects through three program components – Community Development, Education and Advocacy Program.
Based on the 20-year experience in supporting the most vulnerable group and the assessment of current situation in regards to position of LGBT community in Republic of Serbia, Labris developed project “Utilizing EU Accession Processes for the Advancement of LGBT Rights in the Western Balkans”.
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
Numerous research and reports continuously demonstrate that LGBT community is one of the most discriminated social groups in Serbia and state institutions have proven to be unable and not willing to ensure full human rights to LGBT person: A comprehensive survey of societal perceptions of homosexuality and attitudes towards LGBT population showed that the share of those who think homosexuality is an illness is extremely high (67%). 56 percent of the population believed homosexuality posed a threat to society and as many as one half of Serbia’s citizens would never reconcile with the fact that someone close to them is a homosexual. 17% of the parents would violently react to the fact that their child is a homosexual. Survey conducted by the Commissioner for Protection of Equality and CESID in November 2012, showed that 30% object to having LGBT neighbors, 32.5% do not want them as colleagues, 40.6% do not want them as a friend, 58.8% do not want them as teachers, and 79.5% do not want LGBT people in their family. Furthermore, the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights report shows that 80% of high school students support discrimination of LGBT people.
Although Serbia has ratified most of the international human rights documents and conventions, and has legal and institutional anti-discrimination framework largely in place, ”…in practice, those most exposed to discrimination are Roma, women, persons with disabilities and the LGBT community. They are frequently victims of intolerance, hate speech and even physical attacks. Public officials have been reluctant to publicly condemn such incidents.” (Commission Opinion on Serbia’s application for membership of the European Union {COM (2011) 668}). From the other hand, due to extremely low level of trust in government institutions (Centre for public policy research) and lack of knowledge on the rights and existing mechanisms among LGBT community, unreported homophobic violence and discrimination remain at extremely high levels.
Labris believes that by implementing the project Labris will have more arguments to pressure State administration in its obligations toward EU institutions and that Labris will influence on Serbia’s integration process by pressuring State and its authorities to work on developing and implementing antidiscrimination policies and legislation and with that to improve the social and legal status of the LGBT community, especially LGBT youth.
Research has shown that the LGBT community is one of the social groups most exposed to violence and discrimination in Serbia and that state institutions have proven to be unable and unwilling to ensure the protection and promotion of the human rights of LGBT persons, LGBT youth especially. As a result, everyday life experiences of LGBT youth are marked by fear, anxiety and invisibility, both within the private and public spheres. By improving educational system and by developing protocols for prevention of the bullying based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in high schools and sensitizing all stakeholders involved in the implementation of the project Labris hopes to improve of the position of LGBT youth community in Serbia.
By engaging all relevant stakeholders and target groups in implementation of all the activities, Labris will be able to identify gaps in implementation of the existing antidiscrimination policies and legislation in educational system in Serbia and to exert pressure on the relevant state authorities to adequately fulfill their obligations and react on bullying based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in high schools.
OBJECTIVES AND COURSE OF THE ACTION
Despite several breakthroughs in the area of rule of law and national legal framework, Serbia is still a highly patriarchal and conservative society where LGBT community is highly discriminated, and discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity is still highly present. Adding on that results of monitoring Hate Crime cases from the first phase of the project Labris, which is that most of the offenders in those hate crime cases are part of the youth population Labris considered moving the focus on the bullying based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in high schools in Serbia.
Problem of bullying based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity in high schools in Serbia should be taken more seriously when we take into consideration the amount of danger of physical and emotional violence to which the LGBT population is continuously exposed. Members of LGBT population are at high risk of violence and hate crimes, both within and outside the educational system and there are devastating statistics to emphasize the problem – 21% of high school students have admitted they verbally attacked or threatened someone they assumed were gay, while 13% of them actually admitted helping beating them up, and 41% of the high school population think that the LGBT population is sick.
OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY AND SCOPE OF WORK
Research and Analysis Expert will be in charge for creating a publication on how to deal with bullying based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity for high school students, and teachers and other relevant staff (psychologists and pedagogues).
Research and Analysis Expert(s) will be responsible for:
• Researching the means of dealing with bullying based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity;
• Analysis of data collected and creation of draft version of publication;
• Creation of final version of publication.
The Consultant will be required to deliver:
• Draft version of publication;
• Final version of publication.
Required Qualifications and Experience of the Consultant:
• A minimum of three years of progressive experience in research and analysis;
• Proven experience in designing and conducting researching activities;
• Team player able to work well with colleagues from diverse backgrounds;
• Extensive knowledge of the human rights and national social inclusion policies and practices;
• Strong communication skills;
• Excellent written and spoken English.
Application Procedure
Applicants are required to submit the following by CoB April 3, 2017:
• An explanation of the Applicant(s) qualifications to perform the task (including CVs, past performance information)
• Description of plan and method to complete tasks described herein;
• A detailed budget.
Applicants can send their materials to: labris@labris.org.rs with the subject line: “Application [YOUR NAME]: Research and Analysis Expert”.
