Lighting the spark of tolerance and equality in Serbia: winners of the Journalism Award for Tolerance tell stories that need to be told
“Tolerance and equality are core values of a well-functioning democracy,” begins Brankica Jankovic, Serbia’s Commissioner for the Protection of Equality. “And the role of the media in promoting those values is vital,” she continues. “That is why we joined forces with the OSCE Mission to Serbia to create this award.”
Three years ago, the Commissioner and the OSCE Mission established the Journalism Award for Tolerance. Since then, 29 journalists from across Serbia have been recognized for their reporting achievements.
“Serbia is replete with life stories about freedom of expression, democracy, justice and tolerance,” says Ambassador Andrea Orizio, Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. “These stories need to be told and the journalists telling them need to be given credit.'
Journalists making a difference
“With the Journalism Award for Tolerance we want to encourage media professionals to engage in non-discriminatory reporting that raises awareness of the importance of equality and tolerance for society,” says Jankovic.
A jury composed of staff members of the Equality Commissioner’s Office and the OSCE Mission as well as previous award winners select first, second and the third place winners in three categories: print/online, short and long radio and TV stories.
The journalists who won the award in 2017 explored issues spanning from the physical barriers that stand in the way of disabled persons and the everyday challenges of living with autism to the media’s often questionable treatment of domestic violence.
When doorsteps become blockades
Tamara Tankosic, a journalist of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), won the award with her short film showing how architectural features that block easy access to public buildings or public transportation continue to prevent persons with disabilities from exercising their rights, be that in terms of education, sports, health protection, culture, employment, or even when they have an obligation to fulfil, such as paying bills. Eleven years after Serbia adopted the Law on Prevention of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities, most post offices still have neither an entrance ramp nor sign language interpreters. Ironically, the very doorsteps to the offices that should be providing citizens with public services are acting as barriers that keep them from receiving them.
“The position of persons with disabilities in their daily lives is far from that guaranteed to them by legal provisions. Reports by relevant institutions and conversations with persons with disabilities lead to this same conclusion. The story I tell in the film shows just that. It seems that there are many differences between laws on the one hand, and life on the other,” says Tamara.
A plea not to turn a blind eye to autism
Even though the notions of inclusion, equality and anti-discrimination have been enshrined in Serbian law, there are certain social or medical conditions that many would rather ignore. That is the case for autism – a scientific mystery and a source of parental suffering.
Jovana Polic, JSP TV Head Producer, won the Tolerance Award for a documentary she created together with two co-authors, Slaviša Lekić and Sanja Lončar, about people with autism in Serbia and the difficulties they face. Their film follows the life of a ten-year old boy Lazar, his moments of happiness, rage, joy, hysteria and love.
“For me, making the documentary ‘Lazar’ meant giving people the possibility to look the reality that we are living in this country in the eye. ‘Lazar’ is not only a story about a ten-year-old boy, nor is it only a story about living with autism. Rather, the film paints a clear picture of the attitude in Serbia towards diversity as such,” comments Jovana.
Olivera Milenković, Lazar’s mother, adds: “The film ‘Lazar’ marked the beginning of a new era for autism in Serbia, above anything else thanks to the author’s dedication to approaching this issue in a manner which was previously unimaginable, showing all sides of the life of an ‘autistic’ family – from the beautiful to the very difficult ones. The has film encouraged a social discussion, not only on the topic of autism as such, but also on the situation in which it places whole families, - something that Serbian society does not comment on very often.”
Pitfalls of portraying domestic violence in media
Domestic violence is another burning issue, and an extremely complex one. Award winner Jelena Jorgacevic, journalist of the weekly magazine Vreme titled her article "Media Abuse of Victims of Violence: Live Broadcast of Rape". She dealt with dominant patterns in media reporting on domestic violence in Serbia and the negative message that such patterns are sending to the victims and their aggressors.
Her article tells of morbid competition in describing brutalities and a merciless public exposure of victims, exacerbating their trauma. She points to a use of language that conceals the true nature of events, calling murder an “act of unrequited love”, for example. These practices, along with online comments that place the blame for domestic violence on the victims, border on hate speech and represent a serious problem in the Serbian media landscape.
“Family violence is a problem to which we shouldn’t turn a blind eye, and by ‘turning a blind eye’ I also mean failing to examine each case individually. We must work on legal regulations, on applying the laws, on educating not only children but also adults, both through the educational system and through the media. We must narrow the scope of what is considered ‘normal’ in society and awaken people’s sensitivity to different forms of abuse. We must cast light on the reality of abuse, how it can be prevented and how a victim of abuse can break free, Jelena says.
“I and other journalists working for Vreme have been dealing with this topic for a long time”, she adds. “This article is an attempt to impel colleagues and the public to give this topic the attention it merits. It concerns human lives, even though that is something we often seem to forget.”
Ethical reporting changes lives
This year, the OSCE Mission to Serbia will partner with the Commissioner’s Office for the fourth time in supporting the Journalism Award for Tolerance. The winning prize will be a study visit to the Netherlands, because of the country’s good practices in the fields of tolerance and ethical reporting.
“We share the same goal – a more tolerant and equal society,” says Head of Mission Orizio. “We stand ready to provide further support to the Commissioner’s Office in working for a future in which all Serbian institutions will fully and systematically mainstream the values of equality, tolerance and non-discrimination,” he concludes.