Fourth infosession on the state of the rights of LGBT persons in BiH in 2012 held in Banja Luka

Sarajevo Open Centre and Internews have organized 4th infosession for journalist in Banja Luka on LGBT topics. The goal of this session was to offer basic information on the rights of LGBT persons, as well as introducing the correct terminology related to LGBT and achieving professional and ethical reporting.

During 8 sessions, journalists will have the opportunity to talk to persons from BiH and the region who are dealing with LGBT topics through theory, practice and activism. The first infosession was dedicated to the reporting on LGBT topics and correct terminology, the second session was about the International day Against Homophobia and Transphobia and the third about the representation (or the lack of) lesbian identities in media.

The guest of today’s fourth infosession was Vladana Vasić, one of the authors of Pink Report 2012 and coordinator in Sarajevo Open Centre. She talked about the importance of priority measures such as introducing hate crime into the Criminal Code of FBiH and establishing equal procedures on all administrative levels in relation to the change of personal documents and personal identification number of transexual persons. In a response to the questions of journalists at the infosession, she also talked about the legal regulation of hate crime and concrete advocacy efforts of Sarajevo Open Centre related to these issues.