LGBTIQ POPULACIJA U BOSANSKOHERCEGOVAČKOM DRUŠTVU: STAVOVI JAVNOSTI I MEDIJSKO IZVJEŠTAVANJE
LGBTIQ POPULATION IN BOSNIAN-HERZEGOVINIAN SOCIETY: PUBLIC OPINION AND MEDIA REPORTING

Summary/Abstract: Despite the fact that 21th century is marked as a century of human rights, sexual and gender minorities are still facing with stigmatization, violence, assaults and even murders in many countries. Their rights are often denied, even though they are guaranteed by international documents that promote equality and prohibit discrimination. Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a member of international organizations, has comitted itself to respect human rights. That includes prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender. Situation is different in reality. Human rights of LGBTIQ population are often violated, which can be seen through analysis of complaints addressed to the Institution of Human Rights Ombudsman/Ombudsmen of BiH. In this paper we will present historical review of position of LGBTIQ population in societies worldwide, review of international standards that protects human rights, UN recomendations and Bosnian and Herzegovinian responsibilities which arise from its membership in international organizations. Analysis of domestic LGBTIQ rights protection mechanisms demonstrates the need for beteer anti-discrimination legislation and its consistent implementation. This research was based on the assumption that there was as lack of social awareness of the equality of LGBTIQ community members and that bh. society is not ready to reject prejucedices completely and be more tolerant to phenomena that are in accordance with dominant opinion. The public opinion on LGBTIQ people in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been tested through an online survey. Considering the fact that media have big influence in public opinion, we have analyzed the content of few most popular web portals in Bosnia and Herzegovina to see how they report on LGBTIQ topics. It was concluded that media space is not equally accessible to LGBTIQ people and that LGBTIQ topics are noti n the focus of media reporting. The results of this research have shown that media campaigns are necessary for sensitizing citizens about LGBTIQ rights.

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