LGBTI PEOPLE IN SERBIA BETWEEN HOMOPHOBIC VIOLENCE AND SOCIAL INTEGRATION

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the paper is to present current trends of improving the position of LGBTI people in Serbia, in which this population is increasingly playing a role. The paper also aims to indicate that improvements lead to increase in social cohesion, but also to warn that long-standing obstacles and challenges have not yet been removed. Design/Methods/ Approach. Applied design comprises both case study and research findings. Namely, cases documented by human rights activists show that homophobic violence is still dominant feature of everyday life, especially of young LGBTI people. But at the same time, recent research indicates an increase in the willingness of citizens to have closer private and professional relationships with LGBTI people, while rejecting negative stereotypes and prejudices about them. The author tries to answering the important questions, whose vulnerability has legitimacy, who has the capacity to point out the relevance of the threat and who to make legitimate decisions, binding on relevant actors, relying that the survival of vulnerable entities remains a central issue of any security. Findings. Main finding of the text is that LGBTI people in Serbia are slowly but steadily gaining necessary securitization capacity, becoming actors of changes, who increasingly participate in the processes of solving the challenges of their own securitization. That way, they are more in position to put on the mainstream political agenda their security endangered by the continuous victimization by violence and discrimination. Originality/Value. The main value of the paper is presentation the LGBTI people’s authentic requests for improvements regarding changes of  the police interventions, adoption of public policies and necessary synergy activities of several different securitization actors, e.g. governmental entities, non-governmental organizations and independent institutions.