Poll: Women face most discrimination

Poll: Women face most discrimination

BELGRADE -- 42 percent of Serbian citizens believe that women are the population group in the country that is exposed to discrimination the most.

The survey was organized by the commissioner for protection of equality.

Discrimination is on the rise and it is worrying that almost ten percent are unaware that discrimination is against the law, it was said at the presentation of the results of the poll, which was conducted with support from the UN Development Program in Serbia.

"People are aware that discrimination is widespread," Commissioner for Protection of Equality Nevena Petrušić stated.

Women are discriminated the most, followed by the Roma, who were ranked first in earlier polls, the diasbled, poor and elderly, according to the poll, which was conducted in late 2013 and involved 1,200 people.

Around 70 percent think that violence against women is very or fairly widespread, while 11 percent believe it is present in the small degree and two percent say there is no violence against women at all, the results indicate.

16 percent of respondents said they had suffered discrimination personally. That is a similar result to last year, but less than in 2010, when 20-25 percent stated they had experienced discrimination, the presentation heard.

At the same time, ten percent of those polled think that children are discriminated the most, and there is also cause for concern in the fact that 67 percent said they would not report discrimination.

It is alarming that the people still feel that government institutions discriminate the most, especially the executive branch, which is the one most responsible for changing this situation, it...