Hate speech that is consistently used in the public sphere, the media and online determines a rise in level of intolerance and can lead to acts of violence. When the rights of a person are limited or even when a group of persons is not only limited in rights, but is subject to acts of violence by another group, that society or that country cannot be considered democratic as it does not offer a safe space to that group and this cannot develop in conditions of security, cannot claim rights and cannot become involved in the activities of a community, Irina Korobchenko, who is in charge of hate speech monitoring at Promo-LEX Association, stated for IPN when being contacted for a comment in connection with the International Day of Democracy that is annually celebrated on September 15.
The data collected by Promo-LEX show that hate speech is most often used by men aged between 35 and 50. “Regrettably, this type of speech is used mainly by politicians, sometimes by journalists. It is normal for the members of a particular party or sympathizers to disseminate hate speech in the public sphere very swiftly when this is used by politicians. The people are predisposed, especially online, to use this type of speech due to the anonymity offered by the online environment and because we lack education about human rights. The freedom of expression is not an absolute right. It can be limited. This right ends there where the freedom of another person starts. Even if the persons are different by opinions, age, the language they speak, cohesion between people is what should matter the most. It does not matter what language we speak and what nationality we have. What matters is what each of us does for the community,” said the expert of Promo-LEX.
Hate speech affects both men and women. The Association’s data show that four groups have been primarily affected by hate speech during the past three years: women, politicians, persons of the LGBT community, and persons with disabilities. During the campaign prior to the snap parliamentary elections of July 11, the
older persons were also affected.
Even if Moldova’s legislation contains provisions concerning hate speech, these are not comprehensive. “Bill No. 301 should be adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. The bill adjusts the Penal Code and the Contravention Code so as to penalize prejudice-motivated crime, including those that are accompanied by hate speech, and for disseminating hate speech,” stated Irina Korobchenko.
She noted that the Contravention Code does not contain a provision that would penalize hate speech and instigation of discrimination in the public sphere. There is only one provision concerning slandering, but this does not cover hate speech. The bill drafted by the Ministry of Justice introduces fines for private individuals and legal entries and also community service and jail terms of up to three years. The document is in Parliament and it should be only considered.