The authorities, except for the Council for Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring the Equality, do not react to hate speech and there are no pertinent legal framework and mechanisms for combating the phenomenon, shows a report by Promo-LEX Association that is quoted by IPN.
The report for 2018 said there were two new cases of hate speech a day on average, while in 2019 the figure rose to 4.2 new cases. The number of cases of instigation to discrimination against women almost doubled in the monitored period, the ratio being of 293 cases at present to 162 cases reported earlier.
Promo-LEX said hate speech is most often manifested in a political context and the mass media are the most important source of dissemination of intolerance in the public sphere. The identified 516 cases were most often spread by the written and online media.
“The people often choose to blame those who they consider different from them and do not hesitate to use stereotypes and prejudice. Discrimination becomes something “ordinary”, which makes its effects, in the long run, to determine intolerant and even aggressive behavior,” stated Irina Korobchenko, educational programs manager at Promo-LEX.
Recognizing the problem and placing it on the authorities’ list of priorities are the first steps that should be taken, stated report author Dumitru Sliusarenko.
Promo-LEX recommends amending and supplementing the legislation on offenses motivated by prejudice in accordance with the international standards.
