You will not intimidate us: Defense of women's professional integrity in the public sphere.
We, organizations, initiatives, and activists of the feminist movement and civil society, unequivocally support all women who diligently, professionally, and responsibly perform their jobs, and who have recently been subjected to targeting, media violence, political pressure, and open misogynistic attacks.
We, organizations, initiatives, and activists of the feminist movement and civil society, unequivocally support all women who diligently, professionally, and responsibly perform their work, and who have recently been subjected to targeting, media violence, political pressure, and open misogynistic attacks.
The targeting of Ivana Krstić and Vanja Bajović, professors at the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, in the program of the Informer television channel, represents yet another example of the misuse of media space for political reckoning with the academic community. Professor Dr. Ivana Krstić is a member of the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, while Professor Bajović is a university professor of criminal law recognized in public for her expert analyses on issues of criminal and institutional responsibility, including comments related to civic protests and public debates on accountability regarding the collapse of the awning. When university professors with clear expertise and international references are publicly labeled and presented as political enemies, it sends a message that academic integrity and professional authority do not protect against campaigns of discreditation. This directly undermines academic freedoms and the autonomy of universities.
The case of prosecutor Bojana Savović demonstrates how women's professional integrity in the judiciary is subjected to pressure when centers of power are challenged. The publication of an audio recording of a private conversation, for which there is serious suspicion that it was obtained illegally, transcends the issue of personal rights violation and becomes a message to all female prosecutors and judges about what may await them if they persist in lawful and independent action. The normalization of unauthorized surveillance and public discreditation represents a dangerous blow to the rule of law.
The attack on journalist Dejana Cvetković while reporting from the protests in Surdulica exposes the brutal misogyny faced by women in the media. Interference with work, threats, sexualized insults, and unauthorized sharing of personal data are not "incidents," but attempts to intimidate and silence a female journalist. When a journalist is told that she "must not record," it attacks the public's right to know, and when the insults are gendered and sexualized, it is clear that this constitutes gender-based violence.
These cases are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern in which women who publicly operate in academia, the judiciary, and the media become targets when they insist on professional standards, accountability, and truth.
In a system where accountability is lacking, solidarity is the only choice.
We demand:
- Immediate response from the relevant institutions in all mentioned cases.
- Protection of the safety, professional integrity, and dignity of all women performing public functions and jobs of public significance.
- Termination of campaigns targeting, discrediting, and misogynistic violence in the public space.
- Clear and unequivocal condemnation of all forms of media, political, and institutional violence against women.
An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.
We stand with all women who, despite the pressures, professionally and courageously do their jobs. A society in which they are targets is not a democratic and accountable society, and the struggle for dignity, truth, and justice is not a threat, but the foundation of freedom for all citizens.
In solidarity:
A 11 – Initiative for Economic and Social Rights
Activist Group "Women for Change," Novi Sad
Alternative Center for Girls
Autonomous Women's Center
BeFem Feminist Cultural Center
Center for Critical Education
Rainbow Spark
Eadojka Morina – Romani Women’s Association RUŽ of the Braničevo District
FemIn Collective
FemPlatz
Geten
Gender Equality Group GP BRAVO!
Talas TIRV Collective
Laboratory for Feminist Policies (LabFem)
Informal Initiative "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark"
Informal Feminist Collective Contrahisteria
Reconstruction Women's Fund
Association Krokodil
Youth Association "Our World, Our Rules"
Women’s Association Peščanik
Successful Women of Kostolac
Women's Platform for Development of Serbia
Women in Black, Belgrade
Agata M. Đurić
Alisa Kockar, activist
Andrijana Kocić, activist
Biljana Maletin, activist
Dragoslava Barzut, Civic Initiatives
Elena Premate, activist
Emilija Milenković, activist
Hristina Cvetinčanin Knežević
Maša Elezović, activist
Melanija Lojpur
Milica Kostin, activist
Slavica Vasić Mitrović, activist
Tamara Milanović, activist
Tamara Srijemac, journalist
Tanja Grgić, Successful Women of Kostolac
Vanja Petrović, activist
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