As part of Pride Week in Novi Sad, ERA joined Group Come Out, its Working Safe project partner and Pride Week organiser, for the presentation of the Serbian national policy paper on the socio-economic inclusion of LGBTQI+ communities.
The Serbian policy paper is one of seven country-specific policy papers developed across the Western Balkans and Türkiye within the Working Safe project. Together, the papers provide evidence-based analysis, community insights and recommendations addressing the barriers faced by LGBTQI+ people in employment, workplaces and broader socio-economic participation.
During the event, Buğu Sıla Evren, ERA’s Project and Research Coordinator, presented the Working Safe project, the upcoming regional research report, the national policy papers and the research process behind them. She reflected on the challenges, gaps, institutional responses and lived realities that shaped the findings.
As highlighted during the presentation:
“Work is not only a source of income. It shapes people’s security, wellbeing, mental health, and ability to participate fully in society.”
“For many LGBTQI+ people across the region, workplaces are still spaces where they feel pressure to hide who they are.”
The discussion underlined that laws alone are not enough. Even where legal protections exist, many workplaces still lack trust, effective reporting mechanisms, accountability and real implementation.
Across the region, similar patterns continue to emerge, including fear of reporting discrimination, limited trust in institutions, weak implementation of existing protections and insufficient awareness of discrimination in the workplace. These shared challenges show why regional cooperation, evidence-based advocacy and sustained institutional engagement remain essential.
Creating safe and equal workplaces requires coordinated action by institutions, employers, trade unions, chambers of commerce, civil society organisations, media, international partners and all stakeholders working on equality, labor rights and social inclusion.
Read policy paper on Socio-economic Inclusion of LGBTQI+ community in Serbia here: Inclusion of LGBTQI+ Persons in the Workplace in Serbia: Between the Legal Framework and Lived Reality
Interested in other countries? Explore other 6 related policy papers on link below, available in English and its respective local language for other countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Türkiye.
The project Working Safe: Socio-economic Inclusion of the LGBTQI+ Community in the Western Balkans and Türkiye is implemented by ERA-LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Türkiye, in partnership with Queer Montenegro, Tuzla Open Center from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Open Mind Spectrum Albania, Center for Social Group Development from Kosovo, Coalition Margins from North Macedonia, Group Come Out from Serbia and Kaos GL from Türkiye.
This project is funded by the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ERA or implementing partner and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.