Protestors in Belgrade march for murdered trans teen

The murder of Noa Milivojev, an 18-year-old trans woman whose body was found in an apartment in downtown Belgrade on Thursday, prompted protests in Belgrade, with demonstrators carrying banners with the words “Her name was Noa”, “Stop killing women”, “Trans lives matter” and the number 22, as this is the 22nd femicide in Serbia this year.

The teen had been missing for weeks, and the gruesome murder came two months after two mass shootings in Belgrade and Mladenovac.

This demonstration marks the tenth Serbia against Violence protest and it took place in front of RTS’ headquarters as one of the movement’s demands is to replace the entire management. Protesters then went to the Police department of Belgrade.

Serbian society has sunk into normalised violence, Matija Stefanović, an activist in the “Da se zna” organisation that provides legal and psychological support to the LGBTQ community, told EURACTIV.

“Trans people, especially trans women, experience violence and discrimination at every step: at home, at school, at work, in the bank, in the park, on the street, on the bus, but also at the doctor’s office or in the police,” Stefanović points out.

Although removed from Serbia’s list of mental illnesses, transgenderism is systemically pathologised in Serbia.

“For example, for a trans person to change their personal documents (gender marker, social security number and name) to their gender identity, they have to receive a ‘diagnosis’ from a psychiatrist and must undergo a year of hormone therapy, which some trans people do not want or because of health reasons.

This is a serious violation of the right to bodily autonomy and deprivation of the right to self-identify”, Stefanović told EURACTIV.

Society is simply not on the side of trans people, which is why they are often a target, she added.

“That’s why society and institutions must have zero tolerance for transphobia. If our society was not transphobic, trans people would not need special treatment. This way, it is necessary for us to have laws that protect us.”

The vigil for the murdered 18-year-old was held on Thursday in Belgrade’s Republic Square. People left candles and pink and blue flags, but a young man was filmed kicking and scattering them around.

(EURACTIV.rs | Jelena Jevtić, Bojana Zimonjić Jelisavac)