WORLD NEWS FOR MONTENEGRO DIASPORA
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AUTHOR: M.J. GDNUS
Under the title "Let the punishment be permanent", a protest rally was held in Podgorica on December 26th, demanding that students in schools be safe and that penalties for all sexual abusers, predators and pedophiles be urgently toughened.
Despite the cold weather and strong northerly wind, several hundred students, students and citizens gathered in front of the monument to King Nikola, blocking the boulevard near the Parliament of Montenegro.
"Sexual violence requires clear and loud condemnation. This is a call for courage and solidarity. I call on all women to speak out and speak out," reads the letter from Sara Vujisić, a victim of sexual harassment.
Vujisić, a former student at the Podgorica High School, spoke publicly on December 8 about the sexual harassment she experienced through messages from professor Radoman Čečović in 2021, after she graduated.
She published Čečović's Viber messages containing explicit sexual offers.
She also revealed that she reported the case to the director of the High School, Biljana Vučurović, who did not report the case to the relevant institutions or inform the school authorities, but only punished Professor Čečović with a one-time salary reduction.
In the meantime, it was announced that the prosecutor's office is investigating at least three more cases in which teachers are suspected of sexually harassing students. These are schools in Podgorica, Tuzi and Rožaje.
This is the second protest rally organized in Podgorica against sexual violence. The organizers demanded that the law stipulate the revocation of licenses for all educators who sexually harass students.
"The judicial system must stop the practice of minimum sentences. And those responsible for covering up such cases must bear the consequences, there is no excuse for silence," said protest organizer Kosta Mijušković.
Student representatives also addressed the gathering.
"We have witnessed various forms of violence from a young age: psychological, physical, sexual. Violence among peers, violence by parents against children, teachers against students. From a young age, we are taught to be silent. That it will pass. But this time it will not pass," said student Itana Dragojević.
Montenegrin students support the protests of their colleagues in Serbia
A hundred students from Montenegrin universities also joined the protesters. They had previously organized a rally in front of the Faculty of Law in Podgorica to support the student protest in Serbia.
Student Milo Perović said they gathered to follow the "wave of boldness and freedom of students from Serbia":
"The Balkans must wake up. It is important that we follow the organization and uncompromising freedom of young people and students from our neighboring Serbia."
Students, pupils and other citizens of Serbia have been blocking city roads for 15 minutes every day for weeks to pay tribute to those killed in the collapse of the concrete canopy of the Novi Sad Railway Station.
Students from all four university centers - Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac - are also blocking faculties, demanding that the authorities publish all documentation on the renovation of the Railway Station and prosecute all those responsible for the deaths of 15 people.
They are also demanding the identification and criminal liability of the attackers of the demonstrators, the release of activists arrested at the protests and the cessation of criminal proceedings against them. During numerous protests, attacks on demonstrators and their detentions have been recorded.
