Serbia's LGBTQ+ community faces 'epidemic of violence'

Published 25 July 2026 · health

Documented cases of violence against LGBTQ+ people in Serbia have never been higher. The attacks are part of a larger shift in society targeting marginalized

Documented cases of violence against LGBTQ+ people in Serbia have never been higher. The attacks are part of a larger shift in society targeting marginalized people. Amid a slew of blows and homophobic insults, the woman on the bus lashed out at Aleksandar Savic and stabbed him with a sharp object. Later, in the emergency room, doctors treated Savic for a cut to the calf and injuries to his eye. Incidents like the July 11 attack on Savic — also know as drag queen Alexis Plastik — don't happen often in Belgrade. But violence against people who don't look or act like the mainstream in the EU candidate country is becoming increasingly common. Just a few hours earlier, Vladimir Arsenijevic, author and program director of the annual Krokodil Literary Festival, was attacked in central Belgrade in the middle of the day by right-wing thugs, as he was preparing for a memorial event commemorating the 1995 Srebrenica genocide. Speaking with broadcaster N1, Plastik called out the "epidemic of violence" in Serbia. The increasing violence by groups associated with President Aleksandar Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, has reinforced the feeling among many people that anyone who is different can become a target, and that no one is safe. Participants in the 2023 Pride parade in Belgrade were confronted by anti-gay protesters and a heavy police presence Image: Marko Drobnjakovic/AP Photo/picture alliance "Violence is becoming increasingly normal, while protection against it is anything but guaranteed — especially for those who speak out against social or political problems, or who are unpopular with the general public," said Matija Stefanovic, the program coordinator for the LGBTQ+ group Da se Zna! ("For Your Information!"), which documents violence against queer people in Serbia. "The fact that most of these attacks aren't investigated and that the perpetrators are rarely held accountable means they can't be dismissed as isolated incidents," said Stefanovic.

"They represent a systemic problem that further stokes violence and emboldens perpetrators to continue attacking marginalized people, without having to fear significant consequences." The social climate has become decidedly harsher for Serbia's LGBTQ+ community over the last few years, with the community also increasingly the target of right-wing nationalist government. More recorded attacks than ever before Da se Zna! is based in an unassuming office on a side street in the center of the Serbian capital. Aside from a lone rainbow-colored nutcracker standing on a shelf, hardly anything indicates the group's purpose: it's the only organization in Serbia to document attacks on queer people — threats, vandalism, physical assault. Not much in the offices of Da se Zna! indicates the group's purpose Image: Tobias Zuttmann/DW "Last year, we counted 110 cases — more than ever before," said Stefanovic. That's due in part to the fact that the NGO is becoming more well-known, and queer people are increasingly ready to report incidents. But dramatic, high-profile cases like the aggression against Alexis Plastik are also happening more and more. In mid-May, unknown assailants attacked Mornar, a queer bar in Belgrade, with tear gas. At the end of May, a trans woman and her partner were beaten unconscious one night — again, by unidentified attackers. Many queer people in Serbia are scared of openly showing their identity. In a recent survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, some 80% of respondents said they avoided holding the hand of their partner in public. The latest edition of the Rainbow Map, compiled by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, shows that Serbia has slipped to 29th place in Europe, six spots below the European average. Five years ago, it was in 22nd place. Support amid threats of violence The only solution to this stigmatization and violence is education, said Stefanovic.