The handbook is based on a simple but crucial assumption: ethical and professional reporting on LGBTQI+ topics is not a matter of political correctness, but a matter of genuine social responsibility and the safety of individuals.

The handbook serves as a practical and normatively grounded tool for improving ethical, professional, and inclusive reporting on LGBTQI+ topics in Montenegro. It was developed in response to long-standing patterns of media reporting which, although often formally aligned with freedom of expression, can in practice produce or reinforce stigmatization, stereotypes, and exclusionary narratives.

The purpose of the handbook is to provide media professionals with clear, applicable, and contextualized guidelines that connect journalistic professional standards, the applicable legal framework of Montenegro, the state’s international human rights obligations, and empirical findings on the real effects of media reporting and online discourse.

This handbook was developed within the project “From Silence to Narrative: Representation of the LGBTIQ+ Community in Montenegrin Media (2011–2025)”, implemented by CeMI and supported through the broader programme “Together for LGBTIQ+ Equality”, led by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) in partnership with ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Turkey, Queer Montenegro, Queer Center Skopje, Tuzla Open Center, Open Mind Spectrum Albania, and the Center for the Development of Social Groups from Kosovo (CSGD). The project is funded by the European Union and co-financed by the Ministry of Regional-Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations.