An overview of the whole European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey
► Racist crime, harassment and discrimination grossly under-reported
High levels of discrimination, racist crime and victimisation
The ethnic minority and immigrant groups interviewed described high levels of discrimination, racist crime and victimisation in their Member States on the basis of ethnic origin.
The survey reveals that discrimination, harassment and racially
motivated violence are far more widespread than recorded in official
statistics. Most of the minority groups surveyed in EU-MIDIS considered
that discrimination on the basis of ethnic or immigrant origin was
widespread in the Member State where they were interviewed. More
than a third of the respondents stated that they had been personally
discriminated against in the past 12 months. 12% experienced a crime
that they felt was racially motivated, with 4% experiencing a racially
motivated physical assault or threat of physical violence.
What can policy-makers do about this?
- The data from this survey offers the possibility to develop targeted and evidence-based policy responses.
- The data also calls for the introduction of adequate mechanisms for reporting and recording discrimination and racist crime to enhance evidence-based policy development.
► Poor rights awareness and sense of resignation among minorities and migrants
Resignation among minorities
The results suggest a sense of resignation among ethnic minorities
and immigrants who lack confidence in the mechanisms designed to
protect victims of discrimination or racist crime. The main reason
given for not reporting incidents was that respondents felt that
nothing would happen following their complaint.

Lack of rights awareness
The survey presents worrying evidence of the extent to which groups
who are most vulnerable to discrimination in the EU are uninformed
about where to turn to for assistance, if they have been discriminated
against. 80% of the respondents did not know of any organisation
that could offer support or advice to victims of discrimination.
This demonstrates an urgent need for better information, but could
also reflect a real absence of effective support services in many
Member States.
What can policy-makers do about this?
- Invest resources to make those who are vulnerable to discrimination aware of where they can turn to for support and advice.
- Allocate resources to organisations that are tasked with offering assistance to people who have been discriminated against.
Encourage those who have been discriminated against or harassed to report their experiences to a competent authority in the knowledge that their complaints will be taken seriously.