Majority of respondents unaware of anti-discrimination legislation
The Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) is the key piece of EU legislation combating discrimination ‘on grounds of race or ethnic origin’.
It prohibits discrimination in the areas of employment, education, social protection including social security and healthcare, and in access to and the supply of goods and services, including housing. The Directive has been transposed into the national law of all Member States, although shortcomings in the transposition have been noted in some countries.The Directive stipulates that potential victim groups should be made aware of the relevant transposing (national) legislation.
Only 1 in every 4 survey respondents – 25% - were aware that anti-discrimination legislation on the grounds of race and ethnicity exists in relation to all three areas: employment, goods and services and housing.
Without recognising an experience of discrimination as illegal, an individual will not report the incident or seek redress. Actors at EU and national level need to ensure therefore that anti-discrimination legislation is known by those most likely to need to have recourse to it.
Minorities are often less familiar with EU Charter of Fundamental Rights than majority population
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union became legally binding with the adoption of the Treaty of Lisbon. The European Union and its institutions – as well as the Member States when they are implementing EU law – are now legally bound to observe the rights listed in the Charter.
EU-MIDIS respondents were asked ‘Are you familiar with the “Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union? ”’. The same question was asked in the Flash Eurobarometer 213 survey of approximately 1,000 respondents per Member State who were predominantly from the majority (non minority) population.
In 19 of the EU’s 27 Member States, minority respondents indicated more often than respondents from the majority population that they had never heard of the Charter.
There is a need to raise awareness of the Charter of Fundamental Rights among Europe’s minorities. Minority groups are particularly vulnerable to abuse of their rights in areas such as discrimination and therefore should be targeted by campaigns to raise awareness of the Charter and rights in general.
Equality Bodies enjoy limited recognition
The Racial Equality Directive required the creation of specialised Equality Bodies promoting equal treatment in each Member State. One of their primary functions is to provide assistance to victims of discrimination so as to make the legal system more accessible to them. There is a need for increased knowledge about complaints channels and Equality Bodies.
Equality Bodies need the resources to undertake campaigns to advertise their existence. These bodies then also need the means and resources to be able to deal with complaints of discrimination effectively. There is a need to review the current and planned provision of resources to Equality Bodies so that they are able to address the needs of members of the public who can report incidents of discrimination to them.
Low levels of reporting of discrimination
There is a need to make complaints channels more accessible for the public.
The inconvenience, bureaucracy and time involved in making a complaint were among the main reasons given for not reporting discrimination. Reporting and registering complaints should therefore be made easier for the public. Examples of ‘good practices’ can be identified and shared between Member States, and regular feedback from minority communities needs to be obtained (including surveys at Member State level) to identify problems and solutions in this area.