FRA Director Morten Kjaerum: "Many men and women are still facing discrimination in the European Union - when at work, trying to find somewhere to live, or when they enter a shop. For example, when a North African Muslim woman is denied access to a female doctor in a hospital, she faces a problem not just because she is a Muslim or not just because she is a woman, but because she is a Muslim woman.
Most European courts deal only with one ground of discrimination per case. This means that victims of multiple discrimination find it harder to present their case in a court and be compensated for all the different types of discrimination suffered. Introducing the concept of ‘multiple discrimination' into legislation could as well help to better match the law and a person's every-day complex experiences of discrimination."
The results of the FRA survey show that one out of four ethnic minority or immigrant respondents in the EU had felt discriminated against on two or more grounds during the 12 months preceding the survey. Having an ethnic or immigrant origin emerged as the most significant ground for experiencing discrimination among the respondents who were surveyed. The grounds of discrimination surveyed are: ethnic or immigrant origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, disability, or "other" reasons as relevant for the respondents.
Within the framework of its EU-wide survey on discrimination of immigrants and minorities, EU-MIDIS, the FRA interviewed 23,500 people with an ethnic minority or immigrant background in all 27 EU Member States. Key questions on grounds of discrimination are comparable with results from a Eurobarometer survey of the majority population.
The Fundamental Rights Agency publishes its first report on multiple discrimination:
EU-MIDIS Data in Focus 5: ‘Multiple Discrimination' (February 2011)
This report focuses on perceptions of multiple discrimination experiences by respondents of ethnic or immigrant origin, compared with the general population.
The FRA has also analysed multiple discrimination as a part of its reports on:
For further information please contact the FRA Media Team E-mail: media@fra.europa.eu Tel.: +43 158 030 642
Notes to editors: