Estonia, The Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner (2024), Report on Racial Discrimination in Estonia.

Country

Estonia

Title

Estonia, The Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner (2024), Report on Racial Discrimination in Estonia.

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Year

2024

Publication type

Report - official data on incidents

Geographical coverage

National

Area/location of interest

Not applicable - national level

Type of Institution

Public authority

Institution

Estonia, the Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner, special report

Thematic focus

Discrimination

Groups

General population

Key findings

The report reveals a significant gap between public perception and lived experiences of racial discrimination in Estonia. While many Estonians believe racism is not widespread, the report documents numerous instances of everyday racism faced by people of color, including microaggressions, verbal abuse, and physical threats. These experiences frequently go unreported due to fear, lack of awareness of legal recourse, or perceived futility. The report highlights the underreporting of incidents and the limited awareness of legal avenues for redress. It calls for increased awareness, improved data collection, and stronger legal protections against racial discrimination.

Methodology (Qualitative/Quantitative and exact type used, questionnaires etc)

The report utilized a mixed-methods approach, employing both quantitative (a survey of 104 respondents) and qualitative (16 in-depth interviews) data collection techniques.

Sample details and representativeness

The survey aimed to capture the experiences of people of color in Estonia concerning discrimination, harassment, and violence. Interviews provided further context and richer details. While the number of respondents is relatively small, limiting the generalizability of the findings, the use of in-depth interviews helps to validate and enrich the quantitative data. The report acknowledges the limitations of the sample size, particularly concerning the limitations in reaching a truly representative sample of people of color in Estonia, emphasizing the need for future studies with larger sample sizes. The sampling methodology attempted to reach diverse groups of people of color through targeted outreach and public online methods, but acknowledging inherent biases due to the limitations of the self-selecting online and targeted recruitment approaches.

DISCLAIMERThe information presented here is collected under contract by the FRA's research network FRANET. The information and views contained do not necessarily reflect the views or the official position of the FRA.