Equality

Equality, non-discrimination and racism

Equality is a core value of the EU. You have the right to fair treatment regardless of who you are, what you believe, or how you chose to live.

We carry out research and share expertise to help fight discrimination, inequality and racism in all its forms.

Highlights

  • Data explorer
    FRA’s 2024 survey on Roma and Travellers in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Spain collected information from 10,126 respondents living in private households who self-identify as Roma or Traveller, are 16 or older and have lived in the survey countries for at least the 12 months before the survey.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    25
    November
    2024
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    25
    October
    2024
    Racism towards Muslims is increasing in countries across the EU. Muslims face racial discrimination and racist harassment because of their religion, skin colour or ethnic background. This report shows a sharp rise since the last survey in 2016.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    11
    July
    2024
    Antisemitism is still a reality for many Jewish people in the EU today. Faced with prejudice and hostility, most feel unable to live openly Jewish lives. This report presents the results of FRA’s third EU survey of Jewish people’s experiences and perceptions of antisemitism. The survey took place before the Hamas attacks in October 2023 and the war in Gaza; however, it includes evidence from a consultation with national and European Jewish umbrella organisations since. It covers 13 EU Member States that together account for around 96 % of the EU’s Jewish population.
    Publications and data
    6
    November
    2014
    Children and young people are increasingly involved in research and decision making on different aspects of rights which relate to them. EU Member States have different rules, regulations and guidelines regarding the participation of children in research, in particular concerning ethics approval and informed consent.
    This video was shown in the beginning of the high-level conference “Tackling sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination: next steps in EU and Member State policy making”.
    29
    October
    2014
    Primarily using data and information collected from five EU Member States, this paper briefly describes the phenomenon of forced marriage and selected legislative measures taken to address it. It lists promising practices
    for the prevention of forced marriage and for supporting victims. The paper covers only one among many forms of violence against women analysed by FRA in its Violence against women: an EU-wide survey. Main results report (2014).
    28
    October
    2014
    In light of a lack of comparable data on the respect, protection and fulfilment of the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, FRA launched in 2012 its European Union (EU) online survey of LGBT persons’ experiences of discrimination, violence and harassment.
    24
    October
    2014
    Antisemitism can be expressed in the form of verbal and physical attacks, threats, harassment, property damage, graffiti or other forms of text, including hate speech on the internet.
    29
    September
    2014
    This document provides clear explanations for children of the key terms used in the child-friendly justice project. It explains what rights are and how these rights should be protected during legal proceedings.
    9
    July
    2014
    The EU and its Member States took a variety of important steps in 2013 to protect and promote fundamental rights by
    assuming
    new international commitments, revamping legislation and pursuing innovative policies on the ground. Yet, fundamental
    rights violations seized the spotlight with distressing frequency: would‑be migrants drowning off the EU’s coast,
    unprecedented mass surveillance, racist and extremist‑motivated murders, child poverty and Roma deprivation.
    30
    June
    2014
    This handbook aims to strengthen the protection of children, specifically addressing the particular needs of child victims of trafficking.
    6
    June
    2014
    This year’s FRA annual report looks at fundamental rights-related developments in asylum, immigration and integration; border control and visa policy; information society, respect for private life and data protection; the rights of the child and the protection of children; equality and non-discrimination; racism, xenophobia and related intolerance; access to justice and judicial cooperation; rights of crime victims; EU Member States and international obligations.
    21
    May
    2014
    The opportunity to be involved in political life, whether by standing for elected office, joining a political party, or following political news stories in the media, is at the heart of what it means to live in a democratic society. The report analyses data on the situation of political participation of persons with disabilities collected from across the 28 European Union (EU) Member States by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Commission-funded Academic Network of European Disability Experts (ANED).
    5
    March
    2014
    This factsheet presents some examples of survey findings, which are placed alongside general considerations as possible ‘ways forward’ for responding to violence against women.
    5
    March
    2014
    This FRA survey is the first of its kind on violence against women across the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU). It is based on interviews with 42,000 women across the EU, who were asked about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including incidents of intimate partner violence (‘domestic violence’).
    FRA helps EU institutions and countries in the European Union (EU), so-called EU Member States, to ensure that the rights of all people including children are respected. It collects information about rights across the EU and gives advice on how to improve the conditions of vulnerable people such as migrants, asylum seekers, victims of violence, racism and hate crime.
    6
    January
    2014
    This Technical report describes how the FRA Roma Pilot survey was carried out and the fieldwork outcomes in 11 EU Member States.
    20
    December
    2013
    This thematic situation report examines the effectiveness of responses by public authorities, civil society organisations and others to counter racism, discrimination, intolerance and extremism in Greece and Hungary. The report goes on to make proposals for fighting racist crime, increasing trust in the police, and combating extremism throughout the EU.
    3
    December
    2013
    Police officers who ensure that people are able to exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms earn the respect and trust of the public. With this in mind, this manual sets out to foster such human rights-based police work by integrating human rights training into the heart of police training, in line with the European Union’s goals in the field of justice and home affairs.
    8
    November
    2013
    This FRA survey is the first-ever to collect comparable data on Jewish people’s experiences and perceptions of antisemitism, hate-motivated crime and discrimination across a number of EU Member States, specifically in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Its findings reveal a worrying level of discrimination, particularly in employment and education, a widespread fear of victimisation and heightening concern about antisemitism online.
    8
    November
    2013
    Jewish people across the European Union (EU) continue to face insults, discrimination, harassment and even physical violence which, despite concerted efforts by both the EU and its Member States, show no signs of fading into the past. Although many important rights are guaranteed legally, widespread and long-standing prejudice continues to hinder Jewish people’s chances to enjoy these rights in reality.
    6
    November
    2013
    The FRA survey is the first-ever to collect comparable data on Jewish people’s experiences and perceptions of antisemitism, hate-motivated crime and discrimination across a number of EU Member States, specifically in Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Sweden and the United Kingdom. This technical report gives an overview of the survey methodology, sample and the questionnaire.
    The online data explorer from the Roma and Travellers survey is now available.
    On 19 January, FRA held the third meeting of the Working Group on improving hate crime recording, data collection and reporting.
    A new report looks at how EU agencies address the socioeconomic effects of sustainable development.
    The Handbook on European non-discrimination law – 2018 edition is now also available in Swedish.
    The Coronavirus pandemic exposed sharp socio-economic inequalities across Europe. Roma children, migrants, people with disabilities, just some of the already marginalised groups that further bore the brunt of the impact of the pandemic. Human Rights Day is a chance to remind ourselves of how reducing inequalities can build more equal societies and a better world. Advancing rights can offer hope and opportunity to millions through equal access to such primary services like education, jobs and healthcare.
    On 25 November, FRA spoke about the impact of the pandemic on people with disabilities. It drew from its Fundamental Rights Report 2021.
    As EU countries grapple with a new wave of Covid-19, police, media and NGOs continue to report on increasing rates of violence against women and girls. This ‘shadow pandemic’ has a devastating effect on the rights of women and girls across Europe. The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) call on the EU and all Member States to redouble their efforts to protect women's rights and mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with concrete action.
    FRA took part in an international conference under the Slovenian EU Presidency on ‘Human Rights for All Ages: Promoting a Life Course Perspective and Intergenerational Cooperation to Combat Ageism’.
    FRA took part in an international conference under the Slovenian EU Presidency on ‘Human Rights for All Ages: Promoting a Life Course Perspective and Intergenerational Cooperation to Combat Ageism’.
    New languages of the handbook on European non-discrimination law are now available. It is now also in Lithuanian, Portuguese and Slovak.
    FRA presented its disability work during the European Parliament’s annual workshop on the rights of people with disabilities.
    Incidents of hatred against Jews have been evident throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Even though in some countries the number of antisemitic incidents decreased, the main problem remains the same across Europe – most incidents still go unreported. Each country collects data differently and some do not collect any data at all. This continues to hamper efforts to effectively tackle antisemitism in Europe, shows the latest annual overview of antisemitic incidents from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).
    On 21 October, FRA took part in the first high-level conference of a joint EU and Council of Europe project to strengthen child participation in Europe.
    Hate crime is a persistent problem across the world. Millions experience violence because of racism and intolerance. Across the EU, many good practices are in place, tackling hate crime daily. An updated compendium of good practice, hosted by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), pools resources of what exists for others to draw on in their own work.
    The Council of Europe, FRA, ENNHRI, Equinet collaborative platform on social and economic rights met on 27 September.
    FRA took part in a virtual webinar as part of the European Network on Independent Living’s ‘Freedom Surf’.
    On 16 September, FRA took part in a virtual hearing organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on deinstitutionalisation.
    FRA presented findings from its LGBTI survey during a virtual international conference on 9 September.
    FRA contributed to a discussion group on racial discrimination in access to and tenure of housing in Spain.
    On 8 September, FRA took part in the kick-off meeting of the study on ‘Intersex people in the EU, a project of the European Commission’s Justice and Consumers Directorate-General.