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

  • Report / Paper / Summary
    25
    November
    2024
    This report presents key results of the EU gender-based violence survey based on data from all 27 Member States. The report focuses on the overall prevalence of physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator, violence perpetrated by women’s intimate partners and by other people (non-partners) and women’s experiences of sexual harassment at work.
  • 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.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    14
    May
    2024
    FRA’s third LGBTIQ survey shows that people still experience hate-motivated violence and discrimination. Trans and intersex people face even greater victimisation. Yet, signs of progress show that the EU’s and Member States’ efforts can positively affect people’s lives. More LGBTIQ people are open about their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.
    Products
    This infographic illustrates the main experiences immigrants and ethnic minorities across the EU have when it comes to inclusion. It draws from the findings from FRA's EU-MIDIS II survey.
    13
    November
    2017
    Women and girls in the European Union (EU) experience persistent gender discrimination and gender-based violence, as evidence collected by FRA confirms. This severely limits the ability of women and girls to enjoy their rights and to participate on an equal footing in society. This FRA contribution to the third Annual Colloquium on Fundamental Rights ‘Women's rights in turbulent times’ looks at core human rights commitments. It balances these against selected evidence on gender discrimination, sexist hate speech and gender-based violence against women and girls in the EU.
    20
    November
    2017
    International treaties, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, European Union (EU) secondary law and national legislation provide a number of rights to citizens. The maps and tables presented show the various patterns concerning age requirements for children to acquire rights in the EU. They also identify inconsistencies, protection gaps and restrictions deriving from different age thresholds. The reference period was until April 2016. Any legislative developments since then have been included whenever relevant or if known.
    9
    November
    2017
    This report provides an overview of data on antisemitism as recorded by
    international organisations and by official and unofficial sources in the 28 European
    Union (EU) Member States, based on their own definitions and categorisations.
    21
    September
    2017
    Muslims living in the EU face discrimination in a broad range of settings – and particularly when looking for work, on the job, and when trying to access public or private services. The report examines how characteristics – such as an individual's first and last name, skin colour and the wearing of visible religious symbols like a headscarf, for example – may trigger discriminatory treatment and harassment.
    The Agency, in close cooperation with the Maltese Presidency of the EU Council, held a high-level symposium where the fundamental rights issues that are currently high on the EU’s political agenda were discussed.
    22
    June
    2017
    Up to one third of migrants arriving in the European Union since the summer of 2015 have been children. The current emphasis on speedier asylum processing and making returns more effective may trigger increased use of immigration detention, possibly also affecting children. The detention of children implicates various fundamental rights and will only be in line with EU law if limited to exceptional cases. This report aims to support practitioners in implementing relevant polices in line with applicable law by outlining available safeguards against unlawful and arbitrary detention and highlighting promising practices.
    19
    May
    2017
    This report assesses asylum seekers’ and refugees’ opportunities to access early
    childhood education and primary, secondary and tertiary education and training.
    It identifies measures available for their support, as well as possible areas for
    improvement.
    24
    March
    2017
    This report reviews how asylum claims based on sexual
    orientation and gender identity are assessed and analyses the existence of
    specific reception measures for LGBTI persons.
    Miltos Pavlou, Senior Programme Manager at the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, talks about the participation of migrants and their descendants in the EU.
    22
    February
    2017
    Around 2.5 million children participate in judicial proceedings across the European Union (EU) every year, affected by parental divorce or as victims of, or witnesses to, crime. Although their effective participation in such proceedings is vital for improving the operation of justice, the treatment of children in justice systems remains a concern. FRA investigated to what extent children’s rights to be heard, to be informed, to be protected, and to non-discrimination are fulfilled in practice.
    The Agency’s Director, Michael O’Flaherty, took part in a meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) on 9 February.
    20
    December
    2016
    This focus section outlines the specific protection needs of separated children, and highlights current responses and promising practices among EU Member States.
    13
    December
    2016
    Antisemitism can be expressed in the form of verbal and physical attacks, threats,
    harassment, property damage and graffiti or other forms of text, including on the
    internet. The present report relates to manifestations of antisemitism as they are
    recorded by international organisations, and by official and unofficial sources in the
    28 EU Member States.
    8
    December
    2016
    This opinion analyses the effects on children of the proposed recast Dublin Regulation. It covers child-specific rules as well as provisions relating to all asylum applicants that significantly affect children.
    29
    November
    2016
    Some 80% of Roma surveyed live below their country’s at-risk-of-poverty threshold; every third Roma lives in housing without tap water; every third Roma child lives in a household where someone went to bed hungry at least once in the previous month; and 50% of Roma between the ages of six and 24 do not attend school. This EU-MIDIS II report underscores an unsettling but unavoidable reality: the European Union’s largest ethnic minority continues to face intolerable discrimination and unequal access to vital services.
    This video message was produced for a holocaust education training for public officials.
    17
    November
    2016
    Media content and political discourse in EU Member States, whether online or
    offline, show incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence on different
    grounds, as evidence collected by FRA reveals. The growing reliance on the internet as the main source of
    information for many enables the fast spread of often unverified statements
    that could also incite to hatred.
    The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the first binding international human rights instrument to specifically address disability. Its aim is to "promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity".
    30
    May
    2016
    The European Union (EU) and its Member States introduced and pursued numerous initiatives to safeguard and strengthen
    fundamental rights in 2015. Some of these efforts produced important progress; others fell short of their aims. Meanwhile,
    various global developments brought new – and exacerbated existing – challenges.
    FRA took part in an event to discuss the role of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in monitoring implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
    On 24 February, FRA, together with OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), facilitated a workshop in Cyprus for law enforcement officers and other relevant partners.
    This year is European Year of Youth. FRA supports this important initiative to listen to and engage with young people across the EU. We will continue to regularly meet youth representatives to address their concerns and give them a voice through our evidence and data.
    On 26 January, FRA gave a presentation on measuring non-discrimination and equality through surveys at a meeting of the Praia Group Task Team on Non-Discrimination and Equality.
    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’.
    FRA will join the close of the European Commission’s online conference on the feasibility of a child guarantee. The event will cover some of the findings from a feasibility study, the second phase of the Preparatory Action for a Child Guarantee.
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    FRA will speak at an expert meeting on combating antisemitism. The 2021 Swedish OSCE chairpersonship in consultation with the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) organises the event.
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    FRA will contribute to the first edition of the online ‘Human rights go local: what works’ event Winter Academy. It will bring expertise from its work on Roma indicators, equality data and cooperation with human rights cities. The event will look at how to base policy-making at the local level on scientific evidence through tailored human rights research. It aims at building bridges between all governance levels, disciplines and regions. It allows knowledge sharing among human rights researchers, local authorities, representatives of International, European and EU organisations, and policy-makers across regions.
    On 28 January, FRA will meet Olivier De Schutter, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights. It forms part of his visit to the EU Institutions. It will focus on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility. It will also look at whether the funds will be used in line with human rights and address vulnerable groups. The Special Rapporteur will examine the impact of EU policies on the eradication of poverty in the region. He will present the report to the Human Rights Council session in June 2021.
    On 18 January, FRA will host the second meeting of working group on hate crime recording, data collection and encouraging reporting.
    FRA will draw on its hate crime work and victimisation data from its survey during a roundtable discussion on strengthening diversity in Portugal’s police. The roundtable takes place on 18 January.
    The Rumourless Cities will host a workshop on European and local perspectives and actions against LGBTI discrimination. FRA will present the results of the EU LGBTI survey II during the workshop. The online workshop takes place on 25 January.
    FRA will take part in the presentation of results from the European Network on Independent Living’s (ENIL) first Independent Living Survey on 10 December.
    Results from FRA’s survey of Traveller discrimination in Ireland will feature during a webinar on 7 December.
    On 18 November, FRA will take part in the online meeting of the European Commission Working Group on Common Values and Inclusive Education.
    FRA will take part in the annual EU-Israel high-level seminar on combating racism, xenophobia and antisemitism.
    On 10 November, FRA will present the results of its EU LGBTI survey during the online workshop ‘LGBTI Discrimination: European and Local Perspectives and Actions’.
    FRA will give a presentation on the results of its EU LGBTI survey, LGBTI rights in the EU and FRA’s research in this area to the Vienna Diplomatic Academy.
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    FRA will take part in this year’s Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which runs virtually from 2-17 November. It will join the session on the role of the private sector in developing guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence.
    The FRA Director will take part in an informal exchange on 9 November on integration and social cohesion with EU interior ministers and members of the European Commission.
    On 15 October, the European Parliament will hold a public hearing on a European Citizens Initiative to promote minorities, and linguistic and cultural diversity. The organisers will present their initiative.
    The FRA Director, Michael O’Flaherty will deliver a video message to an online seminar discussing its ‘A long way to go for LGBTI equality’ report.
    FRA’s Director will address a panel discussion on rule of law, human rights, and religion. The discussion will take place on 16 October during the G20 interfaith forum.
    The FRA Director will address the launch conference of the new EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation. He will draw on FRA’s Roma surveys underlining the persistent circle of poverty and discrimination many Roma and Travellers continue to endure.