Protection against discrimination

Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong.[1] People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, disability or sexual orientation, as well as other categories.[2] Discrimination especially occurs when individuals or groups are unfairly treated in a way which is worse than other people are treated, on the basis of their actual or perceived membership in certain groups or social categories.[2][3] It involves restricting members of one group from opportunities or privileges that are available to members of another group.[4]

Discriminatory traditions, policies, ideas, practices and laws exist in many countries and institutions in all parts of the world, including territories where discrimination is generally looked down upon. In some places, attempts such as quotas have been used to benefit those who are believed to be current or past victims of discrimination. These attempts have often been met with controversy, and have sometimes been called reverse discrimination.

Definitions

Moral philosophers have defined discrimination using a normative definition. Under this normative approach, discrimination is defined as acts, practices, or policies that wrongfully impose a relative disadvantage or deprivation on persons based on their membership in a salient social group.[9] This is also a comparative definition. An individual need not be actually harmed in order to be discriminated against. They just need to be treated worse than others for some arbitrary reason. If someone decides to donate to help orphan children, but decides to donate less, say, to black children out of a racist attitude, then they would be acting in a discriminatory way despite the fact that the people they discriminate against actually benefit by receiving a donation.[10][11] In addition to this discrimination develops into a source of oppression. It is similar to the action of recognizing someone as 'different' so much that they are treated inhumanly and degraded.[12] This normative definition of discrimination is distinct to a descriptive definition - in the former, discrimination is wrong by definition, whereas in the latter, discrimination is only morally wrong in a given context.[13]

The United Nations stance on discrimination includes the statement: "Discriminatory behaviors take many forms, but they all involve some form of exclusion or rejection."[14] International bodies United Nations Human Rights Council work towards helping ending discrimination around the world.

The right to non-discrimination

Fair treatment and non-discrimination are a fundamental right in the European Union. However, discrimination still exists in many forms and is not always easy to identify.

The better informed you are, the better prepared you will be to fight discrimination.

Equality is a fundamental value of the EU. Discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, color, ethnic or social origin, genetic characteristics, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation is prohibited. .

This right is enshrined in the Treaty on European Union and in Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights . All EU countries have also made commitments under the European Convention on Human Rights .

Recognition of different forms of discrimination

Direct discrimination occurs when a person is treated less favorably than others because of their racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. In short, we are talking about discrimination when you are treated differently just because you are the way you are. For example, a store owner who refuses to hire people with the right qualifications for the simple reason that they belong to a certain ethnic group.

Indirect discrimination occurs when seemingly neutral rules, policies or practices, which apply to everyone in the same way, may disadvantage certain people on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. For example, an administration that forbids employees from having their heads covered when they come in contact with customers would discriminate against certain groups, such as Muslim women, on religious grounds.

Read this glossary to learn more about your rights!

Know your rights

Because now you know in what forms discrimination can occur, find out here what rights you have in relation to it.

If your rights have been infringed, you should usually contact the competent authority in your country or in the country where the infringement took place. The national equality body in your country of residence is best placed to handle individual cases of discrimination and is best placed to assist you or redirect you to another competent body.

Find out how you can report a violation of your rights and how to file a national complaint .