July 27, 2020
Initially hailed as the 'great equalizer,' the COVID-19 pandemic has, in reality, exposed the depth of institutional, structural, and systemic discrimination and inequality in our societies. The question for Europe now is not if discrimination and exclusion exist but rather how intersectionality serves as a tool to create a fairer, socially just, and more inclusive Europe for everyone.
June 16, 2020
In April 2020, the European Women’s Lobby (EWL) published a policy brief, in which it shed light on the crucial issue that can no longer be ignored – the COVID-19 pandemic is reinforcing existing inequalities in our society and the long-term impacts of the health crisis will disproportionately affect women and girls.
June 12, 2020
Society has changed enormously in recent months. The world is under the spell of a pandemic. New manners and customs are appearing, such as no physical contact with others, new ways of greeting each other, social distancing and wearing face masks or alternatives is becoming the norm in public spaces. When it comes to this issue, the WHO is clear: wearing a medical mask can limit the spread of certain respiratory viral diseases, including COVID-19. From a human rights perspective, the latter trend is particularly interesting, especially if we take into account the fact that in some European countries wearing full-face veils in public spaces is prohibited by law and can lead to sanctions (i.e. fines, prison, administrative fines).
June 8, 2020
The events of the last few days, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and following the death of George Floyd, have prompted an amplification of the racial justice movement in the United States that is resonating everywhere in the world, including in Europe. This blogpost aims to give some insight into this movement from a systemic racism point of view, highlighting how this is far from an isolated incident, but a part of a whole system of oppression that needs dismantling.
May 25, 2020
I, as the communications coordinator for the European Disability Forum, have been following the COVID-19 impact since beginning of March. It has not been encouraging. Seeing how governments systematically forgot about persons with disabilities, how little support was given and how much pain and problems that created left me very discouraged. Persons with disabilities have been discriminated, isolated, forgotten and subject to multiple and severe human rights violations since the beginning of this crisis.
May 20, 2020
Equinet’s new interactive tool gives some insight into how National Equality Bodies (NEBs) are responding to the crisis, as well as the current trends which are appearing in its impact on equality across the region.
May 4, 2020
All of this is hard. We are living unprecedented times, but global response to the crisis should address its potential impact on marginalised groups, including LGBTI people, and their access to healthcare and safety at home, as well as to watch out for discriminatory practices and measures.
April 22, 2020
Week after week, COVID-19 reveals uncomfortable realities about the unequal societies we live in. All over the world, we have been urged to stay home, by authorities and through the #stayathome campaign. But one of the most blatant truths that we must face is that, for many women and children, home is the most dangerous place to stay.
April 10, 2020
As the COVID-19 situation develops, it is vital that the core values of equality and non-discrimination continue to be protected and promoted for all. In this blog post, a brief snapshot will be given of some of the main trends of discrimination and inequality related to the COVID-19 crisis that NEBs are seeing in their national work and some of the ways that they are addressing these issues.
November 28, 2019
The Irish State is failing to sufficiently tackle racism and discrimination and to live up to its international human rights obligations in combatting racial discrimination, according […]
November 12, 2019
The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (FADA) has released the results of a study dealing with the extent, the handling as well as possible prevention and intervention approaches […]
November 12, 2019
The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) Malta has recently published the 10th issue of the newsletter ‘Equality Matters’ which is about sexism. The […]
November 12, 2019
Poster exhibition highlighting examples of the work of equality bodies to tackle sexual harassment
October 30, 2019
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the time when the Anti-Discrimination Act entered into force and when the Public Defender of Rights was also given the role of the national equality body pursuant to the European Union legislation. Since the Defender lacks the power to represent victims of discrimination in court, lawyers play a key role in this respect. The Defender has prepared a document to help lawyers with this task.
September 27, 2019
The Advocate of the Principle of Equality for the Republic of Slovenia published its annual report for the year 2018. After its second fully operational year as an independent national equality body, the report looks back at the process of establishing the body in accordance with the Slovenian Protection Against Discrimination Act (PADA) and the activities undertaken to address discrimination in the country.
August 7, 2019
On 1 January 2018, the Public Defender of Rights became a monitoring body under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
This report summarises the first year of activities in this capacity. The report informs about the topics they dealt with, first findings and also the awareness-raising activities inextricably associated with the role of monitoring bodies.
July 22, 2019
The results are out of the Czech Ombudswoman & Prague Pride Association's survey among lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans people in the Czech Republic.