June 19, 2020
Cover of recommendation

11 Recommendations for a fair and equal Europe: Rebuilding our Societies after Covid-19

Read Equinet's Recommendations for a fair and equal Europe as we rebuild our societies after Covid-19.
June 16, 2020

How can Equality Bodies put equality between women and men at the heart of the response to COVID-19 across Europe?

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

The ban on full-face veils and the COVID-19 pandemic

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 10, 2020
AI report cover page

Equinet Report: REGULATING FOR AN EQUAL AI: A NEW ROLE FOR EQUALITY BODIES

The Report: “Regulating AI: The new role for equality bodies” brings together the results of the study whilst showcasing the current work of NEBs and includes a set of recommendations for the future work of Equinet and its members.
June 8, 2020

The other pandemic: Systemic racism and its consequences

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

Persons with disabilities: locked up in institutions, forgotten by governments

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 4, 2020

COVID-19: What is the specific impact on LGBTI people in Europe?

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

A Perspective from the work of equality bodies on: European equality policy strategies, equal treatment Directives, and standards for equality bodies

Equinet seeks to contribute to the current moment of transition in the European Institutions with this perspective, which seeks to draw out the learning from the work of equality bodies that might inform the development of new equality policy strategies, review of the equal treatment Directives, implementation of the standards for equality bodies and further action on equality data.
April 3, 2020

Will actions finally speak louder than words in a Union of Equality?

Three weeks ago, the European Commission released a Gender Equality Strategy, presented by the first ever Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli.