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.
March 19, 2019
Equinet Brochure 2020 What are equality bodies? Why do we need them? What challenges do they face? This brochure aims to raise awareness about the role of […]
February 21, 2019
The principle of equal treatment should be in place for every candidate applying for a job in any given company. This short guide informs people about: […]
February 20, 2019
Key findings include: Attitudes to immigration and migrants have been impacted by recession and recovery. The positive perception of immigrants’ contribution to the economy increased between […]
January 8, 2019
Hate speech and hate crime are growing and damaging phenomena across Europe. This is recognised in the work of the European Commission and of the Council of Europe. European standards for equality bodies recommend that their mandate be extended to include hate speech. Few equality bodies have an explicit mandate on hate speech, many have, however, interpreted their mandate to include hate speech. This situation can leave them lacking the competences and resources required to make an impact.
December 10, 2018
Antisemitic hate speech, harassment and fear of being recognised as Jewish; these are some of the realities of being Jewish in the EU today. It appears to be getting worse, finds a major repeat survey of Jews from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the largest ever of its kind worldwide.
November 28, 2018
This report published by the European Union Agency on Fundamental Rights (FRA) 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.
November 28, 2018
28 November 2018 marks the 10-year anniversary of the EU Framework on combating racism & xenophobia. On the occasion of its 10-year anniversary, a guidance note on the practical application of the EU Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia has been adopted by the EU High Level Group on combating racism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance.
October 22, 2018
The OSCE high-level conference took place in Rome on 22 October and was an opportunity to discuss good practices related to addressing racism, xenophobia, gender, anti-Semitism and intolerance against Muslims, Christians and members of other religions, as well as challenges related to discriminatory practices, which continue to be a concern across the OSCE region.
Tena Šimonović Einwalter, Equinet Chair, represented the Network on panel discussing ""Intolerance and discrimination, with a focus on discrimination based on religion or belief".
October 4, 2018
The Centre for Ethnicity and Racism Studies of the University of Leeds has been running a 2-year project which aimed to critically review dominant anti-Muslim narratives, and also compare the use and efficacy of prevailing counter-narratives to Islamophobia in eight European Union member states (France, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal, Greece and the UK).
Findings based on normative patterns of Islamophobia and effective counter-narratives to anti-Muslim hatred in each case have informed the production of a transferable ‘Counter-Islamophobia Kit’ (CIK), which aims to detail best-practice in countering anti-Muslim hate across the continent. The key messages contained within the CIK are aimed at policy makers, professionals and practitioners from across the EU.