On May 6, 2021, the Public Defender published Special Report on the Compliance of Social and Health Care Programmes of Self-Governing Bodies with the Principle of Equality, which analyzes the compliance of municipal programmes with anti-discrimination legislation.

The study found that when determining the circle of beneficiaries, some local self-government programmes use discriminatory criteria on the grounds of gender, disability, age, marital status, etc. As a result, a number of groups are left beyond the programmes.

The use of terms and regulations inciting discrimination against various groups also reinforce existing stigmas. There are cases when people with equal needs are selected and enrolled in a programme without any substantiation.

The report aims to support self-governing bodies in planning social and health care programmes so that people can enjoy them equally.