Public Defender’s 6th Special Report on Equality
On May 7, 2021, the Public Defender published the 6th Annual Report on the State of Equality. The report covers the year of 2020 and highlights the major obstacles to the realization of the right to equality faced by women, persons with disabilities, members of religious minorities, LGBT+ people and other vulnerable groups. The report also assesses compliance of the regulations imposed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus with the right to equality.
During the reporting period, the Public Defender examined 113 new cases of alleged discrimination, most of which - 18% of cases – concerned discrimination on the grounds of sex/gender; 12% and 9% - concerned discrimination on the grounds of different opinion and political views, respectively; 6% concerned discrimination on the grounds of religion and 6% concerned discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity. In addition, 9% of applications referred to unequal treatment on the grounds of disability and 6% - to unequal treatment on the grounds sexual orientation and gender identity. 7% and 8% of applicants referred to discrimination on the grounds of age and nationality/citizenship, respectively. The largest part of the applications received in 2020, namely 20%, again concerned alleged discrimination on other grounds.
Throughout 2020, the Public Defender drew up 21 recommendations, 9 general proposals and 2 amicus curiae briefs on equality issues.