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Equality law - Religious discrimination explained 

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Equality law - Religious discrimination explained 

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What is religion or belief discrimination? | Equality law: discrimination explained

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What is discrimination because of religion or belief

It is against the law to discriminate against you because of your religion or belief. This applies:

when you buy or use goods and services

What does religion or belief mean

You are protected by law from discrimination because of your religion or belief if you:

belong to an organised religion such as Christianity, Judaism or Islam

have a profound belief which affects your way of life or view of the world. This includes religious and philosophical beliefs, or a lack of belief, such as Atheism

take part in collective worship

belong to a smaller religion or sect, such as Scientology or Rastafarianism

have no religion, for example, if you are an atheist.

The law against discrimination because of religion or belief does not cover purely political beliefs unless they are also philosophical beliefs.

You are protected if someone discriminates against you because they think you are a certain religion, when you are not. For example, it's against the law for someone to discriminate against you for wearing a headscarf because they think you are a Muslim, even if you are not actually Muslim.

Discrimination by association is also against the law. For example, it is against the law to refuse to let you into a restaurant because of the religion of someone who is with you.

What is discrimination

It is discrimination to treat you unfairly compared to someone else, because of your religion or belief. This is called direct discrimination and is illegal. Examples include:

refusing you a bank loan because you're Jewish

refusing to allow you into a restaurant because you're Muslim

dismissing you from work because you're Rastafarian.

You may be able to make a complaint if you have suffered direct discrimination because of your religion or belief.

For more information about direct discrimination, see Direct discrimination.

It is also illegal for someone to have a rule, policy or practice which someone of a particular religion or belief is less likely to be able to meet than other people and this places them at a disadvantage. This is called indirect discrimination.

Examples of indirect discrimination might include:

refusing to allow you into a restaurant if you're wearing a hijab or turban

requiring all your employees to dress in a particular way if this means they can't wear an item of clothing they regard as part of their faith.

If you have suffered indirect discrimination because of your religion or belief, you may be able to make a complaint about it. However, if the person or organisation you are complaining about can show there are genuine reasons for the rule, policy or practice and that it has nothing to do with your religion or belief, this won't count as discrimination.

For example, it might not be discrimination if your employers need you to dress in a particular way for health and safety reasons - such as a firefighter needing to wear a helmet in dangerous situations, even if it means removing a turban.

For more information about indirect discrimination, see Indirect discrimination.

Victimisation

Discrimination can take the form of victimisation. This is where you're treated worse than someone else because you've complained or taken legal action about religious discrimination. It is also victimisation if you're treated unfairly because you've supported someone else taking action, for example, if you act as a witness in someone else's discrimination case.

For more information about victimisation, see Victimisation.

Physical or verbal abuse because of religion or belief

It's a criminal offence to attack you because of your religion or belief, or because of your lack of religion. This includes both physical and verbal abuse.

Someone is also committing a criminal offence if they stir up hatred of a particular religious group. For example, if they publish or distribute racist information or information designed to stir up religious hatred.

If one of these criminal offences is committed against you or your family, you should report it to the police.

Check how to report a hate crime or incident to the police.

If you don't want to go to the police, check what support you can get if you've experienced a hate crime or incident.

For more information about Hate crime see Hate crime.

Religious discrimination in the workplace and training

You are protected from religious discrimination in your workplace. This means you are protected:

whatever your religion or belief

whatever your employer's religion or belief

whether you are already working for your employer

whether you are applying for a job.

Discrimination at work because of your religion or belief could include:

dismissing you because of your religion

advertising for job applicants of one religion only

requiring you to dress in a certain way, for example, requiring all women to wear a short skirt. This would not be acceptable for women of several different religions

requiring you not to wear sacred items. For example, a Sikh man might be required to remove their kara (symbolic bracelet). However, if the employer can justify this on health and safety grounds, this wouldn't count as discrimination

making you work at times that you cannot work because of your religion

victimisation

bullying at work because of your religion. This is also known as harassment

Before you take any action, you should check if your problem at work is discrimination.

If you experience discrimination at work because of your religion or belief, you may be able to make a complaint. This includes raising a grievance with your employer or making a claim to an employment tribunal. However, in some circumstances, it might be possible for your employer to show that there were genuine business, or health and safety reasons for the way you have been treated which have nothing to do with your religion or belief. If this is the case, it won't count as discrimination.
For example
I'm Jewish and need to take Friday afternoons off work in winter to get home before dark and prepare for the Sabbath. At the moment, my boss is happy to let me do this and make up the time during the rest of the week. However, he is thinking of introducing a new shift pattern, which means I will not be able to do this any more. Can he do this?

It is against the law to discriminate against a worker because of their religion or belief. So, if your employer is introducing a new shift pattern which will be difficult for you because of your religion, it may be that you are the victim of discrimination because of religion. Your employer would have to justify why it is essential for you to work on Friday afternoons. He must be able to show that he has tried to meet your needs but that for business reasons you still need to work on Friday afternoons. Otherwise, his behaviour towards you may count as discrimination because of your religion.

Victimisation at work because of your religion or belief

Victimisation happens when you are treated worse than someone else at work because you've complained, or taken legal action, about religious discrimination. It is also victimisation if you are treated unfairly because you've supported someone else taking action, for example, if you act as a witness in someone else's discrimination case.

Examples of victimisation at work could include:

being labelled a trouble-maker

being denied promotion or training opportunities

being ignored by your work colleagues

being given a poor reference.

People at work are always making fun of one of my colleagues who is a Jehovah's Witness and always reading the Bible in her coffee breaks. I tried to tell them to stop and now they are saying spiteful things about me too. My life at work has become a misery. Is there anything I can do?
If the reason you are being victimised is because you complained about religious discrimination, this is against the law. You should get expert advice about how to tackle the problem.

Bullying at work because of your religion or belief

It is against the law for someone to bully you at work because of your religion or belief. This is known as harassment. The person bullying you may be your employer or it may be a colleague. Someone is bullying you if you find their behaviour towards you offensive, frightening, degrading, humiliating or in any way distressing. It may be intentional or unintentional.

It is also against the law for someone to bully you at work because of your religion or belief, even if they are mistaken about what it is. For example, if you are attacked at your workplace by someone who has assumed, wrongly, that you are a Muslim because of your appearance. You will not have to say what your religion actually is in order to do something about this.

What can I do if I am being treated unfairly or bullied at work?

If you are being treated unfairly or bullied at work because of your religion or belief, take action as quickly as possible. You could try:

telling the person to stop

telling your manager or someone else higher up in the organisation

talking to your personnel department or trade union.

If none of these things work, you may wish to raise a grievance and think about making a claim to an employment tribunal.

There are strict time-limits and procedures for making a claim to an employment tribunal. If you think you may need to do this, you should get advice, for example, from a Citizens Advice office. To search for your nearest Citizens Advice, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest Citizens Advice.

For more information about what you can do about discrimination because of your religion at work, including making a claim to an employment tribunal, see What can I do if my employer treats me unfairly because of religion or belief? In Employment fact sheets.

For more information about taking out a grievance at work, see Sorting out problems at work.

Training

It's against the law to refuse to provide training opportunities to you because of your religion or belief, or to provide them in a way which puts you at a disadvantage to other people because of your religion or belief. This includes:

any training designed to prepare you for employment

career guidance

training facilities

practical work experience provided by an employer to someone who doesn't work for them

assessing someone for a professional or trade qualification.

Religious discrimination when providing goods, facilities or services

It's against the law for anyone providing goods, facilities or services directly to the public to discriminate because of religion or belief.

Examples of organisations which provide goods, facilities or services include:

pubs, restaurants and hotels

shops

cinemas and theatres

hospitals and clinics

estate agents, private landlords and local authority housing departments

banks, building societies, insurance companies and finance companies

railway stations, bus stations and airports

churches and other places of worship

charities and voluntary organisations

government departments, local authorities, courts and tribunals, police officers and prisons

welfare services such as housing advice, day-care or community care.

For example, it's against the law for a pub or restaurant to refuse to serve you, or for a hotel to refuse to give you a room because of your religion or belief, or what they think your religion or belief is.

For more examples of organisations which provide goods, facilities and services, see the Equality and Human Rights Commission website at: www.equalityhumanrights.com.

Someone providing goods, facilities or services must not:

refuse to provide you with them because of your religion or belief

discriminate in the way any of these things are provided because of your religion or belief.

It is illegal to discriminate regardless of how the goods and services are provided or whether you have to pay for them or not.

For example, it's illegal for someone to discriminate against you when you're buying something in a shop or over the internet, when you're making a telephone enquiry or when someone gives you written information.

Advertising

With a few limited exceptions, it's illegal to publish an advert for goods, facilities or services which discriminates because of religion or belief, or which advertises discriminatory services.

If an advertisement like this is published, the Equality and Human Rights Commission can take court action against the publisher, if the case is referred to them by an advice agency.

Charities

It is not illegal for a charity to provide services and benefits only to people of a certain religion or belief.

This means that they can exclude people of other religions or beliefs. The aims of the charity must be set out in their constitution or rules.

For example, a charity may be set up to provide day-care services for members of the Jewish community. This isn't illegal as long as this is what the charity's constitution says they are there for.

Religious organisations

Certain religious organisations may be allowed to discriminate against people of different religions. This includes faith schools. The organisation must not be commercial, that is, it must be non-profit-making. The discrimination must be necessary:

for meeting the organisation's religious aims, or

to avoid offending those who share its religious aims.

I run a church youth club. Am I allowed to restrict membership of the club to practising Christians or is this discrimination?
As long as your club isn't a commercial business and if your aims are to further the Christian belief amongst young people, you are allowed to refuse membership to young people who are not Christians.

Religious organisations are allowed to discriminate by stopping people of other religions or of no religion:

from becoming members

from taking part in the organisation's activities

from using the goods and services they offer

from using their premises.

Welfare services

In certain circumstances, some organisations are allowed to provide welfare services only to people of a particular religion or belief. This includes things like:

hostel accommodation

housing advice services

day care services.

Organisations are allowed to do this where it can be shown that it leads to a greater take-up of the service, or improves service delivery.

What you can do about religious discrimination by someone providing goods, facilities or services

The quickest way to sort out your problem is to put your concerns in writing to the company or organisation involved. Find out if there is a complaints department and send your letter or email there. If there's no complaints department, find out the name of a manager or other senior person responsible for the service which discriminated against you and write to them. Your letter or email should include:

all the facts, including the date or dates when the discrimination took place

why you believe discrimination took place

if there were any witnesses, giving their details

what you would like the company or organisation to do about the problem

what you are going to do if the problem isn't sorted out within a certain time-limit.

If this doesn't work, you could try:

following the company or organisation's formal complaints procedure, if they have one. Most large companies and all public bodies such as local authorities, government departments and health authorities will have formal complaints procedures

complaining to the organisation's trade association, if they belong to one. The association may be able to put pressure on them to sort out your problem, or they may offer a conciliation or arbitration service which could help you reach an acceptable solution.

complaining to the relevant Ombudsman. All public bodies such as local authorities, government departments, health authorities and social landlords have an Ombudsman, as well as financial institutions such as banks and building societies

taking a case to the county court (sheriff court in Scotland). You must start a case within six months of when the discrimination happened. If you're successful, you might get compensation.

For more information about Ombudsmen, see How to use an Ombudsman.

Any course of action may be complicated and may make your life more uncomfortable in the short-term. There may also be costs involved, particularly if you use a solicitor to represent you. If you are thinking about taking legal action, you should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for your nearest Citizens Advice office, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest Citizens Advice.

Religious discrimination in schools and colleges

It's against the law for a school or college to discriminate because of religion or belief when it decides on who should be accepted as a pupil or student. This applies to both state and independent schools and colleges. However, it doesn't apply to faith schools. Once you have been accepted as a pupil or student at the school or college, it's against the law for them to discriminate against you because of your religion or belief. For example, you can't refuse to let someone be a prefect, give them detention or extra homework just because of their religion or belief.

School uniform

Rules about school uniform must not discriminate against you because of your religion. For example, if you're a young Sikh man, you must be allowed to wear a turban at school as this is part of your faith.

However, this doesn't mean that a school has to allow all items of religious dress. Schools can have a uniform policy which prevents pupils wearing certain things. They might, for example, do this for health and safety reasons.

The curriculum

The law about religious discrimination does not apply to what is taught in schools (the curriculum). For example:

a school is allowed to teach evolution theories even if these theories go against the religious views of some parents

it isn't against the law for religious education lessons in schools to teach mainly about Christianity. However, teachers must also take into account the other main religions. This doesn't apply to faith schools.

My family is Hindu. I am upset because my daughter has to go to religious education classes at school where Hinduism is hardly mentioned. This seems to be discrimination against Hindus as Christianity is mentioned a lot.
The classes have to reflect the fact that religious tradition in this country is mainly Christian. However, they also have to take into account the other main religions and individual classes can be about other religions. Try talking to your child's teacher about the problems you are experiencing. But if you can't manage to sort out the problem, there is probably no legal action you can take.

Collective worship (school assemblies)

In a community or foundation school, acts of collective worship, such as assemblies, must be of a general Christian nature. However, they must not reflect any one particular type of Christianity, for example, Catholicism.

In a faith school, which is a voluntary or foundation school, collective worship must reflect the faith of the school.

Faith schools

There are certain areas of the law about discrimination because of religion and belief which don't apply to faith schools or colleges.

For example, faith schools and colleges have the right to discriminate because of religion when they decide who to accept as a pupil or student. They can choose to give priority to pupils who share their own faith over other pupils. However, it's against the law for them to leave places unfilled if there aren't enough pupils of their own faith to fill them.

Once you have been accepted as a pupil or student at the school or college, it's against the law for them to discriminate against you because of your religion or belief. For example, a Catholic school is not allowed to exclude a pupil who started off as a Catholic and then converts to a different faith.

However, faith schools and colleges are allowed to restrict certain services and benefits that they offer to pupils sharing the faith of the school or college, or can offer them in a different way. For example, faith schools are allowed to:

organise trips for pupils who follow the faith of the school to their local church or religious shrine. They don't have to organise similar visits for children of other faiths within the school

say that only pupils who share their faith can read aloud certain religious texts during assembly

mark or celebrate their own religious events or traditions without having to do the same for children of other faiths within the school.

What can you do about discrimination because of religion or belief in education

You can make a complaint about discrimination by a school, college or university in your local county court (sheriff court in Scotland).If your complaint is about a school, you should first try to resolve your complaint by talking to the school's headteacher. If you are still unhappy, you can then take your complaint to the school's governing body.

For more information about how to complain about a school, see Sorting out school problems.

If your complaint is about a college or university, you should first use the institution's own complaints procedure. If you are complaining about a further education college funded by the Skills funding Agency you could also complain to the Agency. Information about how to do this is available on the Agency's website at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/skills-funding-agency.

If your complaint is about a university in England or Wales, you could take your complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (the OIA).The OIA can be contacted at:

Third Floor
Kings Reach
38-50 King's Road
Reading
RG1 3AA
Tel: 0118 959 9813
Website: www.oiahe.org.uk.

If you have a complaint about a university in Scotland, you should complain to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman at: www.spso.org.uk.

For more information about how to use an ombudsman in Scotland and when to use one, see How to use an ombudsman or commissioner in Scotland.

If you want to make a complaint about discrimination by a school, college or university, you should get advice from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by e-mail, click on nearest CAB.

Religious discrimination in housing

If you think you're being discriminated against by your landlord or someone else involved in your housing, you should check if your housing problem is discrimination.

For information about discrimination in housing, see Discrimination in housing.

Other types of discrimination

As well as discrimination because of your religion, you could be treated unfairly for other reasons.

For example, you're a Turkish Muslim woman and you're sacked because you're pregnant. You may have a claim for race and pregnancy discrimination as well as religious discrimination. If you think you've been treated unfairly for more than one reason, make sure you mention all the reasons if you make a complaint.

For more information about discrimination, see our discrimination pages.

Further help

The Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS)

If you have experienced discrimination, you can get help from the EASS discrimination helpline.
More about the EASS helpline
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

You can find useful information about discrimination on the EHRC website at www.equalityhumanrights.com.

Law centres

A law centre can offer free legal advice if you want to take a case for religious discrimination. If a solicitor from a law centre represents you, you may be entitled to legal aid.. In England and Wales, details of the nearest law centre are available from the Law Centres Network, and in Scotland from the Scottish Association of Law Centres.

England and Wales

Law Centres Network
Floor 1, Tavis House
1-6 Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9NA

Tel: 020 3637 1330 (admin only)
Email: contact form available on the website
Website: www.lawcentres.org.uk

Free Representation Unit (England)

The Free Representation Unit (FRU) can provide representation for people on a low income and living in the London area. However, the FRU is a voluntary organisation and representation in cases cannot be guaranteed. If you want help from the FRU, you must be referred in writing by an advice agency once the date of a hearing has been set. The agency must be an FRU subscriber. Some Citizens Advice local offices in the London area subscriber to the FRU. To search for your nearest Citizens Advice, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest Citizens Advice.

The FRU can be contacted at:

6th Floor
289 - 293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7HZ

Tel: 020 7611 9555
Fax: 020 7611 9551
Email: available through a form on the website
Website: www.thefru.org.uk

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Discrimination because of religion or belief

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Taking action about discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, explaining when it is unlawful or not unlawful and organisations which can help.

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Religious discrimination involves treating a person (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs.

Religious discrimination can also involve treating someone differently because that person is married to (or associated with) an individual of a particular religion.

Religious Discrimination & Work Situations

The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

Religious Discrimination & Harassment

It is illegal to harass a person because of his or her religion.

Harassment can include, for example, offensive remarks about a person's religious beliefs or practices. Although the law doesn't prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren't very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).

The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer.

Religious Discrimination and Segregation

Title VII also prohibits workplace or job segregation based on religion (including religious garb and grooming practices), such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or feared customer preference.

Religious Discrimination & Reasonable Accommodation

The law requires an employer or other covered entity to reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause a burden that is substantial in the overall context of the employer's business taking into account all relevant factors, including the particular accommodation at issue and its practical impact in light of the nature, size, and operating cost of the employer. This means an employer may be required to make reasonable adjustments to the work environment that will allow an employee to practice his or her religion.

Examples of some common religious accommodations include flexible scheduling, voluntary shift substitutions or swaps, job reassignments, and modifications to workplace policies or practices.

Religious Accommodation/Dress & Grooming Policies

Unless it would be an undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business, an employer must reasonably accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices. This applies not only to schedule changes or leave for religious observances, but also to such things as dress or grooming practices that an employee has for religious reasons. These might include, for example, wearing particular head coverings or other religious dress (such as a Jewish yarmulke or a Muslim headscarf), or wearing certain hairstyles or facial hair (such as Rastafarian dreadlocks or Sikh uncut hair and beard). It also includes an employee's observance of a religious prohibition against wearing certain garments (such as pants or miniskirts).

When an employee or applicant needs a dress or grooming accommodation for religious reasons, he should notify the employer that he needs such an accommodation for religious reasons. If the employer reasonably needs more information, the employer and the employee should engage in an interactive process to discuss the request. If it would not pose an undue hardship, the employer must grant the accommodation.

Religious Discrimination & Reasonable Accommodation & Undue Hardship

An employer does not have to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs or practices if doing so would cause undue hardship to the employer. Undue hardship is shown when a burden is substantial in the overall context of an employer's business, taking into account all relevant factors in the case at hand, including the particular accommodation at issue and its practical impact in light of the nature, size and operating cost of the employer. An accommodation may cause undue hardship if it is costly, compromises workplace safety, decreases workplace efficiency, infringes on the rights of other employees, or requires other employees to unwillingly do more than their share of potentially hazardous or burdensome work.

Religious Discrimination And Employment Policies/Practices

An employee cannot be forced to participate (or not participate) in a religious activity as a condition of employment.

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MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - SAME LOVE feat. MARY LAMBERT (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

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What is Race discrimination? We explain its definition, areas covered and what constitutes discrimination.

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Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of millions of young people making positive change, online and off! The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page. After you learn something, Do Something! Find out how to take action here.

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What is disability discrimination? | Equality law: discrimination explained

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What is race discrimination

Race discrimination is when you are treated unfairly because of your race, or because of the race of someone you are connected with, such as your partner.

'Race' includes colour, nationality, citizenship and ethnic or national origins.

If race discrimination takes place in any of the following situations it is illegal and you may be able to take action about it:

Race discrimination can be direct or indirect. It may also take the form of harassment or victimisation.

Race discrimination does not need to be deliberate. Someone may be discriminating against you without realising it or meaning to, but this might still count as discrimination.

Direct race discrimination

It is direct race discrimination to treat someone less favourably than someone else would be treated in the same circumstances, because of race. To prove direct race discrimination, it will help if you can give an example of someone from a different racial group who, in similar circumstances, has been, or would have been, treated more favourably than you. Racist abuse and harassment are forms of direct discrimination.

One example of direct race discrimination is where you are from a particular racial group and an employer refuses to appoint you because, the employer says, you 'wouldn't fit in' or 'the customers would object'.

It's also direct discrimination if an employer turns you down for a job because of your connection with someone else of a particular racial group. For example, an employer might turn you down for a job because your partner is Afro-Caribbean.
I'm Asian and the other night, I went to a nightclub with some of my friends. They said we couldn't get in because it was full. Yet a group of white people just walked in. Is this discrimination? Is there anything we can do about this?.
Yes, this could have been an example of direct race discrimination. You might be able to take court action and get compensation if you have been discriminated against because of race. Go to your local Citizens Advice for advice.

For more information about direct discrimination, see Direct discrimination.

Indirect race discrimination

It is indirect race discrimination to have a rule, policy or practice which people of a particular racial, ethnic or national group are less likely to be able to meet than other people, and this places them at a disadvantage.

Examples of indirect discrimination might include:

an employer insisting that candidates for a job should have UK qualifications

the banning of wearing headscarves, or insisting on the wearing of skirts, at work or at school

an employer insisting that someone has English as a first language.

If you think that indirect race discrimination might have occurred, you may be able to make a complaint about it. However, if the person or organisation you are complaining about can show that there are genuine reasons for the rule, policy or practice and that it has nothing to do with race, this won't count as discrimination.

For example, an employer may be able to show why an employee needs to have gained their qualifications in the UK in order to work in a particular role. If they can do this, there won't have been any discrimination.
I'm of Indian origin and was employed on a casual basis. Now all the casual workers have been asked to take a written test to decide whether we can stay in the job. I have problems with writing in English. We never have to write anything down in the job and my spoken English is fine. I complained to my boss but he just said I had to take the test or leave. Is there anything else I can do?
You may have a case for indirect race discrimination. Go to your local Citizens Advice for advice about what to do. They could help you negotiate with your employers. If this doesn't work, you may be able to make a claim to the employment tribunal.

For more information about indirect discrimination, see Indirect discrimination.

What is 'race'

Race means being part of a group of people who are identified by their race,colour,

nationality, citizenship, or ethnic or national origins.

If you are part of one of these groups and you experience discrimination, this counts as race discrimination.

Even if you're not part of one of these groups, it still counts as discrimination if someone discriminates against you because they think you are. This is known as perceived race discrimination.

Ethnic origins

It's not always easy to say exactly what is meant by 'ethnic '. However, legal cases about race discrimination have made it clear whether certain groups of people can be counted as being ethnic. These include Jewish people, Romany gypsies, members of the Irish traveller community and Sikhs.

Muslims and Rastafarians do not count as ethnic. However, people from these groups can make a complaint about discrimination because of religious belief.

For more information about discrimination because of religious belief, see Discrimination because of religion or belief.

Race discrimination by association

Someone may discriminate against you because of the race of someone else you know, rather than because of your own race. This is known as discrimination by association. For example, an employer may not appoint you to a job, even though you are the best qualified person, just because the employer knows your partner is black. This would be direct discrimination and you would be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

For more information about making a claim to an employment tribunal, see the You think you're a victim of race discrimination at work overview page.

For more information about race discrimination, see Race discrimination.

Victimisation

If you complain about race discrimination, you shouldn't be victimised because you complained. This means that you shouldn't be treated unfairly just because you've made a complaint.

Making a complaint includes taking a case to court, going to an employment tribunal or standing up for your rights in some other way.

You can get protection if you are victimised because you've made a complaint about race discrimination. You can also get protection from discrimination for helping someone else to make a complaint about race discrimination, for example, by giving evidence as a witness in court.
I have complained to my manager about the racist language used in my workplace. Now no one will talk to me. It's really upsetting and making me ill. Is there anything I can do?
This could be an example of what is called victimisation. Victimisation is illegal. There are steps you can take to try and sort out the problem. Go to your trade union, if you're a member. Or get help from an experienced adviser, for example, at your local Citizens Advice.

For more information about victimisation, see Victimisation.

Race discrimination in employment and training

It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you because of race. This includes all employers, no matter how few people they employ. Most workers, including employees, agency workers, trainees and those who are self-employed have protection from race discrimination at work. This includes:

recruitment and selection

promotion

training, pay and benefits

redundancy and dismissal

terms and conditions of work.

Get more information on race discrimination at work.

Trade unions have a duty not to discriminate against their members or those wanting to become members.

There are some situations where employers are allowed to treat you less favourably because of your race and this won't count as discrimination.

Are there times when employers are allowed to treat you less favourably because of race?

There are times when an employer is allowed to treat you less favourably because of your race and this won't count as discrimination..

If an employer can show that you need to be a particular race in order to do a certain job, they can insist on employing someone of that race.

This is known as an occupational requirement and does not count as discrimination.

An example of where an occupational requirement might apply is a hostel for Asian women who have suffered violence. They may be able to insist that they only want to employ Asian women workers because the women in the hostel would find it easier to relate to and communicate with people of the same sex and racial group.

Race discrimination in education

It is illegal for any school or college to discriminate against someone because of race. This applies to both state and private schools and colleges.

A school or college must not discriminate in any of its policies and practices. This includes its:

admissions policies

treatment of pupils

exclusions

decisions about a pupil's special educational needs or disability (SEND)

Schools and colleges also have a duty to protect pupils against racial abuse and violence from other pupils, both on school premises or on the way to or from school.

What can you do about race discrimination in education

You can make a complaint about discrimination by a school, college or university in your local county court (sheriff court in Scotland). However, there may be several other options that you should try first.

If you are thinking about taking court action about race discrimination, you should get advice from an experienced adviser, for example, at your nearest Citizens Advice.

You might also be able to get help from one of the organisations listed under Further help.

Schools

If your child is being discriminated against or suffering racist abuse by other pupils in school, you should bring this to the attention of the head.

All state schools should have a clear policy to get rid of racism and to advance race equality. This means that a school should take positive steps to discourage race discrimination and stop racist attacks. If the local education authority has an adviser with special responsibility for race issues, you should also report racist incidents to them

If you are still unhappy, you can then take your complaint to the school's governing body.

If a school or college does not have an anti-racist policy or is unwilling to take steps to prevent race discrimination or racist attacks, you should get advice from a specialist organisation about how to take further action. You may want to tell the police if a criminal offence is involved, for example, if your child is being assaulted.

If you've suffered racist abuse at school, you can also report it to the police as a hate incident or hate crime. For more information on hate crime see Hate crime.

For more information about how to complain about a school, see Sorting out school problems.

Colleges and universities

If your complaint is about a college or university, you should first use the institution's own complaints procedure. If you are complaining about a further education college funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, you could also complain to the agency. Find out how to complain on GOV.UK.

If your complaint is about a university in England or Wales, you could take your complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (the OIA). The OIA can be contacted at:

Second Floor
Abbey Gate
57-75 King's Road
Reading
RG1 3AB
Tel: 0118 959 9813
Website: www.oiahe.org.uk.

Race discrimination when providing goods, facilities and services

It is illegal for anyone providing goods, facilities or services in the UK to discriminate because of race.

Examples of goods, facilities and services include, shops, banking, entertainment, transport and libraries.

Someone providing goods, facilities or services must not:

refuse to provide you with goods, facilities or services because of your race

provide any of these things on less favourable terms or conditions because of your race

It is illegal to discriminate regardless of how the goods and services are provided or whether you have to pay for them or not.

For example, it's illegal for someone to discriminate against you when you're buying something in a shop or over the internet, when you're making a telephone enquiry or when someone gives you written information.
There's a notice in our local pub saying 'No Travellers'. I'm not a Traveller myself but I still find the notice horrible. Is there anything I can do about it?
Members of the Irish Travelling community are counted as an ethnic group so this notice counts as race discrimination and is probably illegal. An experienced adviser, for example, at your local Citizens Advice, could help you to make a complaint or take the matter further if this doesn't solve the problem.

Are there times when people providing goods, facilities or services are allowed to treat you less favourably?

Clubs, associations and charities set up especially for people of a particular ethnic or national group are allowed to discriminate in some circumstances. They can discriminate against you because of your nationality or ethnic or national origin. However, they are not allowed to discriminate against you because of your colour.

Race discrimination and public authorities

It's illegal for a public authority to discriminate against you because of your race while carrying out any of it's functions. Public authorities includes government departments, local authorities, NHS trusts, courts and tribunals, police officers and prisons.

On top of this, public authorities have a legal duty to take action against discrimination and to actively promote equality.

Race discrimination and advertising

With a few limited exceptions, it's illegal to publish or broadcast an advert which discriminates because of race, or which advertises discriminatory services.

If an advertisement like this is published, the Equality and Human Rights Commission can take court action against the publisher, if the case is referred to them by an advice agency.

Race discrimination in housing

For information about discrimination in housing, see Discrimination in housing.

What can you do about race discrimination

If you think you've suffered race discrimination there are a number of things you may be able to do. These include:

talking to the person or organisation that discriminated against you

using a grievance procedure or making a claim to an employment tribunal if it is an employment problem

publicising your case through the media

taking legal action through the courts

giving details of the problem to an advice agency who may able to refer it to the Equality and Human Rights Commission if you believe the problem is widespread

When deciding what action to take about race discrimination, you will need to think about what you are trying to achieve. For example, do you want financial compensation, justice or publicity? You will also need to think about how quickly you need to get a result.

Any course of action is likely to be complicated and may involve court action. You should consult an experienced adviser, for example, at Citizen's Advice. Search for your nearest Citizens Advice.

For more information about making a claim to an employment tribunal, see the You think you're a victim of race discrimination at work overview page

For more information about what you can do about discrimination, see Taking action about discrimination.

If someone has been violent or hostile towards you because of your race, you can report this to the police as a hate incident or hate crime. For more information on hate crime see Hate crime.

Help with taking a race discrimination case

If you want to take legal action about race discrimination, you may be able to get some help with your case.

You can get advice about this from your local Citizens Advice or from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission. Search for your nearest Citizens Advice.

If you qualify for legal aid, you may get free legal advice and assistance from a solicitor. This comes under Legal Help (advice and assistance) scheme in Scotland. You might also be able to get help with the cost of taking a case to court under Legal Representation.

For more information on help you can get with legal costs, see Help with legal costs.

Other types of discrimination

As well as race discrimination, you could be discriminated against for other reasons. For example, because:

of your sex

you're pregnant

of your sexual orientation

of disability

of religion.

For example, you're a black woman who is pregnant and you're sacked. If you think you've been sacked because you're black and because you're pregnant, you can make two claims, one for race discrimination and one for pregnancy discrimination.

For more information about making a claim to an employment tribunal, see the You think you're a victim of race discrimination at work overview page.

For more information about other types of discrimination, see our discrimination pages.

Further help

Helpline (England and Wales only)

The Monitoring Group Freephone Emergency Helpline advises victims of racial harassment and abuse. It is available 24 hours a day and it is staffed by volunteers recruited from black and minority ethnic communities to ensure they can communicate with the caller in the appropriate language. The helpline number is 0800 374 618.

Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS)

If you have experienced discrimination, you can get help from the EASS discrimination helpline.

More about the EASS helpline
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
You can find useful information about discrimination on the EHRC website at www.equalityhumanrights.com.

Law centres

Law centres can offer free legal advice to people who want to take action about race discrimination. If you are represented by a solicitor from a law centre, you may be entitled to legal aid. Details of the nearest law centres are available from:-

In England and Wales

The Law Centres Network
Floor 1, Tavis House
1-6 Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9NA

Tel: 020 3637 1330 (admin only)
Email: contact form available on the website
Website: www.lawcentres.org.uk

In Scotland

Scottish Association of Law Centres
Secretary
c/o Govan Law Centre
47 Burleigh Street
Govan
Glasgow G51 3LB

Tel: 0141 440 2503
E-mail: m@govanlc.com
Website: www.govanlc.com/salc

Free Representation Unit (England)

The Free Representation Unit (FRU) is an organisation which can provide representation for people in the London area on a low income.

The FRU can be contacted at:

Ground Floor
60 Gray's Inn Road
London
WC1X 8LU

Tel: 020 7611 9555
Fax: 020 7611 9551
Email: available through a form on the website
Website: www.thefru.org.uk

Free Representation (Scotland)

There is some free representation available in Scotland for tribunals and courts. It is only available for certain cases and for people on a low income. It is only available through a Citizens Advice local office.

Search for your nearest Citizens Advice.

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Race discrimination is when you are treated unfairly because of your race, or because of the race of someone you are connected with, such as your partner. 'Race' includes colour, nationality, citizenship and ethnic or national origins.

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Eating Disorders in the US Facts and Statistics 

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Eating Disorders in the US Facts and Statistics 

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Eating Disorders Statistics | Eating and Body Image Therapy Center in MD & DC

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The statistics for eating disorders are sobering, and the number of affected Americans is growing among children, men and women.

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Body Shaming? What is it and how to fight it?

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Body Shaming? What is it and how to fight it?

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Body shaming is rampant nowadays; both men and women experience body shaming. No matter the body size, looks, skin color, and body shape individuals can experience this form of bullying. Even just having stretch marks or a scar can be used to body shame a person. It can be because of a person's height, skin color, the way they dress, and sadly even a disability.

It happens online and offline; it's too toxic and can negatively affect a person's mental health. Body shaming is a form of bullying where someone is judged based on the way they look. Typically, a person is body-shamed by being overweight or underweight or by not fitting in with society's expectations of being " thin and beautiful".

Hearing these cruel comments can be devastating and humiliating, which can affect a person's self-esteem. It can lead to depression and eating disorders. And you know what? Negative comments of others can lead you to body shame yourself too. No one deserves to be judged based on their appearance. What should you do? How do you deal with body shaming?

How to Recognize Body Shaming

To deal with body shaming, the first step is to recognize if it's happening to you. So it can be easier for your to overcome, recognize, avoid and deal with body shaming. Obviously, someone saying "You've gained too much weight" or "You're so skinny, you need to eat some more" are upfront and hurtful forms of body shaming.

But there are subtle forms of body shaming that are covered with sarcasm you should recognize. This is a tricky spot that can make you uncomfortable. Here are some examples:

Subtle comments like: "You're too tall for a girl", "Should you be eating that cake?", "You're never going to find a boyfriend looking like that", "That outfit doesn't fit you well", "You need to join the gym soon", "Honey, you need to eat some more."

Cyberbullying: Comments or personal messages from social media that degrade your looks.

How to Deal With Body Shaming

Whether it's called body shaming or fat-shaming, one thing is clear: nobody should be judged or feel ashamed by the way they look. You only have one body, and you should love yourself. Other people will always have something to say, and you can't definitely please everyone.

You can't live by what society expects of you, live by your own terms, and love yourself. You should learn how to feel good about yourself because you are worthy. Here are valuable tips on how to deal with body shaming.

Body Positivity is Important

Your first step in dealing with body-shaming is body positivity. Body positivity is about accepting and understanding that feeling good about your appearance is important for your mental health. No matter what shape or skin you have, you should love it. Be thankful for your good health. Be grateful for what you have, not what you're missing.

No amount of therapy can help you if you don't feel confident about yourself. Be free of worries about what your friends of the world think of what you look like. Appreciate your body despite your flaws. You are human, no one is perfect, and you should feel confident about your body.

If you want to improve your appearance, don't do it because of what you hear from other people. Do it because you want to become healthy or want to feel good about yourself. The moment that you embrace body positivity is the moment you can overcome body shaming.

Acceptance: Stop Hiding

It's sad to know that people who experience body shaming hide. It can be isolating themselves from the world, covering up their bodies, or prefers to be 'invisible'. This shouldn't be this way. Life is too short to live in the shadows. How can you enjoy life if you keep worrying about what other people might say?

Don't let this get to your head; start loving and accepting your body. Stop hiding! If there are situations that make you uncomfortable, take little steps to overcome this. For example, you get anxious going to the mall because you're afraid you might bump into someone you know, and you're afraid of the comments you might hear; you should overcome this.

Should you really limit yourself and what you can do in life because of body shaming? NO! Take little steps, and observe how you feel in that situation. Over time, you'll overcome your fear, and you will stop hiding.

Take Responsibility and Accountability

Yes, you have to accept your body and be proud no matter what. But you also have to be open to the possibility that there's something wrong with your body. It's about finding the balance. Some, not all, may drop comments that are coming from a good heart, with no ill intentions, but may come off as mean comments.

But you have to ask yourself too, maybe they're coming from a place of concern and would want the best for you, especially your parents. For example, gaining weight is a really sensitive topic. It's offensive to be called fat, and yes, that's body shaming. But what if it's a genuine concern? Because as we all know, this can lead to obesity. And obesity increases a person's risk of developing diseases like diabetes or heart ailments.

For this, you should consider taking responsibility and accountability. After all, it's your health we're talking about. So if you take action, do it for yourself and your health. After all, looking good equates to feeling good too. You don't need to be skinny; you just need to be healthy.

Self-Love: Be Kind to Yourself

There are many bullies in the world, and the last bully you want to deal with is yourself. So it's important to be kind to yourself. You need to treat yourself with respect, self-love, and kindness. Practice self-love, have positive self-talk and love your body.

Stand in front of the mirror naked, look at yourself and learn to love your body. Do not be self-deprecating because your inner bully is the most worrying thing that can bring you down. Take care of yourself, remind yourself of your good qualities, and stop aiming for perfection. Aim to be a good person, not the perfect person.

Social media is filled with a lot of things. Informational stuff, keeping in touch with friends and sometimes cyberbullying. If body-shaming comments on social media cause you stress, take control of it. Try to cut out toxic persons in your life, or unfollow those who make you feel bad about yourself.

It's your social media, and you can take control of it. Instead, have a body-positive feed. Follow pages of influencers that promote messages of body positivity. If your goal is to improve yourself physically, you can follow pages of fitness inspirations or promotes health. But if your goal is to be positive, follow pages that encourage self-acceptance.

Be Grateful for Your Body

Lastly, to deal with body shaming, you need to be grateful for your body. Instead of wishing for what's missing, be thankful for what you have. Be grateful for good health and the body that keeps you alive every day. Be grateful for what you have right now and wish to have good health always and not a flawless body.

Remember that even celebrities have flaws; they're just too good not to show it or too secretive about concealing it. Photos posted on social media can be deceiving, filtered, or edited, so don't believe everything you see on social media. Just be thankful for what you have and for the chance of being alive.

What to Say to Someone Who Is Body Shaming?

Instead of getting into an argument with someone who body-shamed you, react with kindness. For example, you can say, "Thank you for your concern. For now, I'm trying to focus on loving myself and being positive about my body. I'd appreciate it if you don't say things like this in the future". Don't argue further and walk away from the conversation so it won't get worse.

What to Do When Someone Is Body-Shaming You?

The best thing to do is to call out that person in a polite manner. Never spark an argument or fight back with body-shaming them too, as this could cause you stress. You should promote positive support, not comment mean things. If you call the person out, you can feel better about yourself and take control of the situation. Find your voice and speak with peace.

How Can Body-Shaming Affect a Person?

Body shaming can negatively affect a person in many ways. Body shaming may lead to:

Why Do We Need to Stop Body-Shaming?

You might not be aware of your actions or choose the right words, but you may body shame other people too. Make sure to choose the right words and be extra sensitive to others. We all need to stop body-shaming because this can cause trauma and have low self-esteem.

Seek Professional Help

If you find it hard to deal with body shaming, it's probably time to seek professional help before it can affect your mental health. You can book an appointment for online mental health counseling at Kentucky Counseling Center (KCC). Let our counselors help you with these negative emotions and help you healthily deal with body shaming.

After all, you have to take care of your mental health above anything else. What's the use of a flawless or sexy body if you're experiencing a mental health decline? What's more important? What's important is you're in good health, not having an illness, and you are mentally healthy. Repeat these words: "I am strong. I am beautiful."

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How to Deal With Body-Shaming? Let's End This!

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Body shaming is rampant nowadays; both men and women experience body shaming. No matter the body size, looks, skin color, and body shape individuals can experience this form of bullying. Even just having stretch marks or a scar can be used to body shame a person.

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Body shaming is the act of saying something negative about a person's body. It can be about your own body or someone else's. The commentary can be about a person's size, age, hair, clothes, food, hair, or level of perceived attractiveness.

Body shaming can lead to mental health issues including eating disorders, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and body dysmorphia, as well as the general feeling of hating one's body.

Body Shaming in Our Culture

In our current society, many people think that thin bodies are inherently better and healthier than larger bodies. Historically, however, that hasn't always been the case. If you think of paintings and portraits from before the 1800s era, you can see that plumpness was revered.

Being fat was a sign that a person was wealthy and had access to food, while thinness represented poverty. In her book "Fat Shame: Stigma and the Fat Body in American Culture," author Amy Erdman Farrell traces the shift from revering heavy bodies to the preference of smaller shapes to mid-nineteenth century England when the first diets books were published.

She noted that the focus on diets, and bodies at large, was centered around women. Author Sabrina Strings says that fatphobia resulted from colonialism and race in her book "Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia."

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the first known use of the term "body shaming" was by journalist Philip Ellis.

Who Are the Targets of Body Shaming?

Body shaming is most often about body size, but negative comments about any facet of a person's body count as body shaming.

Below are the various reasons why people might be body shamed.

One of the most common reasons people are body shamed is because of their weight. Someone might be body shamed for being "too big" or "too thin."

Saying anything negative about a person being "fat" is body shaming. This is also known as "fat-shaming." Fat-shaming comments are ones like "They'd be pretty if they lost weight," or "I bet they had to buy an extra plane ticket to fit." Men are often body-shamed when people refer to them as having a "dad bod."

People in thinner bodies can also be shamed for their weight. Often called skinny-shaming, it may sound like, "They look like they never eat" or "They look like they have an eating disorder."

Hair grows on the arms, legs, private areas, and underarms of all people, except for those with certain health conditions. However, many people have the idea that women should remove all of their body hair, or they won't be "ladylike."

Examples of body hair shaming are calling a woman with underarm hair "beastly," or telling a woman she needs to shave.

Attractiveness

Known as "pretty-shaming," the bullying or discrimination of people for being attractive, is something that happens regularly. And even more than that, people are bullied for being considered unattractive, which is also known as "lookism." Lookism describes prejudice or discrimination against people who are considered physically unattractive or whose physical appearance is believed to fall short of societal ideas of beauty.

An example of pretty-shaming is how attractive women are less likely to be hired for jobs in which they'd have positions of authority.And an example of lookism would be how unattractive people may receive fewer opportunities.

Food-shaming is generally done in relation to body size. For example, when someone makes a remark about what a person is or isn't eating, that can count as food-shaming. Someone saying, "They look like they don't need to be eating that," is an example of food-shaming.

You can also food-shame yourself. For example, you might say, "I'm so fat, I shouldn't eat this piece of cheesecake."

The 1980s saw the rise of spandex clothing, and there was a popular saying, "Spandex is a privilege, not a right." This meant that people should only wear spandex clothes if they had the "correct" body shape for them. This is a prime example of clothing-shaming.

More recently, the founder of the clothing brand Lululemon was criticized for making fat-shaming comments when he said that some women's bodies "don't work" for the clothes.

Also known as ageism, age-shaming is discrimination or bullying towards people because of their age. This usually focuses on the elderly or the older population.

In relation to body-shaming, an ageist remark may sound like, "They're too old to wear that much makeup." Additionally, news articles that show photos of how "bad" or "old" celebrities look when not wearing makeup are shaming. Making negative comments about someone's wrinkles or loose skin is another form of body-shaming.

Western society has long focused on sleek, shiny, straight hair as the ideal. Thus, hair with curls, kinks, or other textures has been viewed as less attractive. This is known as texture-shaming.

An example of texture shaming is, "They're so brave to wear their hair natural." While that sounds like a compliment, it's actually an insult. That's because it implies that a person's hair is outside what is considered normal and that they are courageous for wearing their hair in its natural state.

Additionally, bald-shaming happens to people of all genders who have receding hairlines or thinning/balding scalps.

Why Do We Need to Stop Body Shaming?

Body shaming has myriad negative consequences on mental health. Here are some important ones:

Adolescents who are body shamed have a significantly elevated risk of depression.

It may lead to eating disorders.

Body shaming worsens outcomes for obese women attempting to overcome binge eating.

Body shaming can cause dissatisfaction with one's body, which then can cause low self-esteem.

Additional mental health concerns associated with body-shaming include:

Anxiety

Body dysmorphic disorder

Depression

Higher risk of self-harm or suicide

Poorer quality of life (due to body dissatisfaction)

Psychological distress

How to Be More Inclusive

Body shaming may be rampant, but that doesn't mean you should take part in it. Making a point of not being a body shamer is the kinder option for all people, yourself included. Being intentional about not engaging in various types of shaming may lead to better mental wellness.

In addition to not body shaming, it can be helpful to be more body-inclusive. This means encouraging the acceptance and celebration of shape and diversity in appearance, focusing on health instead of size or weight, and appreciating the human body for all that it is and does.

Below are some ways you can stop contributing to body shaming culture.

Stop Talking About Other People's Bodies

It may be socially acceptable for people to mock and body-shame others, but you do not have to accept, participate in, or tolerate such words or actions. You wouldn't want that to be done to you, and now you know that it can cause real problems for those it happens to.

So, when you are tempted to point out a person's body hair or their hair texture, their size, stop yourself. Instead, why not think of something nice to say to the person?

Clearly, they caught your eye, so you could use this as an opportunity to find a positive attribute. "I like your smile" is one idea of a way to compliment another person without speaking negatively about their body.

Try the following steps:

1. Notice your thoughts and acknowledge your own conditioning, bias, and/or judgments.

2. Make an intentional effort to notice what you like, appreciate, or admire about this person (this may be physical or non-physical traits).

3. Practice this with others and yourself to develop and deepen respect, care, and compassion for yourself and others.

Learn About Body Neutrality

Body neutrality is a practice that has many proven mental health benefits. It's the notion of accepting bodies as they are, without casting judgment on them. This can apply to your own body, and to the bodies of others.

Body neutrality encourages a focus on the positive functions that bodies can perform. Learning about it can make you feel better in your own body, improve your relationship with food, and boost your self-esteem.

Change How You Talk About Your Own Body

In a culture where so much emphasis is placed on what is wrong with us and needs improvement, it can feel like a huge challenge to speak positively about our own bodies. Doing so, however, is a healthy thing to do, and it also saves other people from harm.

By practicing speaking positively about ourselves and our bodies, and noticing qualities about ourselves and others that we like and appreciate, we can deepen our care, compassion, and connection with others and with ourselves.

It isn't realistic to only think positive thoughts about yourself, but you can express your feelings in ways that are less harmful to others. For the above example, you could instead confide in a friend and say, "My pants aren't fitting as they usually do, and it's making me feel self-conscious."

Rather than body-shaming, you'll have opened up to a loved one, creating more closeness and trust between the both of you.

If you've gone through the steps to stop body-shaming yourself and other people, that's wonderful! However, there is still more work to do.

If you see someone making a comment to another person about their body, whether about their clothing or age or size, you can gently let them know that it's unkind to talk about other people's bodies. And if it happens regularly with friends or loved ones, you can bring it up in a bigger way, letting them know that their ways of communicating about bodies don't always feel good for you and others.

Body shaming may be prevalent, but you can do the work to stop perpetuating it and to help heal its harmful effects by practicing body positivity with yourself and others.

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Body Shaming: Why We Do It and How to Overcome It

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Body shaming is the act of saying something negative about a person's body. It can be about your own body or someone else's. The commentary can be about a person's size, age, hair, clothes, food, hair, or level of perceived attractiveness.

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Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - White Privilege II

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Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - White Privilege II

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MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS FEAT. JAMILA WOODS - WHITE PRIVILEGE II

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Discrimination overview - Amnesty International

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Discrimination overview - Amnesty International

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-Sexual orientation discrimination
-Gender discrimination
-Religious discrimination
-Disability

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Overview

Discrimination strikes at the very heart of being human. It is harming someone's rights simply because of who they are or what they believe. Discrimination is harmful and perpetuates inequality.

We all have the right to be treated equally, regardless of our race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, gender, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, age, health or other status. Yet all too often we hear heartbreaking stories of people who suffer cruelty simply for belonging to a "different" group from those in positions of privilege or power.

Discrimination occurs when a person is unable to enjoy his or her human rights or other legal rights on an equal basis with others because of an unjustified distinction made in policy, law or treatment. Amnesty International's work is rooted in the principle of non-discrimination. Working with communities across the world, we challenge discriminatory laws and practices to ensure all people can enjoy their rights on an equal basis.

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WHAT DRIVES DISCRIMINATION?

At the heart of all forms of discrimination is prejudice based on concepts of identity, and the need to identify with a certain group. This can lead to division, hatred and even the dehumanization of other people because they have a different identity.

In many parts of the world, the politics of blame and fear is on the rise. Intolerance, hatred and discrimination is causing an ever-widening rift in societies. The politics of fear is driving people apart as leaders peddle toxic rhetoric, blaming certain groups of people for social or economic problems.

Some governments try to reinforce their power and the status quo by openly justifying discrimination in the name of morality, religion or ideology. Discrimination can be cemented in national law, even when it breaks international law - for example, the criminalization of abortion which denies women, girls and pregnant people the health services only they need. Certain groups can even be viewed by the authorities as more likely to be criminal simply for who they are, such as being poor, indigenous or black.

SOME KEY FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Racial and ethnic discrimination

Racism affects virtually every country in the world. It systematically denies people their full human rights just because of their colour, race, ethnicity, descent (including caste) or national origin. Racism unchecked can fuel large-scale atrocities such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and more recently, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

In India, members of the Dalit community are targeted, by members of dominant castes, for a range of human rights abuses. These crimes, which include gang rapes, killings and the destruction of their homes, often go uninvestigated by the police because of discriminatory attitudes which do not take crimes against Dalits seriously.

Amnesty International has also documented widespread discrimination faced by millions of Roma in Europe, including the threat of forced evictions, police harassment and the segregation of Roma children in school.

Discrimination against non-nationals, sometimes known as xenophobia

but discrimination against non-nationals is frequently based on racism or notions of superiority, and is often fuelled by politicians looking for scapegoats for social or economic problems in a country.

Since 2008, South Africa has experienced several outbreaks of violence against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from other African countries, including killings, and looting or burning of shops and businesses. In some instances, the violence has been inflamed by the hate-filled rhetoric of politicians who have wrongly labelled foreign nationals "criminals" and accused them of burdening the health system.

Discrimination has also been a feature of the response of authorities to refugees and asylum seekers in other parts of the world. Many people in countries receiving refugees and asylum seekers view the situation as a crisis with leaders and politicians exploiting these fears by promising, and in some cases enacting, abusive and unlawful policies.

For example, Hungary passed a package of punitive laws in 2018, which target groups that the government has identified as supporting refugees and migrants. The authorities have also subjected refugees and asylum seekers to violent push-backs and ill-treatment and imposed arbitrary detention on those attempting to enter Hungarian territory.

We at Amnesty International disagree that it is a crisis of numbers. This is a crisis of solidarity. The causes that drive families and individuals to cross borders, and the short-sighted and unrealistic ways that politicians respond to them, are the problem.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people

Everywhere in the world, people face discrimination because of who they love, who they are attracted to and who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people risk being unfairly treated in all areas of their lives, whether it's in education, employment, housing or access to health care, and they may face harassment and violence.

Some countries punish people for their sexual orientation or their gender identity with jail or even death. For example, in October 2019, Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister announced that the government was planning to introduce the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts.

In 2019, Amnesty International documented how gay and trans soldiers in South Korea face violence, harassment and pervasive discrimination due to the criminalization of consensual sex between men in the military; and examined the barriers to accessing gender-affirming treatments for transgender individuals in China. We also campaigned to allow Pride events to take place in countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Ukraine.

It is extremely difficult, and in most cases, impossible for LGBTI people to live their lives freely and seek justice for abuses when the laws are not on their side. Even when they are, there is strong stigma and stereotyping of LGBTI identities that prevents them from living their lives as equal members of society or accessing rights and freedoms that are available to others. That's why LGBTI activists campaign relentlessly for their rights: whether it's to be free from discrimination to love who they want, have their gender legally recognized or to just be protected from the risk of assault and harassment.

See here for more information about Amnesty International's work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to defend LGBTI rights

Gender discrimination

In many countries, in all regions of the world, laws, policies, customs and beliefs exist that deny women and girls their rights.

By law, women cannot dress as they like (Saudi Arabia, Iran) or work at night (Madagascar) or take out a loan without their husband's signature (Equatorial Guinea). In many countries, discriminatory laws place limits on a woman's right to divorce, own property, exercise control over her own body and enjoy protection from harassment.

In the ongoing battle for justice, hundreds of thousands of women and girls take to the streets to claim their human rights and demand gender equality. In the USA, Europe and Japan, women protested against misogyny and abuse as part of the #MeToo marches. In Argentina, Ireland and Poland, women demonstrated to demand a stop to oppressive abortion laws. In Saudi Arabia, they called for an end to the driving ban, and in Iran, they demanded an end to forced hijab (veiling).

All over the world, women and girls have been at the forefront of demands for change.

Yet despite the stratospheric rise of women's activism, the stark reality remains that many governments around the world openly support policies, laws and customs that subjugate and suppress women.

Globally, 40% of women of childbearing age live in countries where abortion remains highly restricted or inaccessible in practice even when allowed by law, and some 225 million do not have access to modern contraception.

Research by Amnesty International confirmed that while social media platforms allow people to express themselves by debating, networking and sharing , companies and governments have failed to protect users from online abuse, prompting many women in particular to self-censor or leave platforms altogether.

However, social media has given more prominence in some parts of the world to women's calls for equality in the workplace, an issue highlighted in the calls to narrow the gender pay gap, currently standing at 23% globally. Women worldwide are not only paid less, on average, than men, but are more likely to do unpaid work and to work in informal, insecure and unskilled jobs. Much of this is due to social norms that consider women and their work to be of lower status.

Gender-based violence disproportionately affects women, yet it remains a human rights crisis that politicians continue to ignore.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to protect women's rights

Discrimination based on caste

Discrimination based on work and descent (also referred as caste discrimination) is widespread across Asia and Africa, affecting over 260 million people, including those in the diaspora. Owing to their birth identity, people from these communities are socially excluded, economically deprived and subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Discrimination based on work and descent is deeply rooted in society, it manifests itself in everyday lives, in individual perceptions to culture and customs, in social and economic structures, in education and employment, and in access to services, opportunities, resources and the market. Discrimination is perpetuated from generation to generation, and is in some cases deeply internalized, despite the existence in some countries of laws and affirmative action to tackle it. Amnesty International is committed to work in tandem with partners in advocating for the rights of communities affected on the basis of work and descent.

Discrimination based on disability

As many as 1 in 10 people around the world lives with a disability. Yet in many societies, people with disabilities must grapple with stigma, being ostracized and treated as objects of pity or fear.

Developing countries are home to about 80% of people with disabilities. The overwhelming majority of people with disabilities - 82%- live below the poverty line. Women with disabilities are two to three times more likely to encounter physical and sexual abuse than women without disabilities.

In Kazakhstan, current laws mean that thousands of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities have been declared "incapable" by law and put in the care of a guardian. Under this system they cannot exercise their rights and are not able to challenge the decision in court.

Amnesty International has also documented serious human rights abuses suffered by people with disabilities in Somalia, where they are at risk of forced marriage, rape and forced evictions.

We are told that we are not allowed to talk- but we still do. I still talk Gulzar Duishenova

THE SOLUTION: WHAT IS AMNESTY CALLING FOR?
Governments to:

Get rid of discriminatory laws and release anyone who is in prison because of them.

Protect everyone - whoever they are - from discrimination and violence.

Introduce laws and policies that promote inclusion and diversity in all aspects of society.

Take action to tackle the root causes of discrimination, including by challenging stereotypes and attitudes that underpin discrimination.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is discrimination? It strikes at the very heart of what it means to be human.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Overview

Discrimination strikes at the very heart of being human. It is harming someone's rights simply because of who they are or what they believe. Discrimination is harmful and perpetuates inequality.

We all have the right to be treated equally, regardless of our race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, gender, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, age, health or other status. Yet all too often we hear heartbreaking stories of people who suffer cruelty simply for belonging to a "different" group from those in positions of privilege or power.

Discrimination occurs when a person is unable to enjoy his or her human rights or other legal rights on an equal basis with others because of an unjustified distinction made in policy, law or treatment. Amnesty International's work is rooted in the principle of non-discrimination. Working with communities across the world, we challenge discriminatory laws and practices to ensure all people can enjoy their rights on an equal basis.

Previous Next

WHAT DRIVES DISCRIMINATION?

At the heart of all forms of discrimination is prejudice based on concepts of identity, and the need to identify with a certain group. This can lead to division, hatred and even the dehumanization of other people because they have a different identity.

In many parts of the world, the politics of blame and fear is on the rise. Intolerance, hatred and discrimination is causing an ever-widening rift in societies. The politics of fear is driving people apart as leaders peddle toxic rhetoric, blaming certain groups of people for social or economic problems.

Some governments try to reinforce their power and the status quo by openly justifying discrimination in the name of morality, religion or ideology. Discrimination can be cemented in national law, even when it breaks international law - for example, the criminalization of abortion which denies women, girls and pregnant people the health services only they need. Certain groups can even be viewed by the authorities as more likely to be criminal simply for who they are, such as being poor, indigenous or black.

SOME KEY FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Racial and ethnic discrimination

Racism affects virtually every country in the world. It systematically denies people their full human rights just because of their colour, race, ethnicity, descent (including caste) or national origin. Racism unchecked can fuel large-scale atrocities such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and more recently, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

In India, members of the Dalit community are targeted, by members of dominant castes, for a range of human rights abuses. These crimes, which include gang rapes, killings and the destruction of their homes, often go uninvestigated by the police because of discriminatory attitudes which do not take crimes against Dalits seriously.

Amnesty International has also documented widespread discrimination faced by millions of Roma in Europe, including the threat of forced evictions, police harassment and the segregation of Roma children in school.

Discrimination against non-nationals, sometimes known as xenophobia

but discrimination against non-nationals is frequently based on racism or notions of superiority, and is often fuelled by politicians looking for scapegoats for social or economic problems in a country.

Since 2008, South Africa has experienced several outbreaks of violence against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from other African countries, including killings, and looting or burning of shops and businesses. In some instances, the violence has been inflamed by the hate-filled rhetoric of politicians who have wrongly labelled foreign nationals "criminals" and accused them of burdening the health system.

Discrimination has also been a feature of the response of authorities to refugees and asylum seekers in other parts of the world. Many people in countries receiving refugees and asylum seekers view the situation as a crisis with leaders and politicians exploiting these fears by promising, and in some cases enacting, abusive and unlawful policies.

For example, Hungary passed a package of punitive laws in 2018, which target groups that the government has identified as supporting refugees and migrants. The authorities have also subjected refugees and asylum seekers to violent push-backs and ill-treatment and imposed arbitrary detention on those attempting to enter Hungarian territory.

We at Amnesty International disagree that it is a crisis of numbers. This is a crisis of solidarity. The causes that drive families and individuals to cross borders, and the short-sighted and unrealistic ways that politicians respond to them, are the problem.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people

Everywhere in the world, people face discrimination because of who they love, who they are attracted to and who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people risk being unfairly treated in all areas of their lives, whether it's in education, employment, housing or access to health care, and they may face harassment and violence.

Some countries punish people for their sexual orientation or their gender identity with jail or even death. For example, in October 2019, Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister announced that the government was planning to introduce the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts.

In 2019, Amnesty International documented how gay and trans soldiers in South Korea face violence, harassment and pervasive discrimination due to the criminalization of consensual sex between men in the military; and examined the barriers to accessing gender-affirming treatments for transgender individuals in China. We also campaigned to allow Pride events to take place in countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Ukraine.

It is extremely difficult, and in most cases, impossible for LGBTI people to live their lives freely and seek justice for abuses when the laws are not on their side. Even when they are, there is strong stigma and stereotyping of LGBTI identities that prevents them from living their lives as equal members of society or accessing rights and freedoms that are available to others. That's why LGBTI activists campaign relentlessly for their rights: whether it's to be free from discrimination to love who they want, have their gender legally recognized or to just be protected from the risk of assault and harassment.

See here for more information about Amnesty International's work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to defend LGBTI rights

Gender discrimination

In many countries, in all regions of the world, laws, policies, customs and beliefs exist that deny women and girls their rights.

By law, women cannot dress as they like (Saudi Arabia, Iran) or work at night (Madagascar) or take out a loan without their husband's signature (Equatorial Guinea). In many countries, discriminatory laws place limits on a woman's right to divorce, own property, exercise control over her own body and enjoy protection from harassment.

In the ongoing battle for justice, hundreds of thousands of women and girls take to the streets to claim their human rights and demand gender equality. In the USA, Europe and Japan, women protested against misogyny and abuse as part of the #MeToo marches. In Argentina, Ireland and Poland, women demonstrated to demand a stop to oppressive abortion laws. In Saudi Arabia, they called for an end to the driving ban, and in Iran, they demanded an end to forced hijab (veiling).

All over the world, women and girls have been at the forefront of demands for change.

Yet despite the stratospheric rise of women's activism, the stark reality remains that many governments around the world openly support policies, laws and customs that subjugate and suppress women.

Globally, 40% of women of childbearing age live in countries where abortion remains highly restricted or inaccessible in practice even when allowed by law, and some 225 million do not have access to modern contraception.

Research by Amnesty International confirmed that while social media platforms allow people to express themselves by debating, networking and sharing , companies and governments have failed to protect users from online abuse, prompting many women in particular to self-censor or leave platforms altogether.

However, social media has given more prominence in some parts of the world to women's calls for equality in the workplace, an issue highlighted in the calls to narrow the gender pay gap, currently standing at 23% globally. Women worldwide are not only paid less, on average, than men, but are more likely to do unpaid work and to work in informal, insecure and unskilled jobs. Much of this is due to social norms that consider women and their work to be of lower status.

Gender-based violence disproportionately affects women, yet it remains a human rights crisis that politicians continue to ignore.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to protect women's rights

Discrimination based on caste

Discrimination based on work and descent (also referred as caste discrimination) is widespread across Asia and Africa, affecting over 260 million people, including those in the diaspora. Owing to their birth identity, people from these communities are socially excluded, economically deprived and subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Discrimination based on work and descent is deeply rooted in society, it manifests itself in everyday lives, in individual perceptions to culture and customs, in social and economic structures, in education and employment, and in access to services, opportunities, resources and the market. Discrimination is perpetuated from generation to generation, and is in some cases deeply internalized, despite the existence in some countries of laws and affirmative action to tackle it. Amnesty International is committed to work in tandem with partners in advocating for the rights of communities affected on the basis of work and descent.

Discrimination based on disability

As many as 1 in 10 people around the world lives with a disability. Yet in many societies, people with disabilities must grapple with stigma, being ostracized and treated as objects of pity or fear.

Developing countries are home to about 80% of people with disabilities. The overwhelming majority of people with disabilities - 82%- live below the poverty line. Women with disabilities are two to three times more likely to encounter physical and sexual abuse than women without disabilities.

In Kazakhstan, current laws mean that thousands of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities have been declared "incapable" by law and put in the care of a guardian. Under this system they cannot exercise their rights and are not able to challenge the decision in court.

Amnesty International has also documented serious human rights abuses suffered by people with disabilities in Somalia, where they are at risk of forced marriage, rape and forced evictions.

We are told that we are not allowed to talk- but we still do. I still talk Gulzar Duishenova

THE SOLUTION: WHAT IS AMNESTY CALLING FOR?
Governments to:

Get rid of discriminatory laws and release anyone who is in prison because of them.

Protect everyone - whoever they are - from discrimination and violence.

Introduce laws and policies that promote inclusion and diversity in all aspects of society.

Take action to tackle the root causes of discrimination, including by challenging stereotypes and attitudes that underpin discrimination.

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What is discrimination? It strikes at the very heart of what it means to be human.

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ENGLISH SPEECH | EMMA WATSON: Gender Equality (English Subtitles)

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Definitions of the different types of discrimination

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Definitions of the different types of discrimination

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I have heard a lot about a law that protects employees over the age of 40. What is this about? The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, protects individuals who are 40 years of age and older from employment discrimination based on age.

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Information and guidance on the Equality Act 2010, including age discrimination and the Public Sector Equality Duty.

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What is sex discrimination? | Equality law: discrimination explained

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Discrimination can come in one of the following forms:

direct discrimination - treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others

indirect discrimination - putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage

harassment - unwanted behaviour linked to a protected characteristic that violates someone's dignity or creates an offensive environment for them

victimisation - treating someone unfairly because they've complained about discrimination or harassment

It can be lawful to have specific rules or arrangements in place, as long as they can be justified.

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Skip to main content We use some essential cookies to make this website work. We'd like to set additional cookies to understand how you use GOV.UK, remember your settings and improve government services. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services.

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Family helps girl practice batting after dad says baseball is not for her | WWYD

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Overview

Discrimination strikes at the very heart of being human. It is harming someone's rights simply because of who they are or what they believe. Discrimination is harmful and perpetuates inequality.

We all have the right to be treated equally, regardless of our race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, gender, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, age, health or other status. Yet all too often we hear heartbreaking stories of people who suffer cruelty simply for belonging to a "different" group from those in positions of privilege or power.

Discrimination occurs when a person is unable to enjoy his or her human rights or other legal rights on an equal basis with others because of an unjustified distinction made in policy, law or treatment. Amnesty International's work is rooted in the principle of non-discrimination. Working with communities across the world, we challenge discriminatory laws and practices to ensure all people can enjoy their rights on an equal basis.

Previous Next

WHAT DRIVES DISCRIMINATION?

At the heart of all forms of discrimination is prejudice based on concepts of identity, and the need to identify with a certain group. This can lead to division, hatred and even the dehumanization of other people because they have a different identity.

In many parts of the world, the politics of blame and fear is on the rise. Intolerance, hatred and discrimination is causing an ever-widening rift in societies. The politics of fear is driving people apart as leaders peddle toxic rhetoric, blaming certain groups of people for social or economic problems.

Some governments try to reinforce their power and the status quo by openly justifying discrimination in the name of morality, religion or ideology. Discrimination can be cemented in national law, even when it breaks international law - for example, the criminalization of abortion which denies women, girls and pregnant people the health services only they need. Certain groups can even be viewed by the authorities as more likely to be criminal simply for who they are, such as being poor, indigenous or black.

SOME KEY FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Racial and ethnic discrimination

Racism affects virtually every country in the world. It systematically denies people their full human rights just because of their colour, race, ethnicity, descent (including caste) or national origin. Racism unchecked can fuel large-scale atrocities such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and more recently, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

In India, members of the Dalit community are targeted, by members of dominant castes, for a range of human rights abuses. These crimes, which include gang rapes, killings and the destruction of their homes, often go uninvestigated by the police because of discriminatory attitudes which do not take crimes against Dalits seriously.

Amnesty International has also documented widespread discrimination faced by millions of Roma in Europe, including the threat of forced evictions, police harassment and the segregation of Roma children in school.

Discrimination against non-nationals, sometimes known as xenophobia

but discrimination against non-nationals is frequently based on racism or notions of superiority, and is often fuelled by politicians looking for scapegoats for social or economic problems in a country.

Since 2008, South Africa has experienced several outbreaks of violence against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from other African countries, including killings, and looting or burning of shops and businesses. In some instances, the violence has been inflamed by the hate-filled rhetoric of politicians who have wrongly labelled foreign nationals "criminals" and accused them of burdening the health system.

Discrimination has also been a feature of the response of authorities to refugees and asylum seekers in other parts of the world. Many people in countries receiving refugees and asylum seekers view the situation as a crisis with leaders and politicians exploiting these fears by promising, and in some cases enacting, abusive and unlawful policies.

For example, Hungary passed a package of punitive laws in 2018, which target groups that the government has identified as supporting refugees and migrants. The authorities have also subjected refugees and asylum seekers to violent push-backs and ill-treatment and imposed arbitrary detention on those attempting to enter Hungarian territory.

We at Amnesty International disagree that it is a crisis of numbers. This is a crisis of solidarity. The causes that drive families and individuals to cross borders, and the short-sighted and unrealistic ways that politicians respond to them, are the problem.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people

Everywhere in the world, people face discrimination because of who they love, who they are attracted to and who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people risk being unfairly treated in all areas of their lives, whether it's in education, employment, housing or access to health care, and they may face harassment and violence.

Some countries punish people for their sexual orientation or their gender identity with jail or even death. For example, in October 2019, Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister announced that the government was planning to introduce the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts.

In 2019, Amnesty International documented how gay and trans soldiers in South Korea face violence, harassment and pervasive discrimination due to the criminalization of consensual sex between men in the military; and examined the barriers to accessing gender-affirming treatments for transgender individuals in China. We also campaigned to allow Pride events to take place in countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Ukraine.

It is extremely difficult, and in most cases, impossible for LGBTI people to live their lives freely and seek justice for abuses when the laws are not on their side. Even when they are, there is strong stigma and stereotyping of LGBTI identities that prevents them from living their lives as equal members of society or accessing rights and freedoms that are available to others. That's why LGBTI activists campaign relentlessly for their rights: whether it's to be free from discrimination to love who they want, have their gender legally recognized or to just be protected from the risk of assault and harassment.

See here for more information about Amnesty International's work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to defend LGBTI rights

Gender discrimination

In many countries, in all regions of the world, laws, policies, customs and beliefs exist that deny women and girls their rights.

By law, women cannot dress as they like (Saudi Arabia, Iran) or work at night (Madagascar) or take out a loan without their husband's signature (Equatorial Guinea). In many countries, discriminatory laws place limits on a woman's right to divorce, own property, exercise control over her own body and enjoy protection from harassment.

In the ongoing battle for justice, hundreds of thousands of women and girls take to the streets to claim their human rights and demand gender equality. In the USA, Europe and Japan, women protested against misogyny and abuse as part of the #MeToo marches. In Argentina, Ireland and Poland, women demonstrated to demand a stop to oppressive abortion laws. In Saudi Arabia, they called for an end to the driving ban, and in Iran, they demanded an end to forced hijab (veiling).

All over the world, women and girls have been at the forefront of demands for change.

Yet despite the stratospheric rise of women's activism, the stark reality remains that many governments around the world openly support policies, laws and customs that subjugate and suppress women.

Globally, 40% of women of childbearing age live in countries where abortion remains highly restricted or inaccessible in practice even when allowed by law, and some 225 million do not have access to modern contraception.

Research by Amnesty International confirmed that while social media platforms allow people to express themselves by debating, networking and sharing , companies and governments have failed to protect users from online abuse, prompting many women in particular to self-censor or leave platforms altogether.

However, social media has given more prominence in some parts of the world to women's calls for equality in the workplace, an issue highlighted in the calls to narrow the gender pay gap, currently standing at 23% globally. Women worldwide are not only paid less, on average, than men, but are more likely to do unpaid work and to work in informal, insecure and unskilled jobs. Much of this is due to social norms that consider women and their work to be of lower status.

Gender-based violence disproportionately affects women, yet it remains a human rights crisis that politicians continue to ignore.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to protect women's rights

Discrimination based on caste

Discrimination based on work and descent (also referred as caste discrimination) is widespread across Asia and Africa, affecting over 260 million people, including those in the diaspora. Owing to their birth identity, people from these communities are socially excluded, economically deprived and subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Discrimination based on work and descent is deeply rooted in society, it manifests itself in everyday lives, in individual perceptions to culture and customs, in social and economic structures, in education and employment, and in access to services, opportunities, resources and the market. Discrimination is perpetuated from generation to generation, and is in some cases deeply internalized, despite the existence in some countries of laws and affirmative action to tackle it. Amnesty International is committed to work in tandem with partners in advocating for the rights of communities affected on the basis of work and descent.

Discrimination based on disability

As many as 1 in 10 people around the world lives with a disability. Yet in many societies, people with disabilities must grapple with stigma, being ostracized and treated as objects of pity or fear.

Developing countries are home to about 80% of people with disabilities. The overwhelming majority of people with disabilities - 82%- live below the poverty line. Women with disabilities are two to three times more likely to encounter physical and sexual abuse than women without disabilities.

In Kazakhstan, current laws mean that thousands of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities have been declared "incapable" by law and put in the care of a guardian. Under this system they cannot exercise their rights and are not able to challenge the decision in court.

Amnesty International has also documented serious human rights abuses suffered by people with disabilities in Somalia, where they are at risk of forced marriage, rape and forced evictions.

We are told that we are not allowed to talk- but we still do. I still talk Gulzar Duishenova

THE SOLUTION: WHAT IS AMNESTY CALLING FOR?
Governments to:

Get rid of discriminatory laws and release anyone who is in prison because of them.

Protect everyone - whoever they are - from discrimination and violence.

Introduce laws and policies that promote inclusion and diversity in all aspects of society.

Take action to tackle the root causes of discrimination, including by challenging stereotypes and attitudes that underpin discrimination.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is discrimination? It strikes at the very heart of what it means to be human.

# data[].attributes.headline
Case study: Fighting to improve accessibility in Kyrgyzstan

# data[].attributes.subject
Case study: Fighting to improve accessibility in Kyrgyzstan

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Overview

Discrimination strikes at the very heart of being human. It is harming someone's rights simply because of who they are or what they believe. Discrimination is harmful and perpetuates inequality.

We all have the right to be treated equally, regardless of our race, ethnicity, nationality, class, caste, religion, belief, sex, gender, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex characteristics, age, health or other status. Yet all too often we hear heartbreaking stories of people who suffer cruelty simply for belonging to a "different" group from those in positions of privilege or power.

Discrimination occurs when a person is unable to enjoy his or her human rights or other legal rights on an equal basis with others because of an unjustified distinction made in policy, law or treatment. Amnesty International's work is rooted in the principle of non-discrimination. Working with communities across the world, we challenge discriminatory laws and practices to ensure all people can enjoy their rights on an equal basis.

Previous Next

WHAT DRIVES DISCRIMINATION?

At the heart of all forms of discrimination is prejudice based on concepts of identity, and the need to identify with a certain group. This can lead to division, hatred and even the dehumanization of other people because they have a different identity.

In many parts of the world, the politics of blame and fear is on the rise. Intolerance, hatred and discrimination is causing an ever-widening rift in societies. The politics of fear is driving people apart as leaders peddle toxic rhetoric, blaming certain groups of people for social or economic problems.

Some governments try to reinforce their power and the status quo by openly justifying discrimination in the name of morality, religion or ideology. Discrimination can be cemented in national law, even when it breaks international law - for example, the criminalization of abortion which denies women, girls and pregnant people the health services only they need. Certain groups can even be viewed by the authorities as more likely to be criminal simply for who they are, such as being poor, indigenous or black.

SOME KEY FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION

Racial and ethnic discrimination

Racism affects virtually every country in the world. It systematically denies people their full human rights just because of their colour, race, ethnicity, descent (including caste) or national origin. Racism unchecked can fuel large-scale atrocities such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and more recently, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.

In India, members of the Dalit community are targeted, by members of dominant castes, for a range of human rights abuses. These crimes, which include gang rapes, killings and the destruction of their homes, often go uninvestigated by the police because of discriminatory attitudes which do not take crimes against Dalits seriously.

Amnesty International has also documented widespread discrimination faced by millions of Roma in Europe, including the threat of forced evictions, police harassment and the segregation of Roma children in school.

Discrimination against non-nationals, sometimes known as xenophobia

but discrimination against non-nationals is frequently based on racism or notions of superiority, and is often fuelled by politicians looking for scapegoats for social or economic problems in a country.

Since 2008, South Africa has experienced several outbreaks of violence against refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from other African countries, including killings, and looting or burning of shops and businesses. In some instances, the violence has been inflamed by the hate-filled rhetoric of politicians who have wrongly labelled foreign nationals "criminals" and accused them of burdening the health system.

Discrimination has also been a feature of the response of authorities to refugees and asylum seekers in other parts of the world. Many people in countries receiving refugees and asylum seekers view the situation as a crisis with leaders and politicians exploiting these fears by promising, and in some cases enacting, abusive and unlawful policies.

For example, Hungary passed a package of punitive laws in 2018, which target groups that the government has identified as supporting refugees and migrants. The authorities have also subjected refugees and asylum seekers to violent push-backs and ill-treatment and imposed arbitrary detention on those attempting to enter Hungarian territory.

We at Amnesty International disagree that it is a crisis of numbers. This is a crisis of solidarity. The causes that drive families and individuals to cross borders, and the short-sighted and unrealistic ways that politicians respond to them, are the problem.

Discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people

Everywhere in the world, people face discrimination because of who they love, who they are attracted to and who they are. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people risk being unfairly treated in all areas of their lives, whether it's in education, employment, housing or access to health care, and they may face harassment and violence.

Some countries punish people for their sexual orientation or their gender identity with jail or even death. For example, in October 2019, Uganda's Ethics and Integrity Minister announced that the government was planning to introduce the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts.

In 2019, Amnesty International documented how gay and trans soldiers in South Korea face violence, harassment and pervasive discrimination due to the criminalization of consensual sex between men in the military; and examined the barriers to accessing gender-affirming treatments for transgender individuals in China. We also campaigned to allow Pride events to take place in countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Ukraine.

It is extremely difficult, and in most cases, impossible for LGBTI people to live their lives freely and seek justice for abuses when the laws are not on their side. Even when they are, there is strong stigma and stereotyping of LGBTI identities that prevents them from living their lives as equal members of society or accessing rights and freedoms that are available to others. That's why LGBTI activists campaign relentlessly for their rights: whether it's to be free from discrimination to love who they want, have their gender legally recognized or to just be protected from the risk of assault and harassment.

See here for more information about Amnesty International's work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to defend LGBTI rights

Gender discrimination

In many countries, in all regions of the world, laws, policies, customs and beliefs exist that deny women and girls their rights.

By law, women cannot dress as they like (Saudi Arabia, Iran) or work at night (Madagascar) or take out a loan without their husband's signature (Equatorial Guinea). In many countries, discriminatory laws place limits on a woman's right to divorce, own property, exercise control over her own body and enjoy protection from harassment.

In the ongoing battle for justice, hundreds of thousands of women and girls take to the streets to claim their human rights and demand gender equality. In the USA, Europe and Japan, women protested against misogyny and abuse as part of the #MeToo marches. In Argentina, Ireland and Poland, women demonstrated to demand a stop to oppressive abortion laws. In Saudi Arabia, they called for an end to the driving ban, and in Iran, they demanded an end to forced hijab (veiling).

All over the world, women and girls have been at the forefront of demands for change.

Yet despite the stratospheric rise of women's activism, the stark reality remains that many governments around the world openly support policies, laws and customs that subjugate and suppress women.

Globally, 40% of women of childbearing age live in countries where abortion remains highly restricted or inaccessible in practice even when allowed by law, and some 225 million do not have access to modern contraception.

Research by Amnesty International confirmed that while social media platforms allow people to express themselves by debating, networking and sharing , companies and governments have failed to protect users from online abuse, prompting many women in particular to self-censor or leave platforms altogether.

However, social media has given more prominence in some parts of the world to women's calls for equality in the workplace, an issue highlighted in the calls to narrow the gender pay gap, currently standing at 23% globally. Women worldwide are not only paid less, on average, than men, but are more likely to do unpaid work and to work in informal, insecure and unskilled jobs. Much of this is due to social norms that consider women and their work to be of lower status.

Gender-based violence disproportionately affects women, yet it remains a human rights crisis that politicians continue to ignore.

Learn more about what Amnesty is doing to protect women's rights

Discrimination based on caste

Discrimination based on work and descent (also referred as caste discrimination) is widespread across Asia and Africa, affecting over 260 million people, including those in the diaspora. Owing to their birth identity, people from these communities are socially excluded, economically deprived and subjected to physical and psychological abuse. Discrimination based on work and descent is deeply rooted in society, it manifests itself in everyday lives, in individual perceptions to culture and customs, in social and economic structures, in education and employment, and in access to services, opportunities, resources and the market. Discrimination is perpetuated from generation to generation, and is in some cases deeply internalized, despite the existence in some countries of laws and affirmative action to tackle it. Amnesty International is committed to work in tandem with partners in advocating for the rights of communities affected on the basis of work and descent.

Discrimination based on disability

As many as 1 in 10 people around the world lives with a disability. Yet in many societies, people with disabilities must grapple with stigma, being ostracized and treated as objects of pity or fear.

Developing countries are home to about 80% of people with disabilities. The overwhelming majority of people with disabilities - 82%- live below the poverty line. Women with disabilities are two to three times more likely to encounter physical and sexual abuse than women without disabilities.

In Kazakhstan, current laws mean that thousands of people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities have been declared "incapable" by law and put in the care of a guardian. Under this system they cannot exercise their rights and are not able to challenge the decision in court.

Amnesty International has also documented serious human rights abuses suffered by people with disabilities in Somalia, where they are at risk of forced marriage, rape and forced evictions.

We are told that we are not allowed to talk- but we still do. I still talk Gulzar Duishenova

THE SOLUTION: WHAT IS AMNESTY CALLING FOR?
Governments to:

Get rid of discriminatory laws and release anyone who is in prison because of them.

Protect everyone - whoever they are - from discrimination and violence.

Introduce laws and policies that promote inclusion and diversity in all aspects of society.

Take action to tackle the root causes of discrimination, including by challenging stereotypes and attitudes that underpin discrimination.

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What would you do? Muslim discrimination

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What is sexual orientation discrimination? |  Equality law: discrimination explained

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MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS - SAME LOVE feat. MARY LAMBERT (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

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What would you do? Invisible disability discrimination

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Waitress insults veteran living with brain injury | WWYD

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What would you do? Lesbian discrimination

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What Would You Do: Bakery employee denies a wedding cake for a lesbian couple

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What would you do? Homosexual discrimination

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Pastor Prays The Gay Out Of Teen  | What Would You Do? | WWYD

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Bouncer Denies Entry To Overweight Woman | What Would You Do? | WWYD

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Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - White Privilege II

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MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS FEAT. JAMILA WOODS - WHITE PRIVILEGE II