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The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights publishes a new survey about discrimination within the EU [editar]

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The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) presented last 6^th December in Brussels the “Second EU Minorities and Discrimination Survey (EU-MIDIS II): Main results”. This is the second survey about minorities and migrants published by FRA. This survey analysed the experiences of discrimination and harassment suffered by respondents. It also contains information about police´s racial profiling cases. Finally, this new report also provides with indicators related to social inclusion, as the sense of belonging, confidence in public institutions, or any receptive attitude towards other groups.

Among the main conclusions that can be found, it must be mentioned the following:

• 38% of respondents suffered discrimination during the last five years. The most affected by discrimination where citizens from North Africa (45%), Roma (41%), and Sub-Saharan citizens (39%). The main scenario where discrimination took place was the scope of employment (29%).
• 31% of second-generation immigrants that were interviewed experienced harassment motivated by hatred in the last year. 50% of those victims suffered harassment at least six times along that year.
• Around 61% of people belonging to different minorities were able to graduate in secondary education, in comparison with 74% of the total population. This fact reduces the opportunities to find a job.

With regard to discrimination experienced by Roma, the following results have been published:

• There is barely progress in comparison with the situation analysed 10 years ago, when the first FRA´s survey was published.
• Proportion of those suffering discrimination, physical violence and harassment motivated by hate is reaching worrying rates; as well as the levels of those that do not know the legislation and the possibilities of legal redress.
• In general terms, Roma respondents and Sub-Saharan or North- African descents experience high rates of discrimination, harassment and violence motivated by hate.

Discrimination

The incidence of discrimination in the five years in four scopes of life (employment, housing, education) is around 27% for Roma population, being of 25% for the total population of the EU28 (EU Midis II average: 25%; Roma population average: 27%)

For Roma respondents, in those countries in which they were interviewed, highest discrimination rates are in Portugal (61%), Greece (44%), and Croatia (42%), decreasing this rate until 19% in the case of Romania. In Spain, the rate of antigypsism discrimination is of 35%, over the 27% of the EU average. Roma citizens surveyed by FRA also feel discriminated because of their skin colour.  As an example, in Czech Republic and Slovakia, racial discrimination is the most cited ground of discrimination during the five years previous to the survey (39%). In Croatia, 23% of Roma surveyed felt discriminated because of their colour skin during that period of time.

Harassment cases motivated by hate and violence among Roma in the last 12 months before the date of the survey were around 30%, in comparison with the EU Media Midis II average (24%). In the last 5 years before the survey the Roma average was around 36%, meanwhile the EU Media Midis II was around 31%.

With regard to the awareness of a family member or a friend who has been insulted or called names because of their ethnic or immigrant background, 29% of Roma lived a similar experience in the 12 months before the survey –taking into consideration that the EU Media Midis II average is around 25%-.  

Reporting discrimination

Among all the groups surveyed in the EU-MIDIS II survey, only one out of eight respondents (12%) reported or made a complaint about the most recent incident of discrimination based on ethnic or immigrant background. This means that the reporting rate has not substantially changed since the first EU-MIDIS survey in 2008, when the overall reporting rate was 18 %.

Regarding the satisfaction with the way that police handled most recent incident of violence due to ethnic or immigrant background after reporting incident, the survey shows that 51% of Roma population were clearly dissatisfied, faced to 63% of the total population. In the last 5 years before the survey, 27% of Roma citizens reported to the police cases of violence motivated by hatred.

Police and ethnic profile

19 % of Roma respondents assured they have been stopped by the police in the five years before the survey. Among 8% of respondents assure having being stopped in the five years before the survey and believed they were stopped because of their immigrant or ethnic minority background, increasing this rate in Spain until 21%. Roma respondents from Portugal, Greece, Czech Republic and Romania informed of high rates of police´s racial profiling cases. Among the police stops perceived as police´s racial profiling stops, 42% targeted to Roma population.

From these results of this survey, it may be deduced that the Roma community continues being the one that suffer more situations of discrimination and harassment in Europe. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) calls on Member States and Equality organisations to increase the efforts in the prosecution of these cases, and to support the communities discriminated. It is crucial to combat the discrimination and antigypsism in the most effective way.

The entire report can also be read in the following link:  https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2017-eu-midis-ii-main-results_en.pdf

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