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73
Cases of discrimination
4. Area of Equal treatment and
non-discrimination.
Ten years of work
Since 2003, the Fundación Secretariado Gitano’s Area
of Equal Treatment and non-discrimination has worked
to defend the equality of the Roma community as one
of the fundamental pillars of social inclusion. Our activi-
ty is based on the provisions of Directive 2000/43/EC
of 29 June 2000 on the implementation of the principle
of equal treatment between persons irrespective of ra-
cial or ethnic origin.
Specifically, we have addressed the fight on discrimina-
tion from different angles, especially lending assistance
and guidance to Roma suffering discrimination because
of their ethnic origin in all fields, employment, educa-
tion, housing, public and private services, the media and
Internet, etc.
We can boast many accomplishments over these ten
years of work: development of an identification and in-
tervention methodology for cases of racial or ethnic
discrimination, strategic defence of victims with posi-
tive results in some cases, making the everyday reality
of the rejection faced by the Roma community more
visible through our annual publication, the development
of training initiatives targeting key professionals, partic-
ipation in national and European networks implementing
actions that have political and social impact on enhanc-
ing the defence of equality, etc.
However, there is still much to be done bearing in mind
the discrimination and hate crimes that this minority is
subject to in Spain and the rest of Europe, the scant
number of complaints filed for acts of hatred and dis-
crimination, the persistent negative image of the Roma
Community sparking acute social rejection, the lack of
effective victim protection mechanisms and the almost
complete lack of legal enforcement by the courts. All of
this sheds light on the work lying ahead for all of those
involved in defending fundamental rights and equality in
which our government plays a crucial role.
The 1073 cases of discrimination collected by our De-
partment over the last ten years are just a small sample
of the reality of discrimination and the work done by
the FSG. Following is a breakdown of these cases:
A decade. Data from 2003-2013 broken down by area
From 2003 to 2013, the Equality Department of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano has registered a total of 1073 cases
of discrimination. Following are the main areas:
MAIN AREAS
Education
76
Access to goods and services
117
Citizen security
70
Health-care
16
Housing
123
Employment
180
Other (dignity and public spaces)
106
Media and the Internet
385