MINELRES: Roma Rights 2, 2009: Multiple Discrimination

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Original sender: European Roma Rights Centre <errc@errc.org>


ROMA RIGHTS 2, 2009: MULTIPLE DISCRIMINATION

Many international instruments and domestic laws forbid discrimination
on a range of grounds. However, people and human societies are diverse,
complex and multi-layered. Thus, any person in most cases bears more
than one identity, such as being Roma, a woman, a mother, disabled and
so on. There are cases in which a person becomes the victim of a
discriminatory practice due to the combination of these different
identities. For example a Romani woman can be denied a job because she
is a �woman� and she is �Romani�.
 
This issue of Roma Rights addresses the issue of multiple
discrimination, which occurs when a person is subjected to
discrimination on more than one ground. It explores the theoretical and
legal framework of the concept and showcases individual experiences of
multiple discrimination.
 
As noted in Rob Kushen�s editorial, �While the intellectual and
practical basis for recognising multiple discrimination is clear, the
legal basis is not so clear.� Gay Moon, one of the most prominent
researchers in the field, and Barbara Bello, discuss the theoretical
framework of multiple discrimination and its origins in the academic
sphere, underlining that academic work on this issue is very advanced
compared to legal practice. Moon suggests that to tackle discrimination
and inequality in the 21st century, �the law must find a workable
solution to facilitate justice for the whole person.� Alexandra Oprea
responds to critiques about the dominance of Romani women�s issues in
Romani gender discourse.
 
Other contributors use examples from various fields to illustrate the
complexities of multiple discrimination. Roman Kuhar presents Slovenian
research on multiple discrimination experienced by various groups,
including Roma; Sara Gimenez Gimenez and Fernando Rey Martinez analyse a
European Court of Human Rights judgment about the discriminatory denial
of pension rights to a Spanish Romani woman due to traditional marriage
practices; Angel Getsov discusses the experiences of aged Bulgarian Roma
vis-a-vis social security, establishing that �older Roma [�] make up one
of the most vulnerable sections of the Romani community [�].�
 
This issue also features an interview with Thomas Hammarberg, Council of
Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, on tackling multiple
discrimination. ERRC Research Coordinator Djordje Jovanovic provides one
of the highlights of this journal, vividly illustrating the challenges
he personally experienced as a gay Romani man, from his own community
and from non-Roma. As Djordje�s narrative demonstrates, the fight
against multiple discrimination is not always (and not usually) a legal
struggle but a personal one.
 
   
EDITORIAL 

The Challenge of Multiple Discrimination 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=0&article_id=3564

NOTEBOOK

Multiple Discrimination: Justice for the Whole Person 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=1&article_id=3564

Multiple Discrimination Between the EU Agenda and Civic Engagement: the
Long Road of Intersectional Perspective 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=2&article_id=3564

Intersectionality Backlash: A Romani Feminist�s Response 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=3&article_id=3564

(Intersectional) Discrimination as a Practice of Inequality 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=4&article_id=3564

Discrimination Against a Romani Woman Before the European Court of Human
Rights 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=5&article_id=3564

It�s Hard Being an Old Roma in Bulgaria 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=6&article_id=3564
 
TESTIMONY 
The Difference That Makes a Difference: We Need More Guts! 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=7&article_id=3564 

INTERVIEW 
ERRC Interviews Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for
Human Rights 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=8&article_id=3564 

ADVOCACY
Celebrities and Roma Rights, or, the Perils of Being Adopted by Madonna 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=9&article_id=3564

LEGAL DEFENSE
Coercive Sterilisation � an Example of Multiple Discrimination 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=10&article_id=3564

MEET THE ERRC
Towards Substantive Equality 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=11&article_id=3564

ROMANI LANGUAGE
Konvencija vash e manushengere hakaja/chachipena/ saven so isi varesavo
limitirbe ko shajipena/zor/kabilipe/disabiiteto/ 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=12&article_id=3564 

CHRONICLES
Chronicles 
http://www.errc.org/en-research-and-advocacy-roma-details.php?
page=13&article_id=3564


2010-05-11
� ERRC 2010. All rights reserved 
 
 
 
 

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The European Roma Rights Centre is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the human rights situation of Roma and
provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse. For more
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web at: http://www.errc.org
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European Roma Rights Centre
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Naphegy ter 8
Hungary
Tel:+36.1.413.2200
Fax:
+36.1.413.2201

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