Sweden - 2012
Is racial discrimination defined in national law?
- Code:
- RED1
- Key Area:
- Anti-discrimination Legislation & Implementation
- Strand(s):
- Racism, Discrimination
| Short Answer |
Yes. The Race Directive has been transposed into national law through the Discrimination Act (2008:567), but the concept of race is not used in Government official documents. Instead, the term 'ethnic discrimination' is used. |
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| Qualitative Info |
The Swedish Government Official Report about unlawful discrimination" (SOU 2001:39), suggeted that the concept of race should instead be subsituted with the concept of ethnic origin or skin colour. In the Discrimination Act (2008:567), the term 'ethnicity' rather than 'race' is used. Ethnicity is an umbrella term that includes: "national or ethnic origin, skin colour or other similar circumstance." The definition of discrimination is found in section 4 of the Discrimination Act as follows:
1. Direct discrimination: Less favourable treatment of a disadvantaged person than the treatment afforded to another person in a comparable situation, where such disadvantageous treatment is associated, inter alia, with ethnicity, religion or other belief.
2. Indirect discrimination: Less favourable treatment of a disadvantaged by the application of a provision, a criterion or a procedure that appears neutral but that may put people of, inter alia, a certain ethnicity, a certain religion or other belief at a particular disadvantage, unless the provision, criterion or procedure has a legitimate purpose and the means that are used are appropriate and necessary to achieve that purpose.
3. Harassment: conduct that violates a person’s dignity and that is associated with one of the grounds of discrimination including ethnicity, religion or other belief.
4. Sexual harassment: conduct of a sexual nature that violates someone’s dignity.
5. Instructions to discriminate: orders or instructions to discriminate against someone in a manner referred to in points 1–4 that are given to someone who is in a subordinate or dependent position to the person who gives the orders or instructions or someone
who has committed herself or himself to performing an assignment for that person.
Source: The Discrimination Act (2008:567), http://www.do.se/Documents/pdf/new_discrimination_law.pdf The Swedish Government Official Report about unlawful discrimination, (SOU 2001:39) http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c4/05/99/dca41dd6.pdf The Equality Ombudsman: http://www.do.se
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| Groups affected/interested | Refugees, Ethnic minorities, Asylum seekers | ||
| Type (R/D) | Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Afrophobia, Inter-ethnic | ||
| Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas | Anti-discrimination | ||
| External Url | www.do.se | ||
| Situation(s) |
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| Library |
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| Short Answer |
Yes, except that the concept of ethnicity is used instead of race. |
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| Qualitative Info |
The concept of ethnicity in the Discrimination Act (2008:567) is defined as “national or ethnic origin, skin colour or similar circumstance” (Ch. 1 Sec. 5 p. 3). The definitions of racial, ethnic origin or religion are in conformity with the Race Directive except that the concept of ethnicity is used instead of race. Source: Discrimination Act (2008:567) , http://www.do.se/Documents/pdf/new_discrimination_law.pdf (accessed 03.03.2012). |
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| Groups affected/interested | Migrants, Refugees, Roma & Travelers, Ethnic minorities, Asylum seekers, Africans/black people | |
| Type (R/D) | Anti-migrant/xenophobia, Afrophobia | |
| Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas | Anti-discrimination | |
| External Url | http://www.do.se/Documents/pdf/new_discrimination_law.pdf | |
| Situation(s) |
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| Library |
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