Sweden - 2012
Sport: Effective participation of minorities in sport
- Code:
- RED123
- Key Area:
- Public Life, Culture, Sport & Media
- Strand(s):
- Discrimination, Equality
| Short Answer |
Minorities in Sweden do not face legal problems participating in sports. But they encounter practical obstacles in participating in sports. |
| Qualitative Info |
The Office for the Ombudsman against discrimination (DO) works with Roma rights. When asked about the situation for Roma in sports, the Roma expert explained that the question of the Roma people’s participation in different sporting events should be viewed with their disadvantaged position in the Swedish society. It is obviously a result of the long lasting and pervasive discrimination that the Roma have lived with and the difficulty to break out of these long established structures and mindsets that the Roma people come in contact with in majority societies, which also exists in the context of participation in different sporting activities.
The representative from DO further explained that the Roma people are generally not included in different Swedish associations, where many of the sports activities take place. As a result of that, very few Roma participate in the sport activities that the majority society has to offer. The question of Roma participation in the sports world is still an everlasting challenge for the Swedish associations. Source: Email correspondence with Heidi Pikkarainen, Roma expert at the Office of Ombudsman against discrimination (2009-03-10). |
| Groups affected/interested | Roma & Travelers, Ethnic minorities, Africans/black people, National minorities |
| Type (R/D) | |
| Key socio-economic / Institutional Areas | Sport, Anti-discrimination, Integration - social cohesion, Daily life |
| External Url | www.do.se |
| Situation(s) |
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| Library |
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