RED Network

Yes, except that the concept of ethnicity is used instead of race.

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).

External Url http://www.do.se/Documents/pdf/new_discrimination_law.pdf

Yes, in the Discrimination Act (2008:567) 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.

Qualitative Info

In the Discrimination Act (2008:567) the grounds of discrimination covered are: national or ethnic origin, skin colour or other similar circumstance.    Below are the definitions of discrimination found in Section 4 of the Discrimination Act (2008:567) that corresponds to Art. 2 of the Race Directive.

External Url http://www.sweden.gov.se/content/1/c6/11/81/87/f6e1a2b8.pdf

Yes.

Qualitative Info

Directive 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC are now implemented mainly by the new Discrimination Act. To a large extent, Swedish law is in conformity with the Directives and, especially as regards disability, religion and other belief as well as sexual orientation, domestic law goes beyond the requirements of the Directives.

The government is of the opinion that protection against discrimination, in principle, should be as harmonised as possible regardless of the protected group. This harmonisation means that Sweden in several ways goes beyond the requirements of the directives. 

The Discrimination Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 2008:567), covers:

External Url http://www.do.se/Documents/pdf/new_discrimination_law.pdf

Yes, The Swedish Democrats (Sverigedemokrater, SD). The party polled 5.7% and won 20 parliamentary seats in the  2010 general election

Qualitative Info

In the 2010 general election, the Sweden Democrats for the first time crossed the four percent threshold necessary for parliamentary representation. This increase in popularity has been compared by international media to other similar anti-immigrant movements in Europe.The party polled 5.7% and won 20 parliamentary seats. However, former Swedish Democratic MP William Petzäll left the party on 26 September 2011 while still retaining his parliamentary seat, leaving the party with 19 seats in the parliament. 

The Sweden Democrats believe that the current Swedish immigration and integration policies have been a failure. SD feels that the current situation with a large number of immigrants living in cultural enclaves is not beneficial for the country.  As the party considers Sweden to have had too much immigration in later years, which it claims have seriously threatened national identity and societal cohesion, SD wants to reinstate a common Swedish national identity which in turn would mean a stronger inner solidarity. SD rejects the policy of multiculturalism, but accepts a multiethnic society where cultural assimilation is promoted. SD wishes to strongly restrict immigration, and give generous support for immigrants who instead of wanting to assimilate in Sweden voluntarily prefer to emigrate back to their country of origin. 

Jimmie Åkesson, the party leader of the Sweden Democrats, claimed in an article published in the Swedish News paper, Aftonbladet, 19 October 2009, that Islam is the biggest threat to Sweden since World War II.6 The anti-racist organization Centre against Racism (Centrum Mot Rasism), reported the case to the Chancellor of Justice (JK), stating that the statements by Jimmie Åkesson, head of the far-right Sweden Democrats were tantamount to agitation against Muslims. The Center against Racism also reported Aftonbladet to the JK for publishing and spreading the article. In the article, Åkesson states that”more than ten Muslim terrorist organizations have established themselves in Sweden”. Further, he goes on saying that Sweden has the most rapes in Europe, and that Muslim men are highly overrepresented among the perpetrators. The case was refused by the Chancellor of Justice who didn’t consider Åkesson’s article as violating Swedish rules governing the freedom of expression.

Source:

Aftonbladet, ”Muslimerna är vårt största utländska hot” (2009-10-19), 

(http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/politik/article12049791.ab) (accessed 2012-03-10).

The Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society (Jens Rydgren).  2010-10-21, http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/europe/index.aspx?pgid=pg_127842651505941456 (accessed 2012-03-10). 

External Url https://sverigedemokraterna.se/

Sweden Democrats (Swedish: Sverigedemokraterna, SD).

Qualitative Info

The Sweden Democrats (Swedish: Sverigedemokraterna, SD) is a political party in Sweden, founded in 1988.  Since 2005, its party chairman is Jimmie Åkesson, while Björn Söder is the party secretary and parliamentary group leader. The Sweden Democrats was formed as a direct successor of the Sweden Party, which in turn was the outcome of a merger in 1986 of the Swedish Progress Party and the BBS (Keep Sweden Swedish).The Sweden Democrats has its roots in Swedish fascism, and there were, particularly at the end of the 1980s and for the first half of the 1990s, distinct overlaps between them and openly anti-democratic, Nazi and fascist groupings. During the latter half of the 1990s, however, the party worked hard to erect a more respectable façade. In 1999 the Sweden Democrats openly renounced Nazism. Furthermore, some of the more provocative paragraphs in the party program were also toned down or eventually deleted (in particular those dealing with capital punishment, the banning of abortion and non-European adoption, to which the party was strongly opposed). 

In the 2010 general election, the Sweden Democrats for the first time crossed the four percent threshold necessary for parliamentary representation. This increase in popularity has been compared by international media to other similar anti-immigrant movements in Europe.The party polled 5.7% and won 20 parliamentary seats. However, former Swedish Democratic MP William Petzäll left the party on 26 September 2011 while still retaining his parliamentary seat, leaving the party with 19 seats in the parliament. 

The Sweden Democrats believe that the current Swedish immigration and integration policies have been a failure. SD feels that the current situation with a large number of immigrants living in cultural enclaves is not beneficial for the country.  As the party considers Sweden to have had too much immigration in later years, which it claims have seriously threatened national identity and societal cohesion, SD wants to reinstate a common Swedish national identity which in turn would mean a stronger inner solidarity. SD rejects the policy of multiculturalism, but accepts a multiethnic society where cultural assimilation is promoted. SD wishes to strongly restrict immigration, and give generous support for immigrants who instead of wanting to assimilate in Sweden voluntarily prefer to emigrate back to their country of origin. 

A SD politician in southern Sweden wrote racist Afrophobic statements on Facebook that the word “Nigger” is not a racist term.“No, for me a "Neger" (Nigger) is a "Neger" (Nigger). There is nothing negative with that at all,” Annika Rydh of Älmhult, Småland, told local paper Smålandsposten in November 2011. The debate kicked off after Rydh answered the query “Is it racist to say "Neger" (Nigger)?” in a Facebook post. Annika Rydh is one of two Sweden Democrats on the municipal council in Älmhult. She told the  Smålandsposten that  “We do have freedom of speech in this country, after all." In recent years there have been many reports to the Swedish Equality Ombudsman pertaining to the word and several companies and government agencies have been made to pay damages to people who felt discriminated against when that particular word has been used (The Local, Sweden democrat: "A Negro is a Negro", http://www.thelocal.se/37620/20111128/). 

Another SD county politician, Leif Vogel was forced to resign from his position at the local council after sending racist emails to the daily newspapers Svenska Dagbladet and Dagens Nyheter on the 22 and 23 January 2011. Svenska Dagbladet published a series of articles  describing the conditions of several rental properties in the Stockholm suburbs of Rinkeby and Tensta both of which have a high concentration of immigrant residents. The articles referred to  mold and other problems, which had been ignored by landlords. After reading the articles, the politician sent emails to the newspaper Svenska Dagbladet that:  "They not only bring their dyslexia with them, but also a total lack of culture and knowledge, as well as bedbugs, lice, and cockroaches and like in the picture, their detrimental effect on our homes". In February 2011, SD announced, that the politician was leaving the party and his position at the local council in Knivsta (The Local , http://www.thelocal.se/31782/20110202/ ). 

Jimmie Åkesson, the party leader of the Sweden Democrats, claimed in an article published in the Swedish News paper, Aftonbladet, 19 October 2009, that Islam is the biggest threat to Sweden since World War II.6 The anti-racist organization Centre against Racism (Centrum Mot Rasism), reported the case to the Chancellor of Justice (JK), stating that the statements by Jimmie Åkesson, head of the far-right Sweden Democrats were tantamount to agitation against Muslims. The Center against Racism also reported Aftonbladet to the JK for publishing and spreading the article. In the article, Åkesson states that”more than ten Muslim terrorist organizations have established themselves in Sweden”. Further, he goes on saying that Sweden has the most rapes in Europe, and that Muslim men are highly overrepresented among the perpetrators. The case was refused by the Chancellor of Justice who didn’t consider Åkesson’s article as violating Swedish rules governing the freedom of expression (http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/politik/article12049791.ab). 

source: Svenska Dagbladet. 2008-05-02. http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/sd-till-attack-mot-renagande-samer_1204465.svd, (accessed, 2010-11-08).

The Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society (Jens Rydgren).  2010-10-21, http://hsf.bgu.ac.il/europe/index.aspx?pgid=pg_127842651505941456

The Local , http://www.thelocal.se/31782/20110202/ (2011.02.02)

The Local, Sweden democrat: "A Negro is a Negro", http://www.thelocal.se/37620/20111128/ (2011.03.02)

News Mill, http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2009/10/19/mariam-om-ab (2011.03.02). 

Aftonbladet, ”Muslimerna är vårt största utländska hot” (2009-10-19), (http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/politik/article12049791.ab) (accessed 2012-03-10).

External Url https://sverigedemokraterna.se/

No.

Qualitative Info

Hate speech/racist -xenophobic discourse is not a wider phenomenon in the political sphere in Sweden. The representatives from the mainstream parties do not express these views. The only political party in Parliament that clearly expresses these views is the  far-right nationalist  party Sweden Democrats. 

Jimmie Åkesson, the party leader of the Sweden Democrats, claimed in an article published in the Swedish News paper, Aftonbladet, 19 October 2009, that Islam is the biggest threat to Sweden since World War II. The anti-racist organization Centre against Racism (Centrum Mot Rasism), reported the case to the Chancellor of Justice (JK), stating that the statements by Jimmie Åkesson, head of the far-right Sweden Democrats were tantamount to agitation against Muslims. The Center against Racism also reported Aftonbladet to the JK for publishing and spreading the article. In the article, Åkesson states that”more than ten Muslim terrorist organizations have established themselves in Sweden”. Further, he goes on saying that Sweden has the most rapes in Europe, and that Muslim men are highly overrepresented among the perpetrators. The case was refused by the Chancellor of Justice who didn’t consider Åkesson’s article as violating Swedish rules governing the freedom of expression (http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/politik/article12049791.ab). 

Source: Sverigedemokraterna, https://sverigedemokraterna.se/ (accessed 2012-03-10).

Aftonbladet, ”Muslimerna är vårt största utländska hot”, (2009-10-19), http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/debattamnen/politik/article12049791.ab (accessed 2012-03-10). 

External Url https://sverigedemokraterna.se/

Yes. There are nation-wide organisations that express racist or xenophobic sentiments/discourse in the form either of hate speech or promote an anti-migrant and/or anti-minority agenda. 

External Url http://expo.se/

Yes.

Qualitative Info

In May 2006 the Riksdag adopted ‘A National Action Plan for Human Rights 2006–2009' (Government Communication 2005/06:95). This was Sweden’s second National Action Plan for Human Rights. The first  action plan covered the period 2002–2004 and it has been followed up and evaluated. The purpose of the second action plan was to carry out a coherent review of the human rights situation in Sweden and, on the basis of this review, to propose measures for more systematic work with human rights at the national level. The main focus of the action plan is protection against discrimination. Other measures aim at increasing knowledge and awareness about human rights.  The government decided on 17 December 2009 to appoint a special investigator to conduct an evaluation of the national action plan for human rights. The task included submitting recommendations aimed at providing the Government with a basis for its future systematic work on human rights in Sweden. 

In conjunction with the presentation of the National Action Plan for Human Rights in 2006, the Government established a Delegation for Human Rights in Sweden to support the long-term task of securing full respect for human rights in Sweden based on the action plan (http://www.manskligarattigheter.gov.se/extra/pod/).

Source: 

Swedish Government, “Forum för levande historia ska kartlägga anti-semitism och Islamofobi”, http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/14204/a/165260(accessed 2012-03-11)

Samlat, genomtänkt och uthålligt? En utvärdering av regeringens nationella handlingsplan för mänskliga rättigheter 2006–2009, http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/16/61/24/22ca6543.pdf(accessed 2012-03-11)

The Swedish Government, http://www.regeringen.se/tolerans (accessed 2012-03-11)

External Url http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/16/61/24/22ca6543.pdf

Yes

Qualitative Info

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR) has during 2009-2011  developed a project for local governments  for a more systematic effort to ensure human rights.  The project  supported a limited number of local governments in their efforts to systematically work with human rights. The idea is that good and varied examples should be disseminated to other local governments. Four regional seminars were organised in September and October 2011. During the seminar days there were lectures and information on human rights from a municipal perspective and good examples of how municipalities can work to cooperate in strengthening human rights at the local and regional level. 

In 2008, a network of municipalities against racism and discrimination was founded. This network is part of the European network of cities that want to exchange experiences and jointly develop the work against racism, discrimination and xenophobia as part of UNESCO’s initiative for an international coalition of cities against racism. The Network meets twice a year, to exchange best practices and discuss on-going policies and research on discrimination and racism (http://www.skl.se/vi_arbetar_med/demos/demokratiutveckling/manskliga-rattigheter/natverk_mot_rasism).

Source: 

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SALAR), http://www.skl.se/

External Url http://www.skl.se/

Yes

Qualitative Info

There are about twenty Anti-discrimination Agencies, which are NGO's,  nationwide offering assistance to individuals  who find themselves discriminated against on any of the grounds covered by the Antidiscrimination Act.

For example there is the Anti-discrimination Agency in  Uppsala (Diskrimineringsbyrån Uppsala (DU) which is a local anti-discrimination with the aim to combat and prevent discrimination on all discrimination grounds (http://www.diskrimineringsbyran.se/).

There is also Expo - Stiftelsen antirasistisk tidskrift,  which is a Swedish foundation that publishes a magazine Expo. Expo's purpose is to raise awareness on racism and xenophobia through studying anti-democratic, extremist and racist trends in society (http://http://expo.se/). 

Source:

Swedish Centre Against Racism, www.centrummotrasism.nu

The National Board for Youth Affairs, http://www.ungdomsstyrelsen.se

Anti-discrimination Agencies, http://www.adbsverige.se/

Expo - Stiftelsen antirasistisk tidskrift,(http://http://expo.se/

Anti-discrimination Agency in  Uppsala (Diskrimineringsbyrån Uppsala (DU), http://www.diskrimineringsbyran.se/

External Url www.centrummotrasism.nu

The Centre against Racism, Interfem, Youth Against Racism.

Qualitative Info

The Centre against Racism, is a voluntary and independent umbrella organisation with high integrity. Its task is to scrutinize, supplement and reinforce the actions taken by society, but not to overtake society's responsibility. Centre against Racism's aims and objectives is to counteract racism and xenophobia -including anti-Semitism, islamophobia and prejudice against Rom populations, Afrophobia and discrimination, in Sweden. The Centre against Racism  collaborates with different NGO’s, build knowledge, disseminate information and awareness raising activities. The Centre has 80 member organisations acorss the country and it has been active since 2003. 

Interfem   is an NGO fighting intersectional discrimination, especially discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity and religious belief.   (http://interfem.se/om-interfem.aspx). 

Source: The Centre Against Racism (CMR), http://www.centrummotrasism.nu

Youth Against Racism (Ungdom mot rasism) , http://www.umr.nu/

Interfem , (http://interfem.se/om-interfem.aspx).

External Url http://www.centrummotrasism.nu

Yes. Anti-racist/anti-discrimination activities of NGOs have been an important factor for changing the political disourse and policies in recent years

Qualitative Info

Anti-racist/anti-discrimination activities of NGOs have been an important factor for changing the political disourse and policies in recent years. Concrete effects are difficult to measure, but NGOs' public relations work and acitivities monitoring racist incidents and anti-discrimination policies has been effective. Two examples can be noted: 

Afrophobia as a concept for the definition of racism and hatred directed at “black people” as a group.; The Centre Against Racism (CMR) has been instrumental in making the term Afrophobia established in Sweden and on the international level. In connection with CMR:s  annual meeting in 2006, it was decided that the term Afrophobia should be introduced in the The Centre Against Racism statues. This is in addition to other concepts like anti-Semitism, islamophobia, anti-Gypsyism, homophobia. 

A campaign was initiated encouraging the concept to be officially recognized also by policy makers, institutions, agencies and the general public. The impact of this campiagn and lobbying could already be seen in 2007/2008 when the concept Afrophobia came to appear for the first time in various official documents, from government regulations and in the annual official statistics on crime with racist motives that the State Crime-prevention council annually publishes. This has had the impact that Afrophobia is regarded as officially one of the hate crime motives in the Swedish official hate crime statistics (http://www.bra.se).

Campaign against “Neger” area in Karlstad; During the fall of 2009 The Centre Against Racism led a well organized and successful campaign to force municipal politicians in the Karlstad region to change the name of an area named “Kv. Neger”. The campaign´s highlight was a demonstration that had activists from Malmö and Stockholm. The campaign was carried out in cooperation with the Afro Swedish Association and the organization for Equality for Afro Swedes. A protest list was also presented to the city planning chairman and the impact of this campaign and lobbying led to the local council in Karlstad to abolish the naming of the area  “Kv. Neger”

The Centre Against Racism, http://www.centrummotrasism.nu

External Url http://www.centrummotrasism.nu

Yes

Qualitative Info

In Sweden, civil society is often called upon in the process of drafting policies on human right's, anti-discrimination, anti-racism. In the drafting of Swedens third Action Plan on Human Right's, The Government sought an open and transparent process, involving government agencies, civil society and other stakeholders at an early stage. During autumn 2010 the Government Offices invited participation in a consultation process on the drafting of a new ordinance for government support to youth organisations and local child and youth activities. Review dialogues with NGO's are often part of imolementing policies in Sweden.

The Government’s human rights website  http://www.manskligarattigheter.se has been used to inform and consult stakeholders. The coordinating ministries have also held open-ended meetings with NGO's to inform about and collect views on the process.

The Swedish Forum for Human Rights is the civil society movement’s forum for human rights and a meeting place for politicians, students, public officials, activists and researchers. The Swedish Forum for Human Rights is the largest human rights event in the Nordic countries, gathering more than 1 500 participants each year. 

Within civil society policy there is a need for an agency that can address issues concerning civil society and the conditions for civil society organisations. The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs has the  regular task of collecting and disseminating knowledge about the conditions for and development of civil society and have analyses and evaluations done within this area. In addition, the National Board for Youth Affairs administers a forum for the Government and civil society organisations. This task includes regularly holding the Forum for civil society conference. 

Source: The Swedish Government and civil society, Enhanced consultation with civil society, http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/14295

The Government’s human rights website  http://www.manskligarattigheter.se

External Url http://www.sweden.gov.se/sb/d/14295

Yes.

Qualitative Info

So far, very few NGO's have taken discrimination cases to court. One good example of an NGO that has done that, is the Anti-discrimination bureau, Örebro Rättighetscenter [Örebro Rights Center] which made use of this right by filing their first law suit in a discrimination case to court. The case concerned a Roma woman who was forced to pay for gasoline in advance as well as having her rights violated through insulting remarks about her ethnicity. Örebro Rights Center filed a lawsuit against the petrol station for discrimination and demanded 20 000 SEK (2000 Euros) in compensation to the woman. The Göta Court of Appeal ruled in October 2011, that the petrol station exposed the woman to direct discrimination associated with the woman's ethnicity. The gas station was imposed to pay 5000 kronas (555 euros) in discrimination compensation to the woman.

Source:

The Antidiscrimination Act (2008:567),http://http://www.do.se/Documents/pdf/new_discrimination_law.pdf(accessed 04.03.2012)

External Url http://www.adbsverige.se/

Yes. The training of the police force incorporate anti-racism or cultural sensitivity subjects. 

Yes. There are police professional associations that promote and endorse anti-migrant/anti-minority agendas and discourse. 

No. There is no legal definition/ santioning of ethnic profiling. 

Yes.

Qualitative Info

Ethnic profiling as a police method has not been discussed much in Sweden. It is only recently that some researchers have started to analyse ethnic profiling from a Swedish perspective. In a report from 2006, Sophie Hydén[1] concludes that ethnic profiling in Sweden is used mostly informally by the police, compared to in the United States where ethnic profiling has been used as an official method. Moreover, Swedish police officers use this method when conducting controls of foreigners and when conducting other kinds of controls. The persons in Sweden that are most commonly victims of ethnic profiling are persons originating from countries outside Europe.

Although the term ethnic profiling is not discussed much, there are indications of ethnic profiling in Sweden. An example is when several incidents of ethnic profiling  within the police force  surfaced during December 2008 in various media. The first incident revealed was when the racist comments were caught on a surveillance video the police used during the riots in Rosengård in December 2008. The police was filmed using racist language calling immigrant youth "damn little apes” during the riots. Later it was also revealed that fictitious names such as “Negro Niggersson” and “Oskar Negro” were used by the police force in Skåne [Southern Sweden] in an internal education during the spring of 2008 (http://www.expressen.se/kvp/niggersson-anvands-som-laroexempel/ ). These incidents caused outrage among NGOs, politicians, and the public. The police men were reported to the Ombudsman against Ethnic discrimination and to the Justitieombudsmannnen [Parliamentary Ombudsman] one of the organizations that submitted a complaint against the police force in Skåne was the organisation Jämlikhet för Afrosvenskar [Afro-Swedish for equality]. According to the organization the incident shows the extension of the racist culture within the police force towards Afro-Swedes in particular and other minority groups.

External Url http://www.expressen.se/kvp/niggersson-anvands-som-laroexempel/

No.

External Url www.migrationsverket.se

Yes. There is evidence of significant disparities between the number of racist incidents and crimes reported and the numbers of racist incidents and crimes recorded by police authorities. 

Qualitative Info

 The disparities identified, mostly affect Africans/black people who are subjected to afrophobia, the Roma community that face romafobia and other racist motivated hate crimes. Others that are also affected are Muslims and Jews. 

Brottsförebygganderådet, http://www.bra.se

External Url http://www.bra.se

Yes. There is evidence that areas containing significant numbers migrants and minorities are policed in different ways than others. 

Yes. There is evidence of police violence against migrants/minorities in custody. 

Qualitative Info

Yes

Qualitative Info

In February 2008 Brå [The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention] presented a report 2008:4 Diskriminering i rättsprocessen; om missgynnande av personer med utländsk bakgrund (Discrimination in the legal process). The report shows that migrants face disproportionate problems in accessing legal justice. The report concludes that discrimination and the perception of discrimination are serious issues within the Swedish legal system. Overall, the findings of the report show that victims of migrant backgorund are less likely to access justice in court compared with victims of with a Swedish background.

The report is based on current research, analyses of complaints to the Ombudsman against ethnic discrimination and interviews with key categories of persons within the legal system. The report is part of the assignment given to the Council by the Government in April 2006 to examine the incidence of discrimination in the judicial process against defendants and plaintiffs with a foreign background.  The report proposes various initiatives which are needed to promote non-discrimination within the judicial system.

Source: The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention,   Report 2008:4, Diskriminering i rättsprocessen; om missgynnande av personer med utländsk bakgrund , http://217.151.193.70/download/18.cba82f7130f475a2f180007887/2008_4_diskriminering_i_rattsprocessen.pdf

External Url http://217.151.193.70/download/18.cba82f7130f475a2f180007887/2008_4_diskriminering_i_rattsprocessen.pdf

Yes.

Qualitative Info

 A Government report was published during 2006 concerning police and discrimination. This report was published by the Government inquiry on Power, Integration and Structural Discrimination and was titled ‘Is justice fair? - Ten perspectives on discrimination of ethnic and religious minorities within the justice system’ (Är rättvisan rättvis? Tio perspektiv på diskriminering av etniska och religiösa minoriteter inom rättssystemet). The aim of this report was to examine structural discrimination in the judicial system. The report shows evidence of differential sentencing, failure of courts to provide effective protection for migrants and that structural discrimination exists throughout the Swedish justice system; from the first contact with the police to the final court judgement. 

Regarding police investigations, the report showed that most investigations are rarely closed for people of Swedish and Nordic background (between 35 and 37 percent of cases), while investigations usually are closed concerning people born in Africa and the Middle Middle East including Turkey (between 50 and 52 percent of cases) (Johan Kardell, Diskriminering i rättsväsendet av personer med utländsk bakgrund – en kvantitativ analys), http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/05/99/25/b5f0640b.pdf (accessed 2012-03-10).

The results from the report show that regarding court  judgments, people with non-European backgrounds are at almost three times more likely than persons of Swedish background to be sentenced to imprisonment for serious sexual offenses, assault and aggravated assault (Pettersson, Tove; Särbehandlas gärningspersoner med utländsk bakgrund vid anmälningar om våldtäkter, grov misshandel och eget bruk av narkotika?),  http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/05/99/25/b5f0640b.pdf (accessed 2012-03-10).

External Url http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/05/99/25/b5f0640b.pdf

Yes.

Qualitative Info

Trade unions engage in specific activities recruiting and supporting the rights of minority groups in the field of employment. Labour unions have legal standing to litigate discrimination cases where one of their members is involved. (As a matter of fact, the right of the Equality Ombudsman to represent a victim is secondary to this right of the organisation.)

Labour Law generally assigns to established unions – i.e. unions that uphold a collective agreement with the employer in question – a privileged position. Though Swedish law does not provide for exclusive representation, established unions de facto often speak for the entire employee community.

Swedish labour law is built on the single channel model. The “workers” influence shall be channelled only through the trade unions. Allowing the “workers” to create groups and to go to court in another way would not be consistent with this model. 

A considerable number of cases handeled by the trade unions in anti-discrimination cases are often settled out of court. Most complaints are settled during the mandatory negotiations foregoing a claim to the Labour Court. In these cases remedies much the same as in the case law of the Labour Court are agreed upon – or even better since the parties concerned lower their costs by an early settlement.

Source:

Discrimination Act (2008:567), http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/20080567.htm (Accessed, 2012-03-10). 

External Url http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/20080567.htm

Yes. 

Qualitative Info

Trade unions engage in specific activities recruiting and supporting the rights of migrant groups in the field of employment. Labour unions have legal standing to litigate discrimination cases where one of their members is involved. (As a matter of fact, the right of the Equality Ombudsman to represent a victim is secondary to this right of the organisation.)

Labour Law generally assigns to established unions – i.e. unions that uphold a collective agreement with the employer in question – a privileged position. Though Swedish law does not provide for exclusive representation, established unions de facto often speak for the entire employee community.

Swedish labour law is built on the single channel model. The “workers” influence shall be channelled only through the trade unions. Allowing the “workers” to create groups and to go to court in another way would not be consistent with this model. 

A considerable number of cases handeled by the trade unions in anti-discrimination cases are often settled out of court. Most complaints are settled during the mandatory negotiations foregoing a claim to the Labour Court. In these cases remedies much the same as in the case law of the Labour Court are agreed upon – or even better since the parties concerned lower their costs by an early settlement.

Source:

Discrimination Act (2008:567), http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/20080567.htm (Accessed, 2012-03-10). 

External Url http://www.notisum.se/rnp/sls/lag/20080567.htm

Yes.

Qualitative Info

The Equality Ombudsman reported in the annual report of 2010 that most complaints are on access to housing both when it comes to the rental market, including the rental criteria (förmedlingssystem), as well as the housing cooperative (bostadsraättsmarknaden). Housing  discrimination has serious consequences because housing is such a basic need, but also because complaints indicate that families with children suffer most. The most common grounds for discrimination are ethnicity, religion and disability.

On 31 July 2010, the Equality Ombudsman submitted a report to the government about discrimination in the housing market. The study is based on "situation-testing" and covers discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability and sexual orientation. The housing rental market was examined through nearly 400 phone calls to 150 landlords in 90 different locations. The housing cooperative market (bostadsrättsmarknaden) was examined through a total of 44 visits to different apartments for sale in Stockholm, Helsingborg and Lund. Discrimination occurred both in large cities, medium-sized cities and small towns. Overall, it was found that housing discrimination is a structural phenomenon that directly impacts people's lives, particularly migrants. Discrimination occurred both in large cities, medium-sized cities and small towns. Discrimination affected the ground of ethnicity to a greater extent than the other grounds of discrimination.The people most affected by housing discrimination are people of Finnish origin, Roma and Muslims and Africans. The study reveals that housing discrimination is more common in the rental market than in the housing cooperatives. The Equality Ombudsman also revealed in its Annual Report 2010, that complaints from Roma constitute 20% of the complaints on discrimination in the housing market, both in terms of provision of apartments for rent and purchase of private apartments. Discriminatory behaviour and harassment by landlords or neighbours is also reported.

The Equality ombudsman, Discrimination on the housing market, 2010, (accessed 2011.03.02).http://www.do.se/Documents/Material/Rapporter/Diskriminering%20p%C3%A5%20bostadsmarknaden.pdf

External Url http://www.do.se/Documents/Material/Rapporter/Diskriminering%20p%C3%A5%20bostadsmarknaden.pdf

The Roma are the most segregated group.

Qualitative Info

 On 31 July 2010, the Equality Ombudsman submitted a report to the government about discrimination in the housing market. According to the report, the most segregated groups are people of Finnish origin, Roma, Muslims and Africans. The high degree of segregation is the result of racism/xenophobia. Discriminatory behaviour and harassment by landlords or neighbours is reported to be the main reason for segregation according to the Equality Ombudsman's study. The Equality Ombudsman also revealed in its Annual Report 2010, that complaints from Roma constitute 20% of the complaints on discrimination in the housing market, both in terms of provision of apartments for rent and purchase of private apartments. The Roma are also highly segregated from other minority/migrant groups. 

 National minorities, such as the Roma are not included as a group in the statistics on segregation. The (1998:204) Act on Personal Information (Personuppgiftslagen) contains the general rules on the right to register personal information. There is a general prohibition to register (among other things) such “sensitive personal information” as ethnicity, religion or other belief and information concerning health and sexual life including sexual orientation. Therefore it’s not easy to assess how the Roma live, since statistics on segregation do not register ethnicity. What can be said is that the Swedish housing market is very segregated in the three biggest cities. This segregation is mostly two-dimensional. Some areas are “Swedish-dense”. In those areas the Swedish ethnic majority is predominant (Report on measures to combat discrimination, Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC, Country Report 2010, Sweden, Per Norberg, p.73). Other areas are migrant-dense, but it’s difficult to assess a specific ethnic group as overly more segregated, since these areas are generally of mixed etthnic population. 

Report on measures to combat discrimination, Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC, Country Report 2010, Sweden, Per Norberg

External Url http://www.boverket.se/

Yes

Qualitative Info

The Swedish housing market is very segregated in the three biggest cities. This segregation is mostly two-dimensional. Some areas are “Swedish-dense”. In those areas the Swedish ethnic majority is predominant. Other areas are “Swedish-sparse”. The typical ethnic neighbourhood in Sweden have no dominant group. 

In its second report, ECRI noted that certain residential areas in Sweden were inhabited almost exclusively by persons of immigrant origin. ECRI notes that de facto residential segregation continues to be an area of concern to organisations active in the fight against racism and intolerance in Sweden. 

ECRI encourages the Swedish authorities in their efforts to address de facto residential segregation. In this respect, ECRI recommends that, along with measures to improve the living conditions of persons living in areas predominantly inhabited by persons of immigrant origin, the Swedish authorities consider measures to actually de-segregate these areas.

Source:

Council of Europe: European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI),Third Report on Sweden, Adopted on 17 December 2004, 14 June 2005, CRI(2005)26, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/46efa2e21a.html [accessed 6 March 2012]

External Url http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/46efa2e21a.html

Yes.  The Roma community is the most segregated minority group in Sweden.

Qualitative Info

The Swedish housing market is very segregated in the three biggest cities. This segregation is mostly two-dimensional. Some areas are “Swedish-dense”. In those areas the Swedish ethnic majority is predominant. Other areas are “Swedish-sparse”. The typical 'ethnic' neighbourhoods in Sweden have no dominant group, but it can be added that the Roma community is the most segregated minority group in Sweden.

In 2010, Statistics Sweden published the report “Integration – a regional perspective”. The report showed that foreign-born people are more concentrated in metropolitan areas than native-born people. 90% of the total foreign-born population lives in big cities or major regional centres compared to 85% among native-born people (Statistics Sweden, Integration – a regional perspective (2010), http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/LE0105_2010A01_BR_BE57BR1001.pdf). 

In a report published from the National Board of Health and Welfare (2010) it is reported that visible minorities in Sweden, which are migrant groups originating in south Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, or Latin America , are increasingly vulnerable to ethnic segregated neighbourhoods and economic poverty. 70 per cent of visbile minorities living in ethnic segregated neigbourhoods did not have an income from work (Socialstyrelsen, Social Rapport 2010, p.12 http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/17957/2010-3-11.pdf). 

In its third report, ECRI encourages the Swedish authorities in their efforts to address de facto residential segregation. In this respect, ECRI recommends that, along with measures to improve the living conditions of persons living in areas predominantly inhabited by persons of immigrant origin, the Swedish authorities consider measures to actually de-segregate these areas.

Source:

Statistics Sweden, Integration – a regional perspective (2010), http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/LE0105_2010A01_BR_BE57BR1001.pdf. 

Socialstyrelsen, Social Rapport 2010, p.12 http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/17957/2010-3-11.pdf.

Council of Europe: European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI),Third Report on Sweden, Adopted on 17 December 2004, 14 June 2005, CRI(2005)26, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/46efa2e21a.html[accessed 6 March 2012]

External Url http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/17957/2010-3-11.pdf

Yes.

Qualitative Info

The Equality Ombudsman reported in the annual report of 2010 that most complaints are on access to housing both when it comes to the rental market, including the rental criteria (förmedlingssystem), as well as the housing cooperative (bostadsraättsmarknaden). Housing  discrimination has serious consequences because housing is such a basic need, but also because complaints indicate that families with children suffer most. The most common grounds for discrimination are ethnicity, religion and disability.

On 31 July 2010, the Equality Ombudsman submitted a report to the government about discrimination in the housing market. The study is based on "situation-testing" and covers discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability and sexual orientation. The housing rental market was examined through nearly 400 phone calls to 150 landlords in 90 different locations. The housing cooperative market (bostadsrättsmarknaden) was examined through a total of 44 visits to different apartments for sale in Stockholm, Helsingborg and Lund. Discrimination occurred both in large cities, medium-sized cities and small towns. Overall, it was found that housing discrimination is a structural phenomenon that directly impacts people's lives, particularly migrants. Discrimination occurred both in large cities, medium-sized cities and small towns. Discrimination affected the ground of ethnicity to a greater extent than the other grounds of discrimination.The people most affected by housing discrimination are people of Finnish origin, Roma and Muslims and Africans. The study reveals that housing discrimination is more common in the rental market than in the housing cooperatives. The Equality Ombudsman also revealed in its Annual Report 2010, that complaints from Roma constitute 20% of the complaints on discrimination in the housing market, both in terms of provision of apartments for rent and purchase of private apartments. Discriminatory behaviour and harassment by landlords or neighbours is also reported.

The Equality ombudsman, Discrimination on the housing market, 2010, (accessed 2011.03.02).http://www.do.se/Documents/Material/Rapporter/Diskriminering%20p%C3%A5%20bostadsmarknaden.pdf

External Url http://www.do.se/Documents/Material/Rapporter/Diskriminering%20p%C3%A5%20bostadsmarknaden.pdf

Yes.

Qualitative Info

The connection between the school results of children in year nine and the area in which they live was investigated in the report Statistics Sweden, Demographic Reports 2007:2, Children, segregated housing and school results, (http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/le0102_2006a01_br_be51st0702.pdf. The research showed that it is more common that children living in areas with a large proportion of children with foreign background do not qualify for upper secondary school compared to children living in other housing areas.

However, the  study does not fully address the question of why children who live in areas which have a large proportion of children with foreign background are at greater risk of receiving grades that do not qualify them for upper secondary school.

The results also show that many Swedish cities, both large and small, are characterised by segregated housing arrangements. Slightly over 40 percent of children with a foreign background in Sweden are concentrated in 310 of the country's almost 8 000 housing areas (homogenous housing area, or SAMS area). At least half of all children in these areas have a foreign background. At the same time, more than 50 per cent of children with Swedish background live in areas where hardly any children with foreign background at all.

Slightly over 40 percent of all children with foreign background live in ten municipalities. At the same time, nearly 40 percent of all Sweden's municipalities have hardly any children with foreign background at all (0–5 percent).

Source:

school results (SCB, Demografiska rapporter 2007:2, Barn, boendesegregation och skolresultat), http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/le0102_2006a01_br_be51st0702.pdf (accessed 2012-03-11). 

External Url http://www.scb.se/statistik/_publikationer/le0102_2006a01_br_be51st0702.pdf

Yes.

Qualitative Info

In the report published by the Swedish Church (Svenska Kyrkan, 2012) called "Våga vara minoritet" the current situation of the national minorities was analysed. Although there are no clear evidence of school segregation and/or policies of distinct schooling for minorities, the report is critical to access to schooling for minority children.

The problems identified are that the right to pre-school in Sámi, Finnish and Meänkieli is not provided in many municipalities in the administrative areas. Although a number of municipalities have not even investigated the need of such pre-school, the parents' demands are dismissed.The stipulations in the Swedish Minority Act regarding the right to pre-school in Sámi, Finnish and Meänkieli are too weak in relation to Sweden’s commitments according to the European Language Charter. The provisions on mother tongue teaching require fundamental knowledge in the minority language in order to participate in classes. To make such requirements is not allowed according to the minority conventions.

Source: Våga vara minoritet – En rapport om minoritetsrättigheter i Sverige 2012  (Dare to be Minority – A Report on Minority Rights in Sweden 2012), http://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/2327/11997.pdf (Accessed 2012-03-10). 

External Url http://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/2327/11997.pdf

Yes.  Historically Sweden has practiced forced heatlhcare/intervention practices such as e.g. sterilisation to minorities. This is documented as ongoing between 1934 and 1975. Today there are cases of sterilisation  and forced health care interventions practiced on migrants. 

Qualitative Info

A ten year old Somali girl was subjected to forced gynecological examination after suspicion that her parents had genital mutilated her. The Social Services Committee reported the parents to the Police after a complaint by a district nurse. The girl was picked up by the police from school to undergo the forced gynecological examination. The Equality Ombudsman sued the municipality for allowing such an intrusion in the girls privacy, based on just suspicion. DO argued that the suspicions and the entire investigation was based on ethnic prejudice. The district court shared DO's view, ruling the municipality to pay 60 000 SEK (6,000 euros) in damages to the family. The municipality appealed against the court decision, but the leave to appeal was rejected, therefore, the district court's ruling is final. [1]

External Url www.do.se

Yes. 

Qualitative Info

There is relatively little comprehensive knowledge about the media and journalists with a foreign origin. A study from 2000 shows that journalists with a migrant background particularly those with non-European background, are largely underrepresented in the majority of media workers. The study is based on a large survey ”Journalist 2000” which showed that about 3 % (or about 500) of the journalists had a foreign background that year. Of those, 1 % grew up in a Nordic country, 1 % in other European countries, and 1 % in outside Europe (Djerf-Pierre &Levin 2005: 172; Djerf-Pierre et al, 2001: 72; Weibull 2001: 15).

Although figures are not strictly comparable, one can not ignore the fact that the difference between 3 and 11.3 %, which represented the proportion of foreign born in Sweden of the total population in 2000 (see Statistical Yearbook of Sweden 2004: 95 ) is large.

Compared to their colleagues with Swedish / Nordic background, journalists with a foreign background were overrepresented in the Stockholm region, especially at Swedish Radio and Swedish Televison, while they are under-represented in the provincial press (Djerf-Pierre, and Levin, 2005: 172-3). [1]

The representation of foreign-born journalists is mainly found among a segment of media workers with very specific features. They are relatively young, born in Sweden and immigrated at an early age, have a Swedish school and college education and speaks flawless Swedish.[2]

In a study by media researcher Håkan Hvitfelt (1998), he shows that Islam in Swedish television news is reported as a particularly violent religion. 85 % of all news items related to Islam and Muslims is wholly or partly about violence. War, terrorism are common themes. Although reports about violence are prominent in television news, it normally accounts for "only" one in four news reports about violence.[3]

Ylva Brune (2000) describes how young women with origins in Muslim countries are interviewed and portrayed primarily in two contexts. As victims of oppression and violence in a relentless patriarchal culture that requires a woman's virginity. And as victims of migration for cultural conflict and cultural collision, where they fall "between two cultures."[4]

In the report ”Where did our right’s go? Experiences of racism and discrimination among Somalis in Sweden, published by the Centre Against Racism (Kalonaityte, Kawesa, Richards & Gasimelseed, 2011), the authors describe how Somalis in Sweden are victimized in the media. ^[5]

In a series of articles published in Göteborgs Posten, one of the articles begins by describing the situation for Somalis in Sweden as: "The Swedish Welfare system and the closed labor market contributes to the disaster, which can be translated into serious crime, widespread abuse, benefit fraud, poor school grades, broken families and sky-high unemployment."[6]

This description is illustrative of the negative stereotypical image of Somalis that the majority media communicates to the public.

External Url http://www.centrummotrasism.nu/ , http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/01/20/34/7cb1cbcd.pdf , http://www.regeringen.se/sb/d/6155/a/58634

Yes, there have been several examples.

Qualitative Info

Yes.

Qualitative Info

Racism in sports in Sweden was investigated in a report written for the Fundamental Right's Agency (Victoria Kawesa and Viktorija Kalonaityte, 2009). The results from the study shows that the use of racist vocabulary and hate speech during football games is common. A very recent example is when a football player Rikard Bojang was subjected to racist attack by opposing team’s players during a match[1]. Another example is a long-term racist attack, reported by a football player Pascal Simpson of African background. His experience is that his own team’s supporters would scream derogatory racist insults at him during the team’s matches.[2]

In 2006, Chief Editor for the anti-racist magazine Expo, Richard Slätt, wrote in an article in Expressen that it wasn’t racism when football fans threw bananas from the stands at Djurgårdens black goalkeeper Pa Dembo Tourray. Slätts’s argument was that when Hammarby supporters threw bananas at the Djurgården goalkeeper, that it doesn’t have anything to do with his skin color. He argued that it was a misunderstanding which risked eroding the concept of racism and took away the focus from real discrimination.[3]

One reported racist incident in 2008 within football concerns a professional football player with ethnic minority background (of African phenotype), playing for Tibro AIK, who was dismissed from the game after kicking a player from the opposing team. The reason for the kick is a racist verbal attack by the opposing team’s player, something that the ethnic minority player claims the entire opponent team were saying throughout the entire match. Several other players from the Tibro AIK team heard the racist remark as well, and claim that the referee heard it too, but chose to ignore it both when it happened but also in making the decision to dismiss the player from the field. [4]

Another similar racist incident is reported by Aftonbladet 2008, concerning a football player of African descent. The player, Kevin Amuneke, left team, Landskrona BoIS, to play abroad, because he claims that he was subjected to racist attacks by his team members and the club director. Amuneke tells that some of the team members could spit in his face and call him an ape and that no one wanted to deal with these racist attacks in the team. [5]

The anti-racist organization Centrum against racism critized Richard Slätt in an article in Expressen April 2006, arguing that: racism works in such a way that it can’t be isolated to specific places and contexts. On the contrary, it permeates all of society’s aspects, including sports. The numerous violations black sportsmen have had to endure through the years, and oftentimes still endure, make Slätt’s description of sports as an arena free from racist thought structures, which is both naive and frightening. It becomes even more problematic when Slätt, through his article, rejects such an obvious example like the throwing of bananas. Equally naive is the idea that just because “we have always done it” it must be neutral and innocent. If bananas have been thrown before black goalkeepers were part of the team, then obviously it can’t be that serious.[6]

Djurgårdens black goalkeeper Pa Dembo Tourray, responded by saying that he was tired of the banana throwing that usually precedes the derbies. He explained that: People have told me that it’s Hammarby’s tradition to throw bananas in the match against Djurgården, but it has gone too far. [7]

In ice hockey, racist incidents were reported in 2004 concerning the supporters of the ice hockey club of Linköping. The supporters have, over the past years behaved in a racist fashion when their team was playing with other teams that include ethnic minority players. The incidents were those of throwing bananas and making monkey noises at players of African decent during several different occasions. At a different occasion one supporter was tried at court for making Hail Hitler greeting at a match.[8] Two years later in 2006 the same problem was reported to persist by the same supporter group. This time, Johnny Oduya, who has a Kenyan background[9], playing for Frölunda was subjected to racist remarks during the match against Linköping. The director of the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, Michael Englund condoned the racist attacks and told the press that sanctions would be reinforced. [10]

A similar incident was reported in 2007 to have taken place when Södertälje ice hockey club was playing against Huddinge ice hockey club, where an ethnic minority player, Greg Mauldin (American background) was present. Södertälje-fans were screaming racist remarks at the ethnic minority player during the game, something that the director for National competition in hockey, Stefan Bengtsson promised to deal with by making sure that such supporters did not access the game.[11]

Yes. Hate speech is a ground for sanctions to sport clubs and applied in practice. 

Qualitative Info

The Swedish Football Association has in its statutes chapter 1:1§ that the association distances itself from racism and all forms of discrimination. In the Swedish Football Association event rules for 2008, it is stated in chapter 1:15§ to punish all racist incidents during a football match, both the incidents, taking place among the players, as racist remarks, made by supporters. The type of sanction is decided in each case, but they range between paying penal fees to extreme cases of withdrawal of points for the team.[1]

The Swedish Football Association’s decision is to prohibit all forms of discrimination, based on ethnicity, religion, race or nationality, and all discrimination is to be penalized and reported. The decision includes confidence-damaging remarks made by the captains and leaders within football. 

External Url http://www.svenskfotboll.se/files/%7B179F1752-6C9C-4446-9356-E43CD79E954A%7D.pdf