Have you been discriminated against?

If you have been discriminated against you can report it to the Equality Ombudsman (DO). This is free of charge.

The anti-discrimination legislation protects you from discrimination at work, at school, at university, in shops and when you rent or buy a home. This protection also applies in a number of other areas of society, for example health and medical care, social services and the social insurance system.

You can report to the Equality Ombudsman if you feel that you have been discriminated against because of your sex, transgender identity or expression, ethnic origin, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age.

Discrimination can sometimes be related to several of these grounds at the same time.

Discrimination can also be family-related, for example if your parents are homosexual or if your brother has a disability and you are discriminated against because of this. You can also report if you have been treated unfairly in connection with your parental leave.

Discrimination

Not everything that is experienced as unfair is discrimination as defined by the law. According to the law, discrimination can include being treated less favourably because of:

  • Sex
  • Transgender identity or expression
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion or other belief
  • Disability
  • Sexual orientation
  • Age

Examples of discrimination

Many people turn to the Equality Ombudsman because they feel they have been discriminated against. Here are a few examples from real life. (The names have been changed and the people on the pictures have nothing to do with these examples.)

  • Mira was turned down for a job at an amusement park because she wears a headscarf. 
  • A same-sex couple wasn’t allowed to go to the school ball together.
  • The landlord changed the locks and Roja, a pregnant Romani woman, and her three children were locked out of their apartment.
  • Carl wasn’t admitted to a self-knowledge course because he is HIV positive. 
  • Sara was denied a job interview because she was pregnant.

From 1 January 2009, age and transgender identity or expression are also included in the anti-discrimination legislation. Two examples of this are:

  • A teacher harasses Alex, who doesn’t want to be identified as a girl or a boy.
  • Frank doesn’t get the job he applied for because he is over 55.