Equinet Training on Access to Rights

The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rightswww.rfsl.se

EquinetTraining on Access to Rights

Dublin April 28-29, 2009

Anette Sjödin, [email protected]


The Swedish System

The Swedish antidiscrimination legal system

(in 60 seconds):• New legislation (seven grounds: sex, transgender

identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation and age)

• The new Equality Ombudsman• Employers• Trade unions


The Role of RFSL

• Actingtowardsexternaltargetgroups (society as a whole)

• Actingtowardsinternaltargetgroups(the LGBT community)


The Role of RFSL

External target groups: to raise awareness about

rights and obligations… • …on a structural and organisational level

for example politicians, national level representatives of employer organisations and trade union organisations/federations

• …on an individual levelfor example teachers, personnel in the care system, goods and services providers and employees


The Role of RFSL

Target group: The LGBT community• Raise awareness about rights and obligations• Build self-esteem by providing networks and

social activitiesdone by local branches

• Support people exposed to discrimination, harassment and violencecounselling service, crime victims’ hotline


OurApproach

• Focus on the norm itself, not the person who goesagainst it

• Focus on preventativemeasures in workinglife,school, service providers, the caresector and so on


Our Approach

Conclusion: Externaltargetgroupsare

veryimportant.

• Theyneedto see thattheyhave a responsibility to act.

• Theywillinfluenceothers who “speak the same language”.

• Theyneedmoreknowledge – trainingisveryimportant.


SoWhatDoes RFSLDo?

A fewexamples of activities…


Beneath the Surface

• EU project (in Swedish: Under ytan)• Focus on preventive measures and awareness

raising regarding sexual orientation• Targeting teachers and school personnel• Cooperation between employers, trade unions, the

(former) ombudsman on sexual orientation, researchers, NGOs

• www.ytan.se


Beneath the Surface

Products: a training tool consisting

of two books and a DVD

(DVD available in English)

And together with transnational

partners: “Norms at Work” and

“Open Up Your Workplace”


All Clear

• EU project (in Swedish: Fritt Fram)• Focus on preventive measures and

awarenessraisingregardingsexualorientation• Targetingworkinglife in general• Cooperationbetweenemployers, trade unions, the

(former) ombudsman on sexualorientation, researchers,NGOs

• www.frittfram.se


All Clear

Product: the training tool

“All Clear”, consisting of a

booklet and a DVD

(available in English)


Access to Justice

• EU project• Focus on antidiscriminationlegislation and access

to rights, includingawarenessraising on the EmploymentDirective

• Age, disability and sexualorientation• Sweden, Romania, Great Britain• With NGOs, ombudsman, tradeunions• www.accesstojustice.se


Access to Justice

Products: booklet describing

the significance of the EU

Employment Directive

“Equal at work” and…


Access to Justice

…booklets adjusted to national

circumstances. The Swedish

booklet is called “Everybody’s

Equal Rights” (Allaslikarätt)


Ongoing

Training sessions, training sessions and

moretraining sessions…

• Externaltargetgroups

• Focus on norms and attitudes


Summary

How to achieve access to rights?

We all know that discriminatedpeople…

• …don’tknowtheir rights

• …don’t trust the system

• …are invisible anddifficult to target.


Summary

…and the solution? Actbefore it happens!

• Prevention instead of just taking action whenit’salreadytoolatefor example: awarenessraising and training sessions for stakeholders

• NGO involvement is essential• Different stakeholders play different roles –

cooperation is the key


Finally

Nothing of this will work, if we don’t have basic legal protection, covering all grounds

and all sectors of society:

The proposed horizontal antidiscrimination EU Directive needs to be adopted!


www.rfsl.se

Anette Sjö[email protected]

Equinet Training on Access to Rights

Documents

Transcript of Equinet Training on Access to Rights