discrimination, Roma

Testing for discrimination

Lrubenstein — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:47:57 -0500

Adapting the method used by US organizations on housing discrimination, the Legal Defense Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities (NEKI) uses a method of testing to collect evidence when there is an allegation of discrimination in order to challenge it in court. The Hungarian court recognized testing as a valid technique for documenting discrimination for the first time in a case in 2000 where an individual was denied service in a public accommodation on the ground of the customer’s ethnic origin.

The Roma migrated to Europe over 600 years ago and today form minority groups in several countries, in particular in Eastern Europe. They have been frequent targets of hate crimes and are often blamed for the increase of crime and unemployment in Hungary. Efforts to erase prejudices previously led to forced assimilation where the Roma were not recognized as an official minority group. Forms of discrimination faced by the Roma today and that are seen in the cases brought to NEKI, include the inability to receive employment, housing and services in public accommodations. Since discrimination is often subtly performed, direct evidence is rare.

The first step in using the testing approach consists of identifying and training people who are sent out as testers. The role of the tester is very important and specific requirements must be met by the individual who is participating. The testers' backgrounds must be free from incidents that might reduce their credibility as a witness, and since litigation may last several years, they must be willing to stay in contact with the testing program for an extended period of time. Though it is difficult to find dedicated individuals to serve as testers, the organization has been particularly successful in hiring students from local universities. Students tend to be more open to new ideas and are willing to help with minimal financial compensation.

The testing method works as follows: a one-day training session is provided for the participants and includes supervised practice testing, information on how testing can be used to enforce civil rights and how the legal procedures function. Once the Bureau gets a complaint, testers are sent out to the alleged place of discrimination. If the allegation concerns employment, testing involves sending out a Roma and a non-Roma person with similar characteristics and qualifications, with the only major difference between the individuals is ethnicity. They are sent out at closely spaced intervals on the same day to apply for a job. The tester should take actions that are comparable to that of his or her fellow tester in order to make the comparisons clear. They record their experiences on assignment forms immediately after the test, giving details of questions that were asked at the interview, how the applicant was treated and the manner in which the job was described to him, e.g. salaries and benefits. The test coordinator (either the organization or the attorney) can then evaluate whether or not differential treatment has taken place.

In five years, more than 500 complaints have been received which, according to NEKI, demonstrates the vastness of the problem of discrimination in Hungarian society and the lack of governmental involvement to control it. An annual report called The White Booklet publishes some of the cases that are taken on, which helps disseminate the information further. Along with the escalating number of cases there has also been an increased amount of media coverage on the issues faced by the Roma community, creating awareness with the people and declaring the issues as societal problems rather than just problems of the Roma. The fact that the Bureau implemented the approach from US organizations shows the adaptability of the method, and the organization has now been approached by other groups in Hungary interested in replicating the method to establish legal defense associations for the disabled, women and gays.

Testing for Discrimination

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:17 -0500

Testing for Discrimination: Identifying and Prosecuting Human Rights Abuses

By Bea Bodrogi

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This tactical notebook focuses on the successful transplanting to Hungary of "testing," a tactic developed in the antidiscrimination movement in the United States. In testing, an advocacy organization that has received a complaint of an incident of discrimination, immediately sends out "testers" to replicate the incident. If a person, for instance, is denied a job based on their identity, "testers" are sent out immediately to apply for the same job and document their treatment. This documentation will be legitimate evidence of the systematic nature of the discrimination.

The Legal Defence Bureau for National and Ethnic Minorities (NEKI) was founded in 1994 in response to problems caused by longstanding prejudices against the Roma, the largest ethnic minority in Hungary. NEKI seeks to document the experience of discrimination and demonstrate the absence of legal protection for the Roma. The organization has been involved with cases including police brutality, skinhead attacks, and the denial of employment, housing and service in public accommodation.

Since discrimination is often subtle, direct evidence is rare. Adapting a method used by U.S. organisations, NEKI uses testing to collect evidence with which to challenge discrimination in court. After an incident of discrimination is reported to NEKI by a Roma victim, testers – both Roma and non - Roma – are sent to repeat the experience in order to document whether the incident represents a case of systematic discrimination, and to collect evidence for a possible court case. Testing is thus an evidence-gathering tactic that can fit directly into the legal strategy of an organization like NEKI, one confronting the impunity and public apathy about the prevalent problem of racism and discrimination.

The process is quite straightforward: Once NEKI receives a complaint, testers are sent to the place of the alleged discrimination. If the allegation concerns employment, for instance, testing is done by sending out a Roma and a non-Roma person who have similar characteristics and qualifications but differ primarily in their ethnicity. They are sent out at closely spaced intervals on the same day to apply for a job. To make the comparison clear, each tester is asked to take actions comparable to those of his fellow testers. Immediately after completing the test they record their experiences on a questionnaire detailing all the questions asked at the interview, treatment of the applicant, and the description of the job, including salaries and benefits. The test coordinator can then evaluate from this data whether differential treatment has taken place and decide if legal action can be initiated on the grounds of discrimination.

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Making the Global Local

bharris — Fri, 25 May 2007 20:08:07 -0500

Making the Global Local: Applying Global Agreements to Local Enforcement of Human Rights Laws

By Columbus Igboanusi

Download full notebook below.

See Phillipe Duhamel's creative take on this resource at interTactica!

In the human rights field, there is often a wide gap between the locus of abuse and the policies, laws and treaties that were created to prevent or stop it. Furthermore, often the discussion of these abuses and the law and policies to prevent them are only talked about in high level policy and diplomatic forums. The tactic presented in this notebook helps bridge these gaps. The League of Human Rights Advocates in Slovakia recruits people from the disenfranchised population – in this case the Roma – to serve as human rights monitors. The monitors learn, often for the first time, about their own rights under national and international law. The LHRA and the monitors then work to enforce those rights –that were signed into existence in far-off capitals–in their own town halls, police stations, schools and communities. The information from local monitors is used to present the true, on the ground, impact of national and international laws in the country. The work done in Slovak may provide each of us with tactical ideas to address similar gaps in each of our communities and countries.

This notebook describes the creation and functioning of a systematic volunteer network of human rights monitors in Slovakia, maintained by the League of Human Rights Advocates (LHRA). The LHRA believes that its grassroots monitoring of local compliance with international human rights commitments assists and encourages the state and its apparatus to live up to its international obligations. The LHRA’s investigatory work, public education efforts and high-level contacts with international human rights NGOs also enable it to put considerable pressure on the Slovak government to live up to its international commitments. The LHRA’s volunteer monitors thus help achieve justice for local Roma people and others suffering human rights abuses. In addition, since LHRA monitors are themselves Roma activists living in Roma communities. The LHRA training process empowers them and their communities to understand and stand up for their rights.

*Note: You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the files marked with an asterisk (*). You can download a free version of this program from www.adobe.com.