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Enviar a un amigoAdapting 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.
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