Equality Bodies Promoting Equality & Non-Discrimination for LGBTI People
Equality Bodies Promoting Equality & Non-Discrimination for LGBTI People
Authors: Niall Crowley
30 Equinet member equality bodies have a mandate in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people (LGBTI people) in employment and 22 in the provision of goods and services. This mandate includes providing support to victims of discrimination, conducting surveys, making recommendations and publishing reports on issues relating to discrimination.
This new Equinet perspective seeks to:
- Inform the policy debate on LGBTI issues at EU and national levels by identifying and extracting relevant lessons from the work of equality bodies promoting equality for and combating discrimination against LGBTI people.
- Enhance the work of equality bodies to promote equality for and combat discrimination against LGBTI people by examining the issues they face in this work and by identifying good practice in responding to these issues.
- Deepen the relationship between equality bodies and LGBTI people and their organisations by communicating the mandate, work and achievements of equality bodies in promoting equality for and combating discrimination against LGBTI people.
Approach
This perspective is informed by a workshop on the work of equality bodies on LGBTI issues that was held as part of a meeting of Equinet’s Working Group on Policy Formation. The group enables a policy dialogue between Equinet and the EU institutions based on analysis of the work of equality bodies at Member State level.
This perspective is based on a survey of Equinet members to explore the work being done by individual equality bodies in promoting equality for and combating discrimination against LGBTI people (SEE BELOW).
It was drafted and finalised with the assistance and input of the working group and the Board of Equinet.
The perspective has benefited from the assistance of the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA Europe) whose staff met with the Equinet Secretariat to provide advice and information that assisted in the design and analysis of the survey questionnaire. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights also provided assistance in the drafting of this perspective by enabling access to its 2013 survey of LGBT people and providing some further and more detailed material from this survey.
This perspective addresses:
- The context for LGBTI people in the EU
- Key issues in the work of equality bodies on LGBTI issues
- The results of a survey of equality bodies on their work on LGBTI issues
- Action that could be taken by equality bodies to evolve their work on LGBTI issues
- Action that could be taken at EU level to enhance the context for the work of equality bodies on LGBTI issues
