Discrimination affects a third of the country

(JB) Three out of every ten people in Luxembourg are discriminated against but only 47% of all victims seek justice.

According to a study by data gathering group TNS ILRES, 27% of people surveyed said that they had been a victim of discrimination during the last three years, with the majority of incidents occurring in the work place (21%).

However, only half of the victims quizzed said that they had taken action. A fifth approached the person responsible while only 6% made a complaint.

For those who didn't pursue the matter, a third gave up out of resignation and 23% of people gave up because they did not feel able to change things.

The Centre pour l'Egalité de Traitement (CET), which commissioned the report, said this was a general trend among discrimination victims who approached them for support or mediation.

President Patrick de Rond said: “People don't have it in their heads that they can go to someone to ask for help. It's not a reflex. We've noticed that among the dossiers we've compiled with the public. If someone contacts us about discrimination in the work place and we suggest mediation, they resist. They just want to get out.”

Centre member Anik Raskin supported Mr de Rond's statement, saying that the fear of conflict was stronger in Luxembourg because of its small size. She said: “There are a lot of fears and perhaps it's because everyone knows everyone. If you make a fuss it's very delicate. The victim weighs up how it will affect their life if they lost a discrimination case. And eventually they don't think it's worth the risk.”

The main grounds on which victims said they were not treated equally concerned race (17%) and nationality (13%).

The report showed a downward trend in the perceived number of discrimination cases.

Interestingly, only half of those who had witnessed an incident in which another person was discriminated against said that they had intervened in some way.

The CET is an independent body set up to promote and monitor equal treatment between people. The study's findings were drawn bysurveying a cross-section of 1,025 Luxembourg residents over the phone.