Cover of the report on non-discrimination. Photo in the background: Igor Stevanovic / Mostphotos

The principle of non-discrimination is about everyone being included in society and working life, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and disability. It is a fundamental principle within the European Union that is primarily regulated through the EU equality directives, which in Sweden have been transposed through the Discrimination Act.

In Paul Lappalainen's report on Sweden's implementation of Council Directives 2000/43 and 2000/78 on equality and non-discrimination, Paul identifies some key issues;

- The head of the Equality Ombudsman (DO) has developed a new focus on investigating individual complaints and actual enforcement of the law.

This includes efforts to develop greater trust among discriminated groups. This shift in focus is to also form the backbone of the DO’s equality promotion work. There seems to be an understanding that effective enforcement and equality promotion complement each other rather than being separate paths of action. This means a major cultural shift for the DO as an agency, reversing the focus on information as a key to counteracting discrimination established by the DO’s predecessor during the years 2011-2020. 

- Access to justice remains as a major problem.

A lack of access to justice by the victims of discrimination remains as a primary issue. Nevertheless, civil society organisations such as anti-discrimination bureaus and others continue to develop their capacity to enforce the law.

- The shift in the burden of proof required by the EU directives are applied differently in the courts.

As to the few cases getting to the courts, there are indications that the Labour Court is applying the shift in the burden of proof required by the EU directives more restrictively than the district courts. In addition to causing potential confusion regarding enforcement, this could also be a problem in regard to the proper transposition of the EU directives.

Best practices 

Paul Lappalainen also highlights some examples of best practice since last year's report, including the following;

1. Several discrimination cases were filed on behalf of pupils with dyslexia who are not allowed to use their ordinary assistance devices during national exams. They lost in the Swedish courts. Nevertheless they raised the issue of how the courts examine indirect discrimination, particularly related to whether Sweden is in compliance with the reasonable accommodation requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons. 
2. Lena Svenaeus’ report Ten years with the Equality Ombudsman – A report on the dismantling of the protection against discrimination provides an important analysis of the DO’s work over 10 years. 
3. Two other insightful publications from 2021 are Equality data in the workplace: with a focus on ethnicity, by Yamam Al-Zubaidi, and White privileges and discrimination – processes that maintain racialised inequalities on the labour market by Martin Wolgast and Sima Nourali Wolgast.

Read the report here

About Paul Lappalainen

 

Paul Lappalainen is a Swedish and American jurist who has worked on discrimination and equality in various capacities for many years. He has been consulted as an expert in several government investigations, its an advisor to UNESCO's European Coalition of Cities Against Racism and was a senior advisor to the Swedish Equality Ombudsman. He is currently working on his PhD thesis with the title "Achieving Equality in Sweden and the Key Roles of Access to Justice and Civil Society: A Comparative Analysis".

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