Ignorance of rights hampers victims of discrimination

SOME of the groups most likely to experience discrimination in Ireland are also the least likely to take action due to a lack of knowledge of their rights.

According to the latest quarterly national household survey on equality from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), almost 60% of people who experienced discrimination in the two years prior to the last quarter of 2010 did not take any action in response to their experience. Nearly one third took action while an official complaint or legal action was taken by 10% who experienced discrimination.

Amongst the unemployed, some 77% of those discriminated against took no action, while the figures were similarly high amongst non-Irish nationals (66%) and non-white ethnic backgrounds (65%).