How Equality Bodies Can Address Under-Reporting of Discrimination among Roma through better Communications ERIO’s Second Workshop on “Protecting Roma Against Discrimination: The Role of Equality Bodies” 27 September 2012

2012 Equinet Training event for national equality bodies on “Using Communications to Tackle Under-Reporting of Discrimination” 2012 report of Equinet’s Working Group on Communication Strategies and Practices on the same issue Best strategic way to overcome barriers of communication with very vulnerable or often hard-to-reach groups such as Roma people: 1.Communication to inform members of groups experiencing discrimination about their rights and how to exercise them 2.Communication to build confidence among members of groups experiencing discrimination in exercising their rights 3.Communication to build a culture of rights in society

The Swedish Equality Ombudsman employed a “mutual education strategy” in order to better address problems faced by Roma. This dialogue involved education seminars for Roma about the existing legislative protection against discrimination. At the same time the dialogue has benefited the Ombudsman and their staff enhancing their knowledge base concerning the Roma. This approach has assisted the Ombudsman in understanding and dealing with the complaints from Roma women and men that often involve complex situations. Implementation of this method by the Ombudsman has led to a positive conclusion concerning an increasing number of complaints, either through settlements or court cases.