Varuh ДЌlovekovih pravic

DISCRIMINATION ON THE GROUNDS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Next came a seminar on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, including a presentation of approaches, policies, strategies and projects aimed at eliminating this form of discrimination that might be useful for employers and teachers.
Maja Pan of Amnesty International used interactive methods and audiovisual aids to present the everyday life of gays and lesbians and the stigmatisation and discrimination that they experience in various environments. Next, Tatjana Greif of Škuc LL presented the project “Partnership for Equality”, aimed at raising awareness and training social partners for the introduction of antidiscriminatory policies in employment and on the labour market, with an emphasis on homosexuals as a vulnerable group.

Constanze Pritz-Blazek of the Austrian equal opportunities office presented two international projects designed to raise awareness about discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. These were: Triangle (Transfer of Information Against the Discrimination of Gays and Lesbians in Europe), a project run by an international network of partners with specific goals in the areas of awareness-raising and education for the purpose of reducing discrimination. The working programme ended with the preparation of a manual for teachers, educators and counsellors. Also presented was the project of the Zentrum fĂĽr Migranten, Lesben und Schwule (MILES) in Berlin, which provides support and advice for gays and lesbians and carries out awareness-raising activities aimed above all at migrant communities. Andres Delgado, former secretary of Office of the Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination (Sweden), presented the work of the Swedish Ombudsman against Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation in eliminating homophobia in the workplace.