Contributed by: Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation, Bulgaria National VAW Monitor

Nearly 60 percent of the population of Bulgaria believes that there is discrimination. Young people and university graduates are most likely to agree that discrimination exists in research ordered by the Commission for Protection against Discrimination last year.  According to the research, men feel more discriminated against than women; forms for discrimination were gender, race, nationality, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion, education, political party, social status, age, and sexual orientation.

Sixty-eight percent of the population feel discriminated against because of ethnic background, especially within the Roma community. The chairperson of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, Kemal Eyup, cites discrimination within the educational system as a major problem in the next decade with the projected increase of the Roma population.

According to Eyup, people are better informed about the institutions working for prevention against discrimination. According to the study, 31.4% of the population is aware of these institutions; people most likely to be knowledgeable about them are university graduates and people between the ages of 40 and 60. In 2007, 658 applications alleging discrimination were submitted to the Commission, an increase over the 389 applications in 2006. A common form of discrimination was because of ethnic origin, which constituted twenty-three percent of all submitted applications. Another common form of discrimination was in the workplace, with twenty-seven percent. The third most common form of discrimination was against people with disabilities, with seventeen percent.  

During the first three months of 2008, 300 applications have been submitted, four of which have been for sexual harassment. By the end of the year, it is expected that the applications to exceed 1000. One application from Varna is about the prison, and the chairperson of the Commission did not want to specify the reason for the application. He stated that traditionally 40% of the applications are dropped because there are not clear motives for the discrimination.

Kemal Eyup introduced the beginning of "Discrimination is a Crime," a project whose main objective is an informational campaign to develop a tolerant society. It will feature a series of debates in universities in eight Bulgarian cities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo, and Rouse. The Association for Personal Alternatives is partnering with the European Commission and the Commission for Protection against Discrimination on the project. It is being funded by the European Commission with more than €50 000 over eight months. On May 13th, Varna Free University will host the first debate. Three video clips showing discrimination will be part of the project; specifically, discrimination against a deaf person, a Roma person, and because of a person’s religious beliefs.

Kemal Eyup stated that two work groups will be formed. One group will focus on a discrimination prevention program for students. Another group, working in partnership with the Ministry of Labor and Social Politics, will monitor discrimination in the workplace.

Source: DarikNews - 12.05.2008