Despite domestic
legislation in some of the Member States to outlaw discrimination
on the grounds of sex, race, religion and disability and the impending
introduction of the two Article 13 directives which will come
into effect in July and December 2003, it is widely acknowledged
that discrimination is a common experience for many groups in
society and in particular for the 9 groups referred to in Section
75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.
Such discrimination
is found not only in the private sector but across both public
and not-for-profit sectors in employment, housing, health, education,
the justice system and access to goods, facilities and services.
Key among affected groups are those of ethnic origin, disability
and sexual orientation.
Public, private
and not for profit sectors need information and training to prepare
them not only to meet their legal obligations but to reflect the
communities they serve. Such support needs to start with an exploration
of issues of social exclusion and the development of strategies
to affect both systems and individual change.
