The question of discrimination, as far as it is considered in the field of philosophy, cannot be perceived as a problem which can be effectively combated. Even the most precise diagnosis of human nature will not restrain people from defining others as evil and inferior. The most universal and spacious conventions, declarations, cards or bills will not solve the problem either. They can be regarded as an example of applied philosophy at most. On the other hand, we should pose the question what the world would look like if political pragmatism were the main obligatory rule. Thus, the situation finds us between philosophical wishful thinking about a global order free from discrimination and macro – or micropolitical pragmatism.

While the Court has, to some degree, started to protect against discrimination based on birth or nationality, the protection against discrimination on the basis of race until 2005 has been very poor and dubious. Upon reviewing the case law of the ECHR, we find that since the case “Relating to certain aspects of the laws on the use of language in education in Belgium” v. Belgium in 1968, the Court has decided to opt in favor of the original English version of art. 14, which underscores that the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms must be assured “without discrimination” and defends the concept that equality should be interpreted as non-discrimination, while clarifying that this disposition does not prohibit preferential treatment, such that, in the eyes of the Court, this principle is only violated when preferential treatment implies “a discriminatory treatment”, so the task for us is to determine in detail when the two are correlated. The cited decision is an essential reference as it provides the pointers needed to discern whether or not a violation of art. 14 exists, as in a “test” of equality that entails: (1) whether the distinction in treatment lacks objective justification; (2) whether the difference in treatment results in conformity with the objective of the effects of the measure examined attendant to the principles that generally prevail in democratic societies; (3) whether there exists a reasonable relationship between the means used and the end sought. Despite this interpretational recognition of art. 14, if we analyze in detail the Court’s jurisprudence, how the Court has approached the topic of discrimination on the basis of racial or ethnic origin is somewhat disappointing. The fact that during decades plaintiffs were required to provide proof beyond the shadow of a doubt has restricted the Court’s influence on discriminatory actions based on race or ethnicity; for this reason, it is not unexpected that in time critical dissidence arose, even within the Court itself. A good example of this is given by Judge Bonello in the decision Anguelova vs Bulgaria (2002). Here we analyze how the jurisprudence of the Court of Strasbourg has evolved in the context of discrimination against Roma, so as to ascertain the challenges that remain in this area.

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland mentions as one of the principles of electoral law its universality. This means that anyone who meets the requirements of law is entitled to vote. The admissibility of exclusions from this principle is also expressly defined by the law. One of the limitations in the exercise of electoral rights is an intellectual disability resulting in the incapacity of the individual. Meanwhile, Poland’s international obligations resulting e.g. from the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides with a necessity of a deeper reflection on the present solutions. The ratification by Poland of the UN Convention has stimulated discussion on the political rights of people with intellectual disabilities, extending the field of debate on the legitimacy of the current form of institution of incapacitation. The aim of this article is to reflect on the current solutions in the exercise of electoral rights by people affected by intellectual disability but not being incapacitated.

The study presents a critical analysis of visual materials contained in civic education textbooks with the purpose to identify traits of discrimination of individuals with a “skin colour” other than “white”. The undertaken quantitative and qualitative analyses allowed for drawing a conclusion that the depiction of persons in the researched visual material did in fact bear certain traits of discrimination. Moreover, it was concluded that what may be observed is compound discrimination. The studies presented in the article were conducted within a larger-scale project entitled Gender in textbooks.

Celem badań, które zostały przeprowadzone w ramach projektu (Nie)łatwe powroty do domu. Badanie funkcjonowania dzieci i młodzieży powracających z emigracji, było zdiagnozowanie sytuacji dzieci i młodzieży powracających do Polski i opisanie jej z różnych perspektyw: dziecka, rodzica, nauczyciela/ki, a także osób pracujących w poradniach psychologiczno-pedagogicznych. W badaniach wzięło udział 34 dzieci, 27 rodziców oraz 26 nauczycieli. Z respondentami i respondentkami przeprowadzono częściowo pogłębione wywiady, a z pracownikami Poradni Psychologiczno-Pedagogicznych wywiady focusowe oraz badanie ankietowe.Wyniki badań wskazują na występowanie dyskryminacji w stosunku do dzieci powracających w polskich szkołach. Przybiera ona różne formy: od nieuwzględniania przez szkołę ich specjalnych potrzeb edukacyjnych, przez etykietowanie, po przemoc słowną albo fizyczną ze strony rówieśników. Badania pokazują również, że często kadra szkolna nie tylko nie reaguje adekwatnie na przemoc stosowaną względem tej grupy dzieci, ale sama dopuszcza sie takiej przemocy w sposób nieświadomy. Sytuacja ta może wynikać zarówno z braku przygotowania nauczycieli do pracy z dzieckiem z doświadczeniem migracyjnym w ramach studiów, a także z braku dostępu do szkoleń na temat edukacji antydyskryminacyjnej.

Contrary to the huge involvement of various social groups, implementation of numerous aid programmes, social exclusion, discrimination, marginalisation are still present in various social groups all over the world, and various strategies of social inclusion, including administrative and legal tools for its practical implementation, prove to be ineffective. The aim of this article is to indicate mutual dependencies and conditions as well as social contexts determining the illusory nature of inclusion activities undertaken, first of all, in relation to people with disabilities, but also people excluded from reasons other than disability.

The right to education for persons with disabilities results from the constitutional principle of universal and equal access to education, however, it frequently encounters difficulties in implementation. This issue is particularly important not only from the point of view of Polish law but also due to international guarantees of universal access to education and activities aimed at the elimination of all forms of discrimination. They were included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on Human Rights. European standards in this respect are set, first of all, by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, EU regulations and directives, as well as by the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Moreover, the issue of the universal and equal right to education was also raised in the documents of the Council of Europe: the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, and decisions of the European Committee of Social Rights.

While reforming of the Ukrainian state, an important part of ensuring the social process is gender issues, providing equal opportunities for self-realization of a person regardless of gender, age, nationality or social origin. In accordance with the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the world community in 2000, one of the priorities of international development and indicators of social and economic development is ensuring gender equality. The implementation of gender equality ideas contributes to the effective use of human potential and, consequently, to the expansion of human development opportunities. Studying the processes of creation and implementation of gender policy in public administration is one of the new areas of research at the current stage of state formation. Its relevance is due to the processes of democratization of the Ukrainian society and search for ways to increase the effectiveness of public policy concerning equal rights and opportunities for women and men. Nowadays it is paid considerable attention to gender equality aspects by many international organizations. Thus, the United Nations (UN) has developed a number of global Sustainable Development Goals (CDGs) for 2015-2030, which were approved in 2015 at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development and which now all countries are committed to. The fifth of the seventeen CDGs is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. In 2017, the Government of Ukraine presented the “Sustainable Development Goals: Ukraine” national report, which addresses gender equality as an essential task. It is emphasized that in Ukraine it is necessary to create conditions for elimination of all women discrimination forms. In this regard the relevant objectives and basic indicators for their achievement have been identified. Despite the fact that the world pays more and more attention to research in the field of gender equality, in Ukraine this issue remains one of the marginal segments in the public administration science. Therefore a systematic study of the formation of a gender-balanced staff at local executive bodies is becoming important. It is the management staff of local executive bodies that is sharply criticized; its mistakes and misjudgments significantly affect the standard of living, the welfare of citizens of a particular administrative-territorial unit, and the image and authority of government and the state as a whole. In the article it is analyzed the principles and mechanisms of state gender policy in Ukraine in the social and labor area, in particular in the civil service, it is studied the latest changes in the legal framework on gender issues, and it is described the existing legal issues that slow the further development of gender integration in all spheres of public administration, it is developed proposals to improve gender policy legal framework at the current stage.

Ze względu na nietolerancję społeczną zachowań związanych z tożsamością płciową, większość osób transpłciowych doświadcza poważnego stresu na różnych etapach swojego życia. Aspekty relacji społecznych są istotne dla godnego i przyjaznego funkcjonowania dziecka transpłciowego w szkole i jego osiągnięć szkolnych, a następnie – już jako osoby dorosłej – ścieżek rozwoju zawodowego i podejmowania relacji społecznych. Podczas gdy niektóre szkoły i miejsca pracy oferują bezpieczne przestrzenie, wiele osób transpłciowych wciąż doświadcza negatywnych, wrogich i niebezpiecznych środowisk. Bez określonych działań mających na celu ochronę osób transpłciowych i szerzenie wiedzy na temat transpłciowości w społeczeństwie, większość osób o nienormatywnej tożsamości płciowej pozostaje podatna na dyskryminację, nękanie i zastraszanie. Dlatego tak ważne jest diagnozowanie trudności w funkcjonowaniu społecznym osób transpłciowych i wskazanie propozycji rozwiązań zmierzających do poprawy ich sytuacji w warunkach wykluczenia.

Hate speech in relation to racial, national and ethnic minorities as the limitation of freedom of expression. Notes on the example of selected judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Hate speech in relation to racial, national and ethnic minorities is a common matter, appearing more and more frequently in public space and taking different forms depending on its brutality. There is a very thin line between hate speech and freedom of expression. Confronted with the wider freedom of speech and expression, hate speech requires taking some critical steps by both domestic and international authorities. The European Court of Human Rights, while examining the complaints concerning violations of the freedom of expression, verifies whether its limitations have certain grounds in the applicable law. The past jurisprudence of the Court clearly indicates when freedom of speech ends and hate speech begins, especially when offensive content is formulated in the mass media, e.g., on the Internet.

Some remarks on the judgment of the Swiss Federal Tribunal of 8 September 2020 (Caster Semenya case)

This article deals with an important for the world of sport ruling of the Swiss Federal Tribunal of 2020 (in the case of the athlete Caster Semenya) decided against the background of the legal aspects of gender differences and sports competition. It presents an overview of the problem and its resolution, as well as possible further implications of the case, related to the standards of human rights protection existing under the European Convention on Human Rights. The author presents the principles of the prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment, respect for private and family life and the prohibition of discrimination and makes a legal assessment of the judgment in the case from their perspective. The analysis results in conclusions concerning legal aspects of gender differences and sports competition. These conclusions have a universal dimension and apply to the broadly defined sub-discipline of law, which is the sports law.

Obviously harassment problems are circulated throughout the world. According to Sustainable development goals, ending all discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, it’s crucial for sustainable future. Organizations should talk about past experiences of harassment. The best way to deal with sexual crime is reduce fear of talking about it. Management should demonstrate the importance of this issue, and the victim should not fear being fired or demoted. This issue concerns violence by men against women, women against men, as well as violence against women by women, and men against men. Violence is often driven by a desire for power. This is not only about sexual abuse, but also psychological abuse. All this undoubtedly affects the quality of a person’s work and life. Also government should focus their attention on implement international standards in this sphere. In particular some aspect of these standards had already been adopted in legislation by the government of Ukraine. For sure this is a crucial instrument to prevent sexual crime. However, as reality shows, this does deter neither people nor corporations from infringements. The issue of harassment was especially acute in connection with the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (from 24 February, 2022). The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in force since July 2002, includes rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or “any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity” as a crime against humanity when it is committed in a widespread or systematic way. Women have become particularly vulnerable as men are taken to the front and left alone with the children. They are often subjected to violence by the occupiers. They are vulnerable during traveling abroad as well. Criminals take advantage of this situation and use women for trafficking and sexual exploitation.

Situation of Roma in Slovakia during COVID-19 pandemic

The article presented here presents the most important state measures directed at Roma and marginalized communities during the CoOVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, a state of emergency was declared in Slovakia in connection with the spread of the pandemic, which for the residents of the Slovak Republic resulted in an immediate restriction of contacts, manifested in the closure of all types of schools, institutions and many workplaces. The mandatory mass quarantine of entire marginalized communities has raised NGO concerns about the equal treatment of people living in Roma communities in Slovakia. It is estimated that up to 70 percent of Roma children were not receiving distance education during the first wave of the pandemic, and up to 60 percent had no contact with an educator. Technical equipment, access to educational systems, but also Internet coverage in cities and municipalities became obstacles to education.

Race, gender, and social status: an intersectional analysis of images of non-European women in Polish romantic travel writing

The article analyses the image of non-European women in Polish Romantic travel writing, adopting an intersectional lens to focus on differences in the women’s descriptions due to the race, gender, and social status.

Social Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine

The main directions of Ukraine’s social policy towards the disabled are presented in the article. Topical issues of integration of persons with disabilities into society are covered. The meaning of the concept of “social stigmatization” is revealed. The authors analyze and define the tools of social stigma in the legislation of Ukraine on issues of social integration of persons with disabilities. It has been proven that stigma in some cases deprives a person of full status, becomes a source of prejudice, discrimination, social isolation of the stigmatized, causes low self-esteem and feelings of depression, forms a negative social identity, and complicates psychosocial adaptation. Certain steps have already been taken to ensure the protection of persons with disabilities by creating appropriate conditions for them in society and equal opportunities for the realization of vital needs, abilities, and creative potential. The article defines a system of measures aimed at improving the lives of persons with disabilities, restoring their social status, achieving material independence, and comprehensive integration into society. The authors also propose measures to remove obstacles caused by stigmatization in the way of integration of persons with disabilities into society.

Gloss to the Decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of February 16, 2022, file ref. no. II OSK 128/19

In the commented order, the Supreme Administrative Court held that the state is obliged to grant Polish citizenship to a person whose parents are of the same sex, which results from the birth certificate submitted by them, and that the implementation of this obligation does not threaten the public order of the Republic of Poland. The use of the public order clause in such a case is not legally justified and constitutes a form of discrimination against the child on the basis of the content of international instruments.

This paper aims to explore the correlation between rhetoric, political views, and actions and how the construction of utterances conveys ideological meaning. Specifically, I examine the nature of rhetoric, its structure, and its impact on the overall tone of an utterance. The analysis reveals that rhetorical devices can manipulate and create messages promoting segregation and discrimination. To illustrate this, I focus on D. Trump’s statements, particularly his use of Twitter to communicate. I analyze his selection of vocabulary and figures of speech, demonstrating his use of hate speech and misogynistic and racist thoughts. Drawing on the work of prominent linguists such as T. Van Dijk, R. Harris, and M. Reisigl, I examine the rhetorical devices used by Trump and their influence on the overall message conveyed. I support the analysis with press publications, articles, and books that provide further insight into Trump’s language use. The conclusions summarize my findings and emphasize the link between rhetoric and political actions and views.

Seeking and experiencing the social support by people with a homosexual orientation

The article presents the results of a study on the subject of seeking and experiencing the social support by homosexual people and the social attitudes they experience (fear of rejection, lack of understanding, discrimination, acceptance). The study used the original questionnaire, which was completed by 108 people with a homosexual orientation. The research material was collected using the snowball method. The research of the results indicate the search for support in various people/groups depending on the crisis situation affecting homosexuals. The group by which they feel supported and accepted are primarily their friends, and the person with whom they most often seek and experience support in the family environment is their mother. A significant percentage of the respondents also benefit/ed from the support of specialists. Most homosexual people don’t feel accepted in Poland, pay attention to the sense of social exclusion, discrimination, fear of revealing their homosexual orientation in the sphere of social life and their own family. All these factors can cause an increased need to seek and receive social support.

Intersectional perspective in intercultural pedagogy

A meeting with the Other is related to the attitude of interest, dialogue, cooperation and understanding. However, negative reactions to otherness may give rise to different attitudes as well. These include discrimination and exclusion. In this article, the problem of multiple discrimination is addressed and intersectionality is presented as both an important method in intercultural research and an idea worth raising and developing in the practice of intercultural education. Multiple discrimination pertains to people who experience two or more forms of oppression at the same time (due to gender and disability; due to disability and residence place; due to ethnic origin, gender and place of residence, etc.). Intersectionality introduces a new quality to intercultural studies. As a research paradigm, it enables a critical analysis of these areas of exclusion and discrimination which have so far been shown mainly from the perspective of the needs and views of majority groups. Intersectional analysis can also become useful in educational practice: in preparing individualized assistance programs for people affected by discrimination, as well as in creating preventive projects to keep stigmatization and discrimination away.

Prejudice-based bullying against minorities. On the role of immigrant background and intergroup processes in explaining and limiting the phenomenon

Societies are becoming more ethnically and culturally diverse. This growing diversity offers new opportunities for both individuals and societies. At the same time, it also creates challenges such as a polarized political climate and an increase in hostile behaviour based on prejudice, such as ethnic discrimination and peer violence against immigrants. Recent research on the forms of bullying of minority groups by peers suggests that prejudice has some influence on specific patterns of bullying, but not enough attention has yet been given to this either in the conceptualization of bullying itself or in the design of intervention and prevention programs. It is therefore suggested that further research and the design of prevention programs could be targeted to give more attention to prejudice as one of the factors underlying this form of peer violence. The article is of a review nature and has been organized in a conceptual way, i.e. the focus is on prejudice-based bullying, which is the subject of research, but at the same time, arguments for the presented point of view will be presented to justify further empirical research in this problem area.