HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE EUROPEAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER

the effectiveness and legitimacy of the procedure itself because it takes a long time. Moreover, the utilization of peer reviews has not been widely applied to specifically support the rights of LGBTQ+ people within the EU, since the relevant peer review mechanism is primarily related to employment, social policy, education, and public health. The Importance of Accessible Justice Effective anti-discrimination legislation is crucial, but ensuring access to justice is equally important. Without accessible avenues for enforcing their rights, the protective power of such legislation is significantly diminished. The issue arises when individuals who experience discrimination do not report these incidents to the relevant authorities. Reporting rates are particularly low among members of the LGBTQ+ community. The reasons for this include the belief that reporting would not lead to any change, reluctance to disclose sexual orientation or gender identity, and a lack of knowledge about where and how to report. 65 Data from the Agency for Fundamental Rights ( hereinafter referred to as “FRA” ) collected in 2020 underscores this problem. 66 It reveals that 53% of LGBTQ+ individuals in the EU aged 15–17 have encountered discrimination in some aspect of life, with a slightly lower rate of 41% among those aged 18 and older. Despite this, only 11% of recent incidents of discrimination were reported to the country’s equality body or another organization, even though 61% of respondents are aware of the existence of such bodies. Incidents that go unreported cannot be investigated by the responsible authorities, perpetuating a culture of impunity. This situation undermines public trust in institutions and limits access to justice. It is therefore essential to address these statistics by making procedural mechanisms to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and other grounds more accessible, e.g., by offering easy access to essential information for potential victims of discrimination, making relevant case law available, and aiding judges in understanding and applying the concepts of non-material damages. 67 65 WLADASCH, Katrin. Making Antidiscrimination Law Effective: Burden of Proof, Remedies and Sanctions in Discrimination Cases. European Non-Discrimination Law: Comparative Perspectives on Selected The matic Issues, edited by J. Gerards, & M. Bell, In: Springer [online]. 2020, p. 237 [cit. 2024-08-13]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342715223_Making_Antidiscrimination_Law_Effective_ Burden_of_Proof_Remedies_and_Sanctions_in_Discrimination_Cases?_sg=yAC5VPZsAEX6k cPArOy7yMDoSKgAhpYGnYPvL_4p5ijggYYK0PfXHoBvaMmhPNJkrcNzD5cMBGMsAkM&_ tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6Il9kaXJlY3QifX0. 66 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. A long way to go for LGBTI equality . Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union [online]. 2020 [cit. 2024-08-13]. Available at: https://fra. europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2020-lgbti-equality-1_en.pdf . 67 WLADASCH, Katrin. Making Antidiscrimination Law Effective: Burden of Proof, Remedies and Sanctions in Discrimination Cases. European Non-Discrimination Law: Comparative Perspectives on Selected The matic Issues, edited by J. Gerards, & M. Bell, In: Springer [online]. 2020, p. 243 [cit. 2024-08-10]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342715223_Making_Antidiscrimination_Law_Effective_

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