Discrimination affects the development of the Republic of Moldova as society and as a state. This is one of the opinions stated by the experts who presented the Survey on Equality Perceptions and Attitudes that measures the level of acceptance of vulnerable groups in society and shows the stereotypes faced by these, IPN reports.
The survey authors measured the social distance index of 14 vulnerable groups among which persons with mental, intellectual and physical disabilities, the LGBT community, HIV-infected persons and the Roma people. The survey reveals that none of the studied vulnerable groups enjoys full tolerance. “If we speak about social distance close to the level of expulsion from the country, we speak about the persons of the LGBT community and HIV-infected persons. The ex-detainees and persons with mental disabilities are also among those who are marginalized. The Russian speakers and Russians who live in Moldova are accepted in society the easiest,” said Ian Feldman, chairman of the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring of Gender Equality.
According to the results of a poll published within the same survey, for all the respondents discrimination is a minor problem. The experts have yet a different opinion. They consider that discrimination affects the development level of a state. “The higher the acceptance and tolerance level in a country is, the higher the welfare level and salaries are, the more acceptable the prices are and the higher the number of jobs is,” said Veaceslav Balan, National Human Rights Coordinator at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
At the end, the survey contains authors’ recommendations for the integration of the vulnerable groups. “First of all, campaigns are needed to inform the population about the vulnerable groups in the Republic of Moldova. Some of the recommendations are intended for the central and local public authorities, which these can use when reviewing the policies and programs. We must also work with the vulnerable groups so that these know their rights,” OHCHR projects coordinator Valentina Purcel stated for IPN.
The survey was conducted by the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring of Gender Equality in cooperation with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The presentation was attended by representatives of the central public authorities and civil society.
The survey was carried out in April-June 2015 and covered a representative sample of 1,013 respondents from 13 regions of the country.
