Have I been discriminated against?
Experiencing discrimination is often a difficult and emotional experience. If you suspect that you have experienced discrimination, there are several parties in Finland that you can contact and that can help you to assess the situation. It may be difficult for a person to assess by themselves whether the situation involved illegal discrimination. The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman assesses your case based specifically on the Non-discrimination Act. On this page, you can also find information on other parties that handle issues outside the field of competence of the Non-discrimination Ombudsman.
If you suspect that you have experienced discrimination, you can
- try to settle the matter together with the party you suspect has discriminated against you
- contact a competent authority, such as the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman, the occupational safety and health authorities of the Regional State Administrative Agency, or other parties that offer help and guidance and are able to assess your situation
- bring your matter to the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal to be processed
- file a report of an offence with the police.
Have I experienced discrimination?
Fundamental to the evaluation of discrimination is the identification of different treatment. Different treatment is obvious in situations such as a local register office refusing to marry a couple of the same gender, or excluding a specific group such as foreigners in a housing advertisement. The key in identifying different treatment is to ask: Have I been treated differently than other people?
Treating individuals differently is not prohibited in itself. It is only prohibited when the grounds for such treatment are personal characteristics defined by law as prohibited grounds for discrimination. Grounds for discrimination prohibited by the Non-discrimination Act are age, origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, opinion, political activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health, disability, sexual orientation and other personal characteristics.
In addition, there must also be factors involved in the case proving that the different treatment is specifically due to prohibited grounds for discrimination. Such factors may include, for example, a customer service staff member referring to the origin or disability of a person as grounds for different treatment.
Sometimes, treating people the same way may also constitute discrimination. For example, a restaurant’s prohibition of head coverings applies to everyone as such, but it may affect especially people who wear a head covering of some kind for religious reasons.
When you suspect you have experienced discrimination, consider the following questions:
- Was I treated differently from other persons?
- Was the different treatment due to prohibited grounds for discrimination, that is, a personal characteristic?
- Why do you suspect that you were treated differently from others because of prohibited grounds for discrimination?
In unclear situations, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman. We will help you assess whether the matter involves illegal discrimination.
When you contact the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman
The experts in the Office of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman assess all complaints concerning discrimination received by the Ombudsman. The experts assess whether the case involves discrimination.
The Ombudsman has broad discretionary powers to decide what measures will be taken based on an individual complaint. The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman has many ways of tackling discrimination and promoting equality.
Even if someone may justifiably feel that they have experienced discrimination, the matter may still not constitute discrimination as referred to in the Non-discrimination Act. In such cases, the Non-discrimination Ombudsman is not competent to assess the matter. In that case, the situation should be assessed by another authority.
If you suspect that you have been discriminated against based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, parenthood or family obligations, the competent authority to assess the matter is the Ombudsman for Equality. You can find more information on the website of the Ombudsman for Equality.
The Non-discrimination Ombudsman has a parallel mandate with the of the occupational safety and health authorities in matters related to discrimination in working life. If you suspect that you have experienced discrimination in an employment relationship, practical training or other similar activities at the workplace or in recruitment you can contact the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman or the occupational safety and health authorities. You can find more information on the website of the occupational safety and health authorities of the Regional State Administrative Agency
Among other things, the Regional State Administrative Agency processes complaints, claims for a revised decision, statements and requests for rectification of student assessments in connection with education and early childhood education and care. For example, the rectification of a decision on student admittance is assigned to the Regional State Administrative Agency. The Regional State Administrative Agency also guides and monitors municipal and private social welfare services as well as public and private health care services. You can find more information on the website of the Regional State Administrative Agency
The National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal is an autonomous and independent legal protection body that offers legal protection for those who feel that they have experienced discrimination. The National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal can make a legally binding decision on whether the prohibition of discrimination by the Non-Discrimination Act has been violated in the case. The processing of the case by the Tribunal is free of charge. You can find more information about the Tribunal on their website.
The Parliamentary Ombudsman monitors authorities and other parties carrying out public duties to ensure that they follow the law as well as basic and human rights in all of their activities. In addition, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has the special duty to monitor the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). You can find more information on the website of the Parliamentary Ombudsman.
The Chancellor of Justice monitors the authorities. You can file a complaint with the Chancellor of Justice, if you consider that an authority, public official or another party carrying out public duties has acted wrongly or failed to do their duty. The Chancellor of Justice also monitors attorneys-at-law. You can find more information on the website of the Chancellor of Justice.
If you have become the victim of an offence, you can file a report of an offence with the police. In some cases, the matter may involve a discrimination offence in accordance with the Criminal Code in addition to discrimination prohibited by the Non-discrimination Act, in which case the matter can be reported either to the Non-discrimination Ombudsman or the police. The police are a more appropriate party to assess conflicting proof than the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman.
Certain expressions of hate and hate speech may constitute not only harassment prohibited by the Non-discrimination Act, but also ethnic agitation. The Non-Discrimination Ombudsman can help you with assessing whether a report of an offence should be filed with the police.
If in your opinion the police or other public official of the National Police Board has acted wrongly in their official duties or neglected to carry out their official duties, you can file an administrative complaint about the issue. You can find more information on the website of Police.
You can find legal aid and advice from parties such as the Legal Aid Office or by hiring a private attorney-at-law.
If you are not satisfied with the treatment you have received or feel that you have been treated inappropriately in health care, you can contact the Patient Ombudsman. The Patient Ombudsman is tasked with advising patients and providing information about the status and rights of patients. You can find more information on the website of Patient Ombudsman.
If you are not satisfied with the treatment or service you have received in social welfare services, you can contact the Social Ombudsman. You can find more information on the website of Valvira.
The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA) monitors the restrictions related to the use, tenant selection and determination of rent of ARA rental apartments. You can find the contact information on the website of ARA.
Mediation may be possible in arguments in the building you live in or your housing company. More information about community mediation can be found on the website of the Community Mediation Centre.
The contact information of mediation offices can be found on the website of the Finnish institute for health and welfare.
The Finnish Financial Ombudsman Bureau (FINE) advises clients in problem situations related to insurance and banking, among other things. You can find more information on the website of the Finnish Financial Ombudsman Bureau.
In some cases, it may be appropriate for the person themselves to ask for a written response from the party suspected of discrimination on why the party acted as it did in the situation. This in itself may already resolve the situation. In addition, if a complaint is later filed with the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman in the case, such a response speeds up processing the matter at the Office of the Ombudsman.