Rasismi ja syrjintä

"All people are moulded from the same piece of clay."
(German saying)

According to Finnish law, discrimination is a crime. According to the Non-Discrimination Act “Nobody may be discriminated against on the basis of age, ethnic or national origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, opinion, health, disability, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics".

The Ombudsman for Minorities is an authority with the basic task of advancing the status and legal protection of ethnic minorities and foreigners as well as equality, non-discrimination and good ethnic relations in Finland.

You can contact the Ombudsman for Minorities if, for example, you have experienced or observed ethnic discrimination. In cases of discrimination, or if you have any other questions, please call the customer service of the Office of the Ombudsman for Minorities on 071 878 8666 (weekdays between 10.00 and 12.00).

Work discrimination (työsyrjintä) is a crime. You can report it to the Labour Protection Authority.

A brochure on discrimination is available on the Equality.fi pages in the following languages:

Finnish
Swedish
English
Russian
Somali
Arabic

The Non-Discrimination Act (yhdenvertaisuuslaki) forbids discrimination in recruitment and training. People cannot be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin in relation to social services and health care. The Non-Discrimination Act is available in Finlex.

Information on how to prevent racism is available on the Rasmus Network website. A non-discrimination campaign in the EU countries: information in different languages.

Racist Crime

Racism can mean e.g. discrimination, threats, bullying or violence. If you become a victim of a racist crime, contact the police. Visit your local police station or report a crime online. If your well-being or life is in danger or you need immediate police assistance for any other reason, you can call the national emergency number. The national emergency number is 112.The police will take your details and call you in for a questioning at a later date. You are entitled to have an interpreter and a lawyer present in the questioning. If you inform the police in advance and require an interpreter, the police will organise the interpreter free of charge.

Legal advice is available from solicitors and other lawyers as well as public legal advisers working at the Public Legal Aid Offices (valtion oikeusaputoimisto).

More information on the topic is available on the Rasmus Network website of the Finnish League for Human Rights or on the yhdenvertaisuus.fi website.

Who can help in cases of discrimination?