sou · GTB356 · 2006-01-01 00:00:00 — Detta kan utgöra en indikator på åtgärders effektivitet. Jag föreslår olika åtgärder som innebär att frågan om strukturell diskriminering får en tydligare inverkan på polisens arbete. Att det hos människor med rötter utanför finns en tydlig avsaknad av tillit till poliser och deras arbete är en signal som måste tas på allvar. De åtgärder jag föreslår syftar till att påverka polisens ut- bildning, hur klagomål utreds och avrapportering angående poli- sens befogenhet att stanna och kontrollera människor. Ta bort osakligt motiverade åtskillnader i lagarna Jag föreslår att medborgskapskrav som innebär en osaklig motive- rad åtskillnad i rättigheter tas bort i enlighet med förslagen i Med- borgarskapkrav i svensk lagstiftning (SOU 2000:106), inklusive frågan om rösträtt. Dessutom anser jag att frågan om likabehand- ling med hänsyn till grundlagens åtskillnad mellan utlänningars fri- och rättigheter och svenska medborgares bör utredas. Full rösträtt för alla permanent bosatta i Jag föreslår att frågan om full rösträtt för alla permanent bosatta i , dvs. även i riksdagsval, utreds. Konsultativ process med de berörda angående delaktighet och demokrati Jag föreslår att en konsultationsprocess med de berörda inleds för att analysera varför invandrare är mindre delaktiga än svenskar i den politiska processen. Grundtanken är att om politiker och andra är intresserade av att höja delaktigheten bör man fråga de som be- rörs. Jag föreslår att flera högskoleutbildningar uppmuntras att införliva kurser som tar upp diskriminering som en nyckelfråga. Dessutom föreslås en översyn av huruvida dagens undervisningsmaterial inne- håller stereotypiserande bilder. Därutöver föreslås en undersökning av elevers kunskap om brott mot mänskliga rättigheter i . Detta kan gälla allt från dis- kriminerande lagar och policys som berört romer och judar, hur samerna har behandlats, hur rasbiologin blev en svensk vetenskap och grunderna i steriliseringspolitiken. Dessutom fanns det länge lagar och policys som tydligt diskriminerade kvinnor. För att förstå diskriminering i dagens , anser jag att det är viktigt med en förståelse av att inte har varit fritt från olika typer av brott mot mänskliga rättigheter, inklusive diskriminering. Utredning av vissa lagar Jag föreslår en utredning av alkohollagen för att tydliggöra kom- munernas rätt att införa antidiskrimineringsvillkor i utskänknings- tillstånd. Detta är ett sätt att komma åt krograsism. Dessutom fö- reslås en utredning av ett ansvar i kommunallagen för motverkande av diskriminering. Kommuner och landsting har en nyckelroll i det offentligas infly- tande över vardagen. Därmed ser jag det som viktigt att lämna re- kommendationer. Dessa följer i stort de övriga förslagen i betän- kandet. Främst att lokalpolitiker ser över de olika roller inom vilket diskriminering kan motverkas – t.ex. som arbetsgivare, upphand- lare, regelskapare, serviceorgan och skolansvariga. Men en ny fråga är rekommendationen om anslutning till Coalition of European Cities Against Racism. Denna sammanslutning av Euro- peiska städer har åtagit sig att fullfölja ett handlingsprogram med tio punkter för att motverka rasism och diskriminering. arbete med koalitionen bygger på tron att städer är nyckelaktörer i det konkreta arbetet med vardagsrasism. The tasks of this inquiry The first task of this inquiry has been to review and present the existing research and information in on structural discri- mination due to ethnicity or religion, particularly in regard to the labour market, the housing market, mass media, the political system, the legal system, the educational system and welfare servi- ces such as the social services and health care. Where determined to be relevant, research and information from other countries on structural discrimination was to be reviewed and presented, as well as knowledge concerning gender discrimination in and other countries. This will provide an overview of existing know- ledge which should contribute to a greater consciousness concern- ing structural discrimination, as well as providing a basis for deci- ding which measures and which additional research is necessary. The second task of this inquiry is to review and present relevant research and information about and measures against structural discrimination in other countries. This task also includes reviewing and presenting relevant research and information about and meas- ures against gender discrimination in and other countries. The third task of this inquiry is to propose measures for counte- racting structural discrimination as well as measures to fill the gaps in knowledge. What is structural discrimination? The inquirys directive provides the following definition: Structural discrimination due to ethnicity or religion in this inquirys directive refers to rules, norms, routines, patterns of attitudes and be- haviour in institutions and other societal structures that represent obstacles to ethnic or religious minorities in achieving the same rights and opportunities that are available to the majority of the population. Such discrimination may be either open or hidden, and it could occur intentionally or unintentionally. The directive points out that the term structural discrimination is to be seen as a term that covers both structural as well as institu- tional discrimination. Structural discrimination means that the principle of equality is not upheld, and is therefore a serious problem in regard to demo- cracy for the whole society and not just a problem for those groups that are subjected to discrimination. I have started out from the point of view that the conscious or subconscious actions of individuals are needed for creating and maintaining structures, and vice versa. Individuals form structures, structures form individuals. Discrimination based on pre-conceived notions concerning ethnicity, religion and culture simply have to be seen in a structural perspective. Individual actions can thus not be excluded from or be held separate from structural discrimina- tion. When an individual or an institution acts in accordance with a societys prevailing norms and pre-conceived notions concerning immigrants, it is a question of structural discrimination. At the same time this action contributes to recreating structural discrimi- nation. It has also been important to recognize that the consequences of rules, norms and behaviour are that some are affected negatively and others positively. Therefore the issue of power is central to my understanding of structural discrimination. The relation between racism and discrimination An increasing number of researchers, internationally as well as in , have shown that the race biology ideas and concepts, that had a dominant influence in most European countries during the 1800´s up to World War II, have prevailed and been transformed in various ways, even though the concept of race has been discarded by the scientific community as well as politically. Instead the con- cept of culture has taken over the role of race as a concept for defining perceptions that exist about different people in the world. The Swedish research within various fields shows that culturally related racism is the most common in . It is formulated in terms of stereotypical assumptions concerning the cultures of immigrants and the cultures of Swedes, often as completely diffe- rent and incompatible. Based on this understanding of racism, it is difficult to differen- tiate between structural discrimination and racism, they basically describe the same phenomenon. Some in use the concept structural racism to define the same phenomenon. In, for example, the and , the term institutional racism has been used to describe the same phenomenon. In some countries individual events have functioned as eye ope- ners in regard to the public debate on discrimination and racism. A very important example is The in which in 1999 examined the failures of the in the investigation of the murder of , a young black man who was murdered by a gang of white men. The inquiry determined that the problem was not a few bad apples within the , but that the problem was institutional racism (e.g. structural discrimination) within the force. The inquiry also concluded that institutional racism was a problem within other public authorities and not just the . The reforms that followed placed clear requirements in regard to public authorities. Government authorities can no longer simply assert that they have no such problems. Instead they have to show what they are doing to examine and counteract structural discrimi- nation. does not lack such events, but they have not functioned as eye openers in the same way. I believe that the most important reason for this is a widespread denial. This is the reason why, in order to understand the situation in today, the inquiry starts with a glimpse into racism and structural discrimination as a part of Swedish history. A glimpse into racism and structural discrimination in Swedish history The difficulties that many feel in regard to recognizing and accep- ting that discrimination occurs in todays society is often based on a conscious or sub-conscious assumption that is diffe- rent from other countries. , it is popularly assumed, lacks a history of racism and oppression of ethnic minorities. treatment of, for example, the sami and the roma are clear examples in Swedish history that demonstrate the problems with this view. The fact that established the worlds first biology is another. history is a part of Europes history. The same racism that arose and spread in Europe, has thus occurred and occurs in . The racist view of, for example, people from and has been widely disseminated in , being almost a part of popular culture. As in most other countries in Europe, the end of World War II carried with it a repression of the racist past. economic boom after the war was complemented by a self-image as a moral superpower. helped the third world, and was one of the most vocal critics of apartheid. At the same time, it was implied that such problems did not exist in . Among other things, this meant that , along with most other European countries, was very slow in developing effective laws against ethnic discrimi- nation. Such problems were to be found in other places. The denial of ethnic discrimination can be seen as a thread that runs through immigrant policy and later integration policy, as well as the difficulties in banning ethnic discrimination in working life as well as other parts of society. Review of research and information Research in (and other countries) has shown that racist discourse in the media achieves a status as common sense. The overriding picture of immigrants in the media is that they consti- tute a threat or a problem. Immigrant men are often pictured (and are thus mainly characterized) as prone to crime, and immi- grant women are often pictured as passive and repressed. way, social problems are depicted as cultural problems and thus, instead of the problem being the Swedes and , the problem becomes the immigrant. At the same time the media creates Swedishness through the ascribing of negative traits to The Other. Swedes are all the things that The Others are not. This can be seen when the media ascribes violence against women carried out by immigrant men to their patriarchal culture, while the violence against women carried out by Swedes is explained at an individual, psychological level. This also contributes to disguising the gender power structure within the majority society. The media has often presented a narrow picture of racism, and experiences of racism and discrimination have to a large extent been excluded from the media. However, during later years, there has been an increasing although ambiguous interest in these issues. Politics has contributed to the creation of the general picture in which the mere presence of immigrants in is seen as a pro- blem, and as a threat to, for example, Swedish culture and the Swedish welfare system. Concerning participation in the various political organs such as city councils there are similar norms and pre-conceived notions. The picture of the ideal politician seems to that of a white man. Immigrants are often described in politics as objects with regard to whom measures need to be undertaken, rather than as independent actors. A number of politicians with a foreign background have reported about their experiences with direct and indirect discrimi- nation within their parties. Both in regard to participation in elected political bodies, as well as in voting, an increasing number of researchers are moving away from the research that ties the explanation to immigrants themsel- ves. The reasons for limited participation are instead a problem where the answers lie in the political system and Swedish society in general. The educational system is based on Swedishness as the norm. This affects the attitudes and behaviour of teachers and other personnel in regard to students with a foreign background and their parents. Many students have experiences with racist attitudes and behavi- our from both students as well as teachers and other school per- sonnel. A failure by the school system to counteract such behavi- our and attitudes seems widespread. Much of the research concerning the situation of immigrants on the labour market has started out with a view of characteristics that are considered to deviate from Swedish characteristics; religion, a patriarchal view concerning women, an authoritarian view of lead- ership and (other) cultural characteristics. Other points of departure have involved a lack of Swedish language skills, a lack of education, a lack of social competence and a lack of understanding of Swedish codes. Today there is a substantial body of research that shows that these types of assumptions are often based on inaccurate grounds. There is support for the idea that such factors cannot explain the ethnic differences that exist concerning entry into the labour mar- ket or the differences in work conditions experienced in working life. Research has instead been able to show that structural discrimi- nation is decisive in regard to the exclusion experienced upon entry into the labour market as well as the subordination of immigrants in working life. Research shows that there is a concentration of persons with a foreign background in low wage jobs, especially in the service sec- tor in . The trend is that non-white persons (mainly women) to an increasing extent serve white people. Some groups clearly have a time establishing themselves on the housing market. That cities are ethnically segregated is appa- rent, as well as the connection between segregation, class and the situation on the labour market. Even in regards to the segregation that exists in , an ethnic hierarchy can be seen. The idea that factors like the time a person has been in , their education and their employment situation alone can explain the possibilities to establish a housing career, can be rejected. A persons labour market situation explains some of the segregation, but since some groups of immigrants have a worse housing situation in spite of a better work situation (and education and longer time in ), it is reasonable to conclude that the surrounding societys views concerning a persons physical characteristics and culture affects their housing opportunities. Popular discourse in the media concerning the areas that have larger numbers of immigrants show clear examples of stereotypical descriptions that have stigmatising effects. The results of the evaluations of the special funding for projects in socially exposed housing areas indicate that those in the area, at best, received a form of acute help. These measures have been lacking a perspective that focuses not just on the consequences, but also on the underlying mechanisms. Research in the field provides a picture that shows that immigrants comparatively have a worse situation in regard to health, work, economics and housing etc. This can be seen as an indication that the Swedish welfare state is increasingly characterized by segrega- tion and marginalisation, and is thus not living up to its goals. An increasing number of researchers are today talking about an ethnic division of welfare in the society. In a number of institutions there are norms that connect Swe- dishness with what is normal, and at the same time point out and establish immigrants as different. Social problems experienced by immigrants are turned into cultural problems, and this places responsibility on the immigrant for her or his unequal situation. Research provides some support for the idea that these norms and pre-conceived notions affect actions. There seems to be a negative connection between discrimination and physical and mental health. In other countries, researchers have examined this issue and the results clearly point in this direction. Men with a foreign background have on the average a better self- evaluated health level as compared with women with a foreign background. This can be due to the lower level of participation by women in the labour market or education programs, as well as women presumably experiencing discrimination based on percep- tions related to ethnicity as well as gender. One example is that the access to social services seems to be different for women with a foreign background as opposed to men, due to expectations that women in general are responsible for taking care of children as well as elderly relatives, combined with a perception that immigrant women to a greater extent than Swedish women want to do this as they belong to a traditional culture. Research on structural discrimination within the Swedish legal system is quite limited, as opposed to the situation in and the . Nevertheless it seems that immigrants run a greater risk of attracting attention, of being placed in custody and being sentenced to prison, as opposed to a Swede in a similar situation. The criminality of immigrants has been a focal point for the public debate, but there is a need to focus on the legal system itself. The Swedish research thus far basically points in the same direction as the foreign research that shows that structural discrim- ination is a problem in the legal system. This conclusion is also supported by the low level of confidence and trust that non-Euro- pean immigrants have in regard to the and the courts, as compared with Swedes. Conclusions concerning the review of research The first conclusion that I have drawn is that structural discrimi- nation due to ethnicity or religion can affect persons with a foreign background in various situations within each of the fields reviewed. Structural discrimination creates a system of superior and subor- dinate relations between (white) Swedes and racialized persons, mainly with an immigrant background. This appears both in con- crete situations such as recruitment, as well as in general life condi- tions, in the organisation of society for example the ethnic segre- gation of labour, and in the distribution of material, political and social resources. Discrimination can be triggered by a variety of things; a name, an accent or physical appearance, to more general perceptions concerning immigrants being different; having another culture, const- ituting a threat, lacking competence, not fitting in. Individuals tend to be equated with and are dealt with on the basis of an ascribed ethnicity, in other words discrimination reflects an inability to see people as individuals. In this way Swedes are constructed as an opposite to immi- grants. Here the idea of immigrants symbolizes what Swedes are not. The projection of negative traits onto immigrants con- tributes to the of a positive Swedish self-image. To a large extent there is a lack of research on how structural discrimination related to ethnicity and religion affects women and men differently. In some areas there exists some knowledge, which is presented in each respective chapter. It seems that different systems of power, that is the ethnic power structure and the gender power structure interact and are created together. Research on this is still in its early stages, but is increasingly coming into focus. But at the same time there is an opposition to seeing or acknowledging that there is such an interplay. When feminism does not explicitly oppose racism, and when antira- cism does not incorporate opposition to patriarchy, race and gender politics often end up being antagonistic to each other and both inte- rests lose (Crenshaw, 1992:32). In addition to the societys division of the population into Swe- des and immigrants, there is an ethnic hierarchy that can be found in stereotypes in the media and educational materials, among politicians and political rhetoric, in wage differences, employment rates, health and housing. It also appears in the experiences of dis- crimination. This hierarchy is also expressed in the attitudes of the dominant societys individuals and institutions. The perception that peoples characteristics and abilities can be related to culture, ethnicity and race – racism – seems to be a norm that makes the systematic ethnic differentiation possible as well as the ethnic power structure. In examining power in relation to the conclusions above, I also conclude that structural discrimination leads to privileges for the dominant part of society, which in turn leads to a situation where there is at least an underlying interest on behalf of privileged indiv- iduals/groups in maintaining the status quo. Norms and behavior cannot be considered to be neutral, as the consequences are that some are affected negatively and some positively. A factor that tends to be repeated is that the institutions in society change their rules and practices in relation to certain ethnic groups. Here one can differentiate between rules and routines that formally distinguish between different groups, and when interpretations of routines and rules vary for different groups given established norms and patterns of behavior. One example can be seen in the law granting local voting rights to immigrants from the EU, Nor- way and on the same conditions as apply to Swedes, while immigrants from other parts of the world are to wait three years as they need time to learn the language as well as to understand the Swedish political culture. Another related factor is the ability to move the focus from disc- rimination to more accepted and harmless issues. Instead of a focus on counteracting discrimination within working life as a key to a sustainable labour market, where the individual is encouraged to believe in her or his own potential, the focus is almost as a rule moved to measures needed for creating jobs and/or the different means needed to help immigrants into the labour market. For poli- ticians (both on the left and the right), civil servants, unions and employers, these are policy fields where the players know and are comfortable with their roles. At the same time the focus is conven- iently kept away from an examination of those with the power to discriminate, or the power to hinder discrimination. Various studies lead to the conclusion that discrimination within one sector of society affects and adds to discrimination in other sectors. For example, media stereotypes affect the attitudes and actions of employment agency personnel or school teachers, in regard to large portions of the immigrant population. It can also be concluded that a chain of effects can arise in that discrimination in one field can have far-reaching effects in regard to other areas. Discrimination on the labour market, has effects on housing as well as an individuals overall economy, which in turn affects the possi- bilities to choose a children. Somebody else is always at fault