There are many grounds relating to differences between people which could cause someone to be discriminated against. It is important to be well informed about the most common grounds in order to identify situations of discrimination.
The prohibition of discrimination means that you cannot be treated worse than other people simply because of who you are. There are a number of grounds on the basis of which people are discriminated against most frequently. They are, therefore, called the ‘protected characteristics or grounds’, on which discrimination is prohibited. They can be found in different international human rights instruments and Slovakian legislation.
The most common grounds on which discrimination is prohibited, are gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation or language. However, discrimination may also occur on many other grounds, such as a person’s political opinion or any other opinion, social origin, material status or genetic features. This list is not exhaustive. Discrimination may also occur on several grounds at the same time.
Moreover, the Slovakian Anti-discrimination Act defines a special ground of discrimination, not to be explicitly found in other similar laws, namely „reporting of crime or any other wrongdoing “. This ground was added in 2015 as one of the means of protecting the whistle-blowers from discrimination at the workplace.
About this section
This section of the Guide will help in better understanding the meaning of each of the most common grounds on which discrimination is prohibited.
Read more about the most common grounds of discrimination: