Definitions – Children's Law Centre

What is disability discrimination?

inico Admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2020 13:54:54 +0000

The law says that you must not be treated differently or worse without a very good reason because you have a disability. The law protects you if you have a physical or mental disability including a learning disability and that disability makes it hard for you to do everyday things that most other people can do.

What is discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:11:26 +0000

It is against the law to discriminate against somebody because of their sexual orientation. This means you must not be treated worse or differently because you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual (straight). It may also be against the law if you are treated worse or differently simply because someone thinks you have a particular sexual orientation.

What is discrimination on grounds of political opinion/views?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:08:37 +0000

The law says that you must not be treated worse or differently simply because of your political opinion or views e.g. because you are a member of a particular political party, a member of your family is in a particular political party or you support the views or ideas of a particular political party. It may also be against the law if you are treated worse or differently simply because someone thinks you have certain political views.

What is discrimination on grounds of religious opinion/views?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:05:22 +0000

The law says that you must not be treated worse or differently simply because of your religious beliefs or because you don’t have any. ‘Religious beliefs’ include a very wide range of religions, for example Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and other world faiths. It may also be against the law if you are treated worse or differently simply because someone thinks you are a particular religion.

What is race discrimination?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:02:04 +0000

The law says that you must not be treated worse or different simply because of your race, the colour of your skin, your nationality or ethnic background or because you belong to the Irish Traveller Community. Nor must you be treated worse because you are connected to someone from a particular racial ground (e.g. a school friend or relative). Discrimination for any of these reasons may be against the law.

What is gender discrimination?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 15:00:13 +0000

The law says that you cannot be treated worse or differently simply because of your gender. The law also says that a woman or girl must not be treated badly because she is pregnant or has already had a baby. If this has happened to you it may be against the law.

What is indirect discrimination?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 14:56:12 +0000

Indirect discrimination is where a rule that applies equally to everyone unintentionally puts certain groups at a particular disadvantage.

Example: Jane who is 15 applies for a Saturday job in her local shop. This is the first time she has applied for a job. The shop owner tells her that the job requires previous experience of shop work. Although it’s the same rule for all job applicants and the job is open to both younger and older people alike, requiring “previous experience” indirectly excludes many younger people like Jane who because of their age will not have had the chance to get experience. Unless the shop owner can give a very good reason for requiring “previous experience” and can show that it really is necessary for doing the job, this will be against the law.

What is direct discrimination?

inico Admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2020 14:45:04 +0000

Direct discrimination is where you are treated worse because of your age, race, gender, religion, political opinion, age, disability and sexual orientation. For example, a shop keeper, without justification, excludes a group of 16 year olds from his shop simply because he assumes that because they are young they might cause trouble.