Thediscrimination refers, in general, to the behavior of distinguishing or differentiating things or people. Although the use without any connotation is used on some occasions, the most frequent when referring to discrimination is to think of a behavior in which one or more people make a distinction in the treatment of another or others for arbitrary reasons such as racial origin , sex, nationality, socioeconomic level or a number of circumstances linked to the individuality of the person.
When discrimination is carried out for the purpose of denigrating and harming the person, it is often referred to as negative discrimination. The different types of discrimination threaten equality, since they imply a hierarchical positioning of some social groups with respect to others. All the great phenomena of negative discrimination in the history of the world occurred stigmatizing a markedly minority group, since only the groups that know that they are in the majority feel confident enough to generate damage such as discrimination.
During the 20th century, discrimination it was a constant in different regions of the world. The great migratory phenomena between different places led to people who had nothing to do with each other some time before, and strong controversies were generated, many times resolved through violence.
Political movements like the Nazism and the fascism they were proof of the terrible consequences that negative discrimination brings when it is promoted and even directed by the State. They were not the only episodes of this type, since it is common for different politicians to look to a minority for a scapegoat to blame for the ills of the country, which gives them a greater margin of action.
The consensus on the terribleness of these events favored the possibility of seeking mechanisms so that States do not promote discrimination in an organized way: the United Nations, and Human Rights were a contribution in this regard. However, negative discrimination remains latent in the world, be it individually, organized and collectively. Some are listed here cases of negative discrimination.
- The discrimination suffered by people who have the virus of some disease, such as HIV.
- The unfavorable treatment women receive in some cultures, based on certain religious dogmas.
- States, when they do not allow two people of the same sex to marry.
- Denial of permission for some people to access certain positions, or services, due to their sexual orientation.
- The discrimination that is exercised against women who are pregnant, in some work areas.
- Do not provide spaces for participation for the elderly, denigrate and belittle them.
- The derogatory treatment sometimes suffered by people with disabilities.
- The differences in treatment that occur in some airports, depending on the appearance of each person.
- Affirm that people who have a certain ideology, only for that reason have other characteristics in their personality.
- The shops do forbid the entry of some people because of their skin color.
See also: Examples of Employment Discrimination
As said, it is common for society to have many minorities and therefore cultural differences between them. The States, then, usually apply public policies aimed at recognizing the cultural differences of these groups and stimulating integration despite the differences that may exist. Actions aimed at establishing these bridges for equal opportunities in different measures constitute, by their own definition, discriminatory actions, but they have their own characteristic that makes them known as positive or reverse discrimination.
Minorities, in the case of positive discrimination, they are favored instead of disadvantaged. Although the majority of people agree on the importance and value of positive discrimination, there are some who, due to its discriminatory nature or because of the potential to lose privileges, oppose it.
The importance of supporting affirmative action policies is held in a pragmatic position, by virtue of the existing differences, since in the ideal, surely all people would agree that it would be better if these policies did not have to exist, due to the absence of differences. Here some cases of positive discrimination.
- Limited places for the schooling of children with certain conditions.
- The bonuses that companies receive for hiring people with disabilities.
- Tax exemption for economically less favored sectors.
- Laws that make a special recognition of the lands that belong to some original groups.
- Hire police for belonging to certain social minorities.
- Special Laws to favor immigrants in some countries.
- The obligation that is in the political lists to cover some quotas with women.
- People who have a disability, and therefore are not forced to queue and wait.
- Laws that favor women in cases of gender violence.
- Student scholarships, for certain social groups.
