The option of obtaining professional assistance by discrimination victims resident in the Lublin voivodship remains rather limited – e.g. not a single civic counselling office operates throughout the province. Many years of experience show that the term “discrimination” remains vastly incomprehensible to Lublin residents. While often suspecting of being discrimination victims, they have neither the knowledge nor the skills to demand that their rights be respected.
The project purpose was to provide discrimination victims resident in the Lublin voivodship with professional aid they require.
An Anti-Discrimination Support Office was opened and managed, counselling offered to victims of discrimination based on a variety of premises.
A duly trained Anti-Discrimination Support Office team provided 30 discrimination victims with assistance (approximately 100 conversations/meetings), and used an analysis of individual cases to design advocacy for system change preventing future discrimination. The Office was intensely promoted on the web (a dedicated website set up) and in local printed press (paid advertising). The organisation also managed a support group – a meeting venue for public officials and non-governmental organisation representatives – for purposes of exchanging current experience and information, and of developing co-operation to prevent discrimination in the Lublin voivodship.
Project beneficiaries included 30 persons offered anti-discrimination counselling, and 13 institutions whose representatives attended monthly support group meetings. The Anti-Discrimination Support Office campaign reach has been estimated at over forty thousand recipients.