Empirical Characteristics of the Discriminating and Anti-Discrimination Legal Consciousness of Bulgarians
Empirical Characteristics of the Discriminating and Anti-Discrimination Legal Consciousness of Bulgarians

Author(s): Stefka Naoumova
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Sociology
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: discrimination; EU membership; equality; gender; law; Rule of Law
Summary/Abstract: The issues of discrimination as a social phenomenon and particularly – the recently increasing multiple discrimination – are the subject of attention in every civilized society, in so far as the state and its citizens are unanimous in their efforts to protect basic human values and to guarantee lawfulness and rule of law when keeping up with the principle of equality in spite of differences based on gender, age, education, property status, ethnic identity, disabilities, etc. Republic of Bulgaria’s full EU membership put in focus theoretical clarification of the equality issue, as well as legislation modernization and its incorporation into the best European anti-discrimination policies. Identifying efficient legal and alternative mechanisms for effective enforcement is essential to avoid mono-discrimination and multiple discrimination as well. Main problems requiring in-depth analysis are focused in several directions. In the first place – the European global strategy and the new paradigm of socio-legal knowledge. In the second place – legal-sociological characteristics of discrimination as a form of social deviation in the context of EU anti-discrimination policy. Thirdly, empirical characteristics of the (anti)discriminating legal consciousness. An interesting empirical legal-sociological survey was conducted by the Institute of State and Law at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, entitled “Public Opinion on Discrimination and Establishing of Anti-Discriminating Legal Consciousness”. The survey finds a relatively good degree of awareness regarding discrimination problems in general, and particularly the multiple discrimination.

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