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Report discrimination

On a yellow background, a group of different people.

Tampere is a city for all, where discrimination and inappropriate behaviour are not tolerated. On this page, you will find advice on what to do if you experience discrimination.

Being discriminated against can trigger a wide range of emotions, such as anger, anxiety or self-blame. It can feel difficult to try to deal with the situation. However, every experience of discrimination is worth dealing with. Discrimination does not have to be accepted.

Seek help from the experts

First, try to sort things out yourself with the person you feel has discriminated against you. You can get help, advice and an assessment of your situation from the authorities. If necessary, you can also contact a wide range of organisations that help people who have experienced discrimination.

If you have experienced discrimination while using the services of the City of Tampere, you can contact the city's equality coordinator. The coordinator will not intervene in individual cases, but can advise on who to contact and bring different actors together to find a solution.

Identifying discrimination

It is not always easy to know if you have been discriminated against. For example, rude behaviour is not necessarily discrimination, even if it is against good manners.

Discrimination is when a person or groups of people are treated differently from others in the same situation because of certain prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Under Finnish law, no one may be discriminated against on the basis of the following grounds:

  • gender and gender identity 
  • sexual orientation 
  • age 
  • ethnic background or nationality 
  • language 
  • religion or belief 
  • opinion 
  • political activity 
  • trade union activities 
  • family relations 
  • state of health 
  • disability 
  • social or economic status

Other individual, prohibited grounds of discrimination include for instance body size, appearance or neurodiversity.

Report serious discrimination

Contact the police directly in the event of a serious, threatening situation, such as violence, persecution or a hate crime. When making a report, mention if you suspect a hate crime. You do not need to know whether or not it is a crime. That is the work of the police to determine a crime.

You can get help with reporting a crime from Victim Support Finland. Victim Support can also advise you if you suspect that discrimination may constitute a crime, but you are not sure. Calling Victim Support is free of charge. You can get help in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Victim Support Finland (RIKU)’s main operation is to improve the position of the victim of crime, his/her loved ones and the witness of the criminal case by influencing and producing support services. We aim to operate as the arbiter and interpreter of needs on behalf of the victim of crime.

Authorities that help people who have experienced discrimination

Some types of discrimination do not require immediate intervention. However, these non-urgent discrimination situations must also be dealt with. You should first raise the matter yourself with the person you feel has discriminated against you. If necessary, seek support from experts. Depending on the nature of the discrimination and the possible discriminator, you can contact the following authorities:

Organisations offering support in Tampere

There are several organisations in Tampere where you can get support in situations of discrimination, hate speech or violence and in recovering from them. Some organisations specialise in helping with specific concerns. These include mental health problems, issues dealing with ethnicity or honour-related culture, emotional or spiritual violence, family or relationship problems, disability issues, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity. Services are also targeted at different age groups.

National support organisations

Is there an essential operator missing from the list? Please contact the Equality Coordinator.

Mikko Ala-Kapee
Non-discrimination coordinator
Phone:
040 515 6166
Updated 13.2.2024