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The Ombudsman against Discrimination on grounds of Sexual Orientation has ceased to exist. On 1 January 2009 the Ombudsman was merged with the other Ombudsmen against discrimination into a new body: the Swedish Equality Ombudsman. The previously existing acts against discrimination were also replaced with a new Discrimination Act. Some of the material on this website may therefore be out of date. For more information, see: www.do.se
Employment – Harassment – Failure to Investigate – Religious CommunityA lesbian employee with the Lutheran Church of Sweden complained to the Ombudsman that her employer had failed to investigate and take appropriate action against the sexual orientation motivated harassment that she had suffered from a co-worker. The Church replied that it had indeed tried to take action when informed about the matter. The employer had also gotten the impression that the measures taken were appropriate since the woman had not mentioned the issue again for a long time. She had also failed to appear at meetings agreed on to discuss the matter. The Ombudsman in his decision pointed out that the obligation to investigate complaints of harassment is an extensive one, but that the employee has no right to decide exactly which measures are the appropriate ones for the employer to take. The O. noted that it was questionable if the Church’s measures were sufficient but also that the behaviour complained of had been vague and subtle. The complainant had also not taken up the matter again which had led the employer to believe that she was satisfied with the action taken. The O. took the position that, albeit far from perfect, the Church’s actions were not so faulty that a claim in court against the employer would be likely to succeed. He closed the file, underlining that given the particularly controversial character of the issue of homosexual orientation in many religious communities, religion based employers had a special responsibility to secure that their employees do not suffer sexual orientation motivated harassment at work. (Decision 25 October 2004, Dossier no. 108/04) |
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HomO | Box 3327, 103 66 Stockholm | E-mail: homo@homo.se | Phone: +46 (0)8 508 887 80 | Fax: +46 (0)8 508 887 90 |
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