Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova - Soros ...

Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova on Discrimination: Sociological Study 17Chart 8. Respondents’ perceptions on the most frequently discriminated persons in Moldova, %women32the Romagays and lesbiansthe elderly484950HIV+ personsthe poor5659persons with physical disabilitiespersons with mental disabilities6668Respondents’ perceptions as regards the persons most frequently discriminated in Moldova differ byresidence area, age and education. Therefore, a general trend has been noticed about all theabovementioned groups: the share of respondents who consider that these groups of people arefrequently discriminated is higher in the urban area, in the age group 18–34 and among respondents with ahigh level of education. The perceptions regarding the discrimination of the elderly are an exception to thistendency. Thus, the percentage of surveyed persons who consider that the elderly are frequently or veryfrequently discriminated is higher in the age group of over 65 (54%), and among people with a low level ofeducation (50%) (see Table 1).Table 1. Respondents’ perceptions on the groups of people most frequently discriminated in Moldova, byresidence area, age and education, %totalurbanrural18-34 years35-49 years50-64 years65 and moreyearshigh level ofeducationmiddle levelof educationlow level ofeducationpersons with 68 75 63 73 69 63 59 73 65 56mental disabilitiespersons with 66 73 61 73 66 58 58 70 61 58physical disabilitiesthe poor 59 64 51 66 56 54 57 60 55 59HIV+ persons 56 61 52 60 55 55 44 56 54 49the elderly 50 54 47 50 46 50 54 48 49 50gays and lesbians 49 55 44 58 48 41 38 51 49 37the Roma 48 56 42 55 48 41 36 50 44 44women 32 35 30 34 28 33 32 34 29 29Therefore, following an analysis of population’s perceptions on the frequently discriminated groups ofpeople in Moldova, we can conclude that, though discrimination of certain groups of people is consideredan important problem by over 2/3 of the respondents, it comes last in the list of problems, much furtherthan the problems related to unemployment, price rise, underdeveloped economy, low pensions, lowaccess to healthcare service, underdeveloped infrastructure, political instability, and even low access of theyouth to education.