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

Perceptions of the Population of the Republic of Moldova on Discrimination: Sociological Study 5Summary1. Perceptions of the population on the groupsof people frequently discriminated in Moldova• Even if discrimination of some groups of people is considered an important problem by morethan 2/3 of respondents, in the agenda of important issues it is ranked second last, following theissues related to unemployment, price rise, underdeveloped economy, low pensions, reducedaccess to healthcare services, underdeveloped infrastructure, political instability and even lowaccess of youth to education.• Every third respondent considers that, in the recent 5 years, the discrimination increased. Theshare of people who believe that discrimination increased is larger among women, respondentsof Russian ethnicity and wealthy people.• While 89% of respondents mentioned that tolerance is a very important value, this was rankedthe sixth among values, following such values as faith in God, respect for other people, respectfor the law, freedom and equality. The share of respondents that consider tolerance a veryimportant value is higher among persons with higher education (92%) and those of 18-34 yearsof age (92%).• While 80% of interviewed individuals consider tolerance and respect for culture of other nationsa very important and important value, only quite over 20% of respondents stated that these arerespected to a large and to a very large extent in the country. The smallest discrepancy wasfound in case of the value ‘faith in God’: 94% consider this an important value and the samepercentage considers that it is respected to a large and very large extent.• While over 80% of respondents named the trust in people a very important and important valueand over 50% mentioned that this value is respected in our country, on the level of individualperception, only every third respondent mentioned that he/she has very much and much trust inpeople. The respondents show a higher trust in members of their families (95%), followed, at aquite long distance, by the priest (58%), neighbors (50%), the head of the center of family doctors(46%) and the school director (44%). Over 2/3 of respondents mentioned that they have no trustin the mayor and police officers.• On perception level, the respondents consider that most frequently discriminated people in theRepublic of Moldova are persons with mental and physical disabilities (68% and 66%), followedby the poor (59%), HIV-positive persons (56%), the elderly ( 50%), representatives of gay andlesbian community (49%), the Roma (48%) and women (32%).2. Social contexts in which various groups of people are discriminated• In accordance with the Dominant Personal Opinion Index (DPOI) 1 the persons with disabilities arediscriminated most frequently at employment (-63), in the workplace (-51) and in educationinstitutions (-31). The poor are discriminated more frequently in hospitals/health centers (-40), ineducation institutions (-36) and at employment (-32). The HIV+ persons are discriminated mostfrequently at employment (-42), in the workplace (-38), in relation with authorities (-25) and inhospitals and health centers (-19). The elderly are discriminated more frequently at employment(-51), in the workplace (-37) and in relations with authorities (-22). The representatives of lesbianand gay community are discriminated more frequently in the workplace (-18), at employment (-17) and in education institutions (-15). Roma people are discriminated more frequently atemployment (-6) and in the workplace (-1). Women are discriminated more frequently atemployment (24), in the workplace (29) and in political life (19).1The Dominant Personal Opinion Index (DPOI) was calculated using the formula (p-n)x(100-ne):100, where p is thefrequency of positive opinions, n – frequency of negative opinions, ne – frequency of neutral opinions. The indexranges on a scale from -100 to 100. The closer to 100 the index is, the lower the level of discrimination is.