Report of Lithuanian Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson
Judita Leikienė
On April 14, 2023 Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson Birutė Sabatauskaitė presented the Annual Report for 2022. In terms of personal identity characteristics that could lead to dis-crimination, sex (22% of all referrals), disability (21%) and age (7%) were the most common. The analysis of long-term statistics showed that the number of complaints and investigations concerning age discrimination returned to the pre-pandemic levels (compared to sex or disability discrimination, a significant increase of age discrimination complaints was ob-served during the pandemic). In 2022 the Office received 21 complaints of possible age discrimination and opened 5 investigations at the initiative of the Ombudsperson. Men and women equally reported cases of age discrimination (10 complaints came from women and 11 from men). The highest num-ber of complaints about the possible age discrimination were in the area of consumer rights; however, the highest number of violations was found in the area of labour relations. After examining the complaints and carrying out investigations on age discrimination, the Ombudsperson issued 12 decisions on 7 violations identified (three in the area of labour relations, two in consumer protection, one in local governance and one in education).