Locating intersectional discrimination

The present research project inquires into the concepts of intersectionality and intersectional discrimination in theory and legal practice. `Intersectionality` basically denotes the fact that each person is comprised of several interconnected features (such as age, gender, ethnic origin); `intersectional discrimination` as compared to singular or other forms of multiple discrimination denotes discrimination based on such specific combinations (intersections) of personal features. The present project aims at clarifying crucial theoretical implications of the concept of intersectional discrimination and its recognition in anti-discrimination law. Upon that, the project aims at assessing the practical (legal) relevance of the concept of intersectional discrimination. These aims are motivated by an apparent increase in awareness in scientific discourses of the pertinence of intersectional discrimination and its hitherto insufficient recognition by anti-discrimination law. Thus theoretical discourses, on the one hand, explore notions of intersectionality in ever increasing depth but still take little regard of its possible transposition into legal provisions. Anti-discrimination law on the other, while showing increased perceptiveness to matters of multiple discrimination appears not to make amends for successfully implementing intersectionality into the law or into legal practice. The project shall be conducted into three parts. Part I shall clarify the concept of `intersectional discrimination` and its theoretical implications with foresight to its legal application: it will firstly outline the tenets of intersectional discrimination as compared to other forms of discrimination and will provide a toolbox (for theorists and practitioners alike) for distinguishing intersectional discrimination from such other forms. In part II, the legal recognition of intersectional discrimination as such shall be assessed: this includes, firstly, an examination of the capacity of existing bodies of anti-discrimination law to recognize and remedy forms of intersectional discrimination; upon that, secondly, the special problem of providing a `comparator` to evidence direct or indirect discrimination shall be analyzed with regard to intersectionality and a solution to this problem shall be provided (toolbox 2). Upon parts I and II, in part III the practical relevance of intersectional discrimination shall be examined empirically: firstly, by establishing a methodologically sensitive access to fields of intersectional discrimination; secondly, by assessing whether and in which paradigmatic forms intersectionality occurs in practice - in victims` perceptions and in verifiable discriminatory practices in cases of intersectionality alike - and by identifying crucial obstacles to the practical recognition of intersectional discrimination; thirdly, by assessing ways in which matters of intersectional discrimination are dealt with in practice, especially in legal practice. Thereby, theoretical and legal parts of the project shall be complemented by a practical account that reflects the overall pertinence of the concept of intersectional discrimination.

Locating Intersectional Discrimination (LID) was funded by the FWF and was carried out from October 2010 to September 2013. LID engaged with fundamental questions about intersectional discrimination. LID focused on two overarching research questions: 1. Is intersectional discrimination relevant to the living realities of people? And, if yes, to what extent? 2. How does legal practice deal with intersectional discrimination cases or could deal with it? In order to scrutinize the phenomenon of intersectional discrimination both in living realities of people and in legal practice, LID was designed interdisciplinarily and encompassed legal, philosophical and sociological aspects and methods. LID was structured in a theoretical, legal and sociological analysis. The first should clarify the underlying concepts and elaborate the characteristics of intersectional discrimination in relation to other forms of discrimination. Within the legal analysis it was scrutinized whether the concept of intersectional discrimination is recognized by or can be dealt with in existing discrimination law. In this respect the issue of the comparator was resolved by the method of the analysis of the power relation of victim and perpetrator. The empirical analysis sought to answer the question whether intersectional discrimination is relevant in peoples lives. Does it occur and, if yes, is that frequently, respectively under what conditions. Finally, a support tool for legal practitioners has been developed which considers social science based analyses of inequality in order to enable legal practice to better detect and explain intersectional discrimination.