85% of participants in stereotypes in Greek society say they have experienced discrimination, most importantly for gender, age, family or social status. At the same time, almost one in two admits that he has discriminated unconsciously.

The survey was conducted, under the coordination of the Center for Social Action and Innovation, from January to May 2025, using anonymous questionnaire in 1,928 adults, with the aim of exploring their perceptions of discrimination.

According to research, nine of ten participants believe that stereotypes are very or very widespread in Greek society and more than nine in ten consider stereotypes affecting people’s behavior towards specific social groups.

More widespread are, in order of frequency, discrimination based on sexual orientation, sex expression, social status, gender, gender identity, race and national origin. The most commonly mentioned discrimination environments are related to job search, workplace, internet, home search and police stations.

“We have seen a correlation between age with the beliefs of discrimination in some environments, with younger people considering discrimination in some places more widespread than older people, and vice versa. This may be linked to the degree of awareness and understanding of the environments, or even the frequency of traffic. For example, younger people recognize higher frequencies of discrimination in catering stores and internet-surrounding that they probably spend more time-than older people, “says KMOP researcher Maria-Elli Doufixi-Kaplai.

48% of respondents admit that they have discriminated unconsciously, while 8% have deliberately. At the same time, a significant finding is that only 15% of respondents said they had never experienced a distinction.

Respondents have been more frequently discriminated against (33%), aged (25%) and family or social status (20%). The most common areas, where discrimination incidents occurred, were labor (34%) and public space (24%). In addition, women were more likely to be distinguished than men, “which confirms the increased frequency of different forms of gender -based violence in everyday life”, as the KMOP researcher points out. Also, people who live in large cities are more likely to be distinguished than those inhabited in towns.

Incident report

Of the respondents who were distinguished, only 20% reported the incident. The majority of individuals clarified that it shared the incident informally (with friends or relatives), while few resorted to institutions or non -governmental organizations. Of those who followed official reports of the incident, the majority chose to report the incident to the Labor Agency (20%), the Police (11%), a lawyer (6%), the Justice (4%), a trade union (4%), to the Ombudsman (3%). Some people reported the incident to collectives or civil society bodies (3%).

Those who did not report the incident cite reasons, such as fear, lack of confidence and protection of the victim, social or professional position of the perpetrator, unpleasant social climate, lack of support, ineffectiveness, feeling of shame for their identity, fear of stigmatizing and further Competent authorities, lack of knowledge of the reference process, bureaucracy, lack of time, costs and difficulty proving the incident. The non -complaint is the normalization of violence and discrimination with many people saying that “the incident was not important to report”.

About half of people found institutional efforts to deal with discrimination very or relatively effective. However, younger age groups seem to consider efforts to combat different forms of discrimination less effective than older people.

The survey was conducted in the context of the European project “Ecosystem-Strengthening Public Authorities’ Capacity to Respond to Intersectional Discrimination Through Multi-Agency Coalitions, which is implemented by the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family, the National Commission for Human Right CMP-Center for Social Action and Innovation. The aim of the European project is to develop the second national action plan against racism and intolerance.

Recommendations made by research participants on the treatment of discrimination include education and raising awareness, supporting vulnerable groups, enhancing legal framework and control, integration in the workplace and representation in politics, media and academic contexts. “These recommendations can be used for the best response to the needs of individuals, giving voice to the citizens,” observes Ms Doufflexi-Kaplani.

The project seeks to strengthen cooperation between public authorities and civil society by focusing on three interrelated pillars: improving victims of victims in rights and services, written in ten languages, training public employees and front -line professionals for recognition and support for recognition.

The project is funded by the European Union’s “Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values” (CERV).