Experienced Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawyer Protecting Your Rights in Rochester, NY
In a world of limited opportunities like ours, humans have to seek for it painstakingly, it then becomes a tragedy of sorts when one is denied a fighting chance due to his/her sexual orientation. While the world has gone through phases of evolution, we can agree that the world has been a safer place to be in recent times due to the existence of rights. Awesome as this may seem, we still have individuals that are deprived of access to opportunities because of something as natural and fundamental to their existence—their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation or sexuality, as defined by the Equality Act 2010, is an orientation towards people of the same sex (lesbians and gay men); orientation towards people of the opposite sex (heterosexual); orientation towards people of the same sex and the opposite sex (bisexual). Simply, sexual orientation is determined by the sex one is attracted to. Sexual Orientation Discrimination can be defined as being treated differently and unfairly because of one’s sexuality. It is wide, and it covers being denied a job because of one’s sexual orientation, being denied promotion or treated unfairly, not allowed to have access to certain goods or services, or even being denied admission into an educational institution because of it.
Forms Of Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Sexual orientation discrimination is not one-way traffic. It can either be direct or indirect. Also, it can be in the form of harassment or victimization of any form. One shouldn’t be made to suffer for their choice as choices exist for humans to make them.
Also, beyond what one’s sexual orientation is being the cause of discrimination, discrimination can be carried out based on what such a person’s sexual orientation is “perceived” to be. It should also be noted that family members or friends can be made to suffer for the sexuality of one of them.
Direct Discrimination
This is carried out when one is denied access to a particular job, goods, and services or opportunity as a result of what one’s sexuality is. This form can be witnessed anywhere, like the workplace, restaurant, school, or even the cinema.
Indirect Discrimination
Sexual orientation discrimination is said to be indirect when persons that belong to a particular sexual orientation would be affected by a policy put in place by a place they belong to. For example, promotion being strictly open to one sexuality while leaving out others that don’t belong to that sexual orientation.
Harassment
This is being attacked for one’s sexuality, and this can include but not limited to unwarranted jokes about one’s sexuality, receiving pictures that portray one’s sexuality in the wrong light, being mocked in gatherings because of it or subjected to harsh comments.
Victimization
This is experienced when one talks about the form of discrimination a person has been made to go through, and such a person is treated unfairly as a result. It can also come in the form of not being allowed to make choices that support one’s sexual orientation in any place one belongs to. Simply, victimization is used as a tool of silence.
Legality, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, And The General Fight
The need for laws to regulate all aspects of life is one that can never be undermined because the law remains the ground norm. Unarguably, the world is not as it used to be, and in recent times, we have had laws being made to accommodate the rights of different sexual orientations. The International Community is one that has embraced the rightful treatment of everyone.
In Boston v Clayton, Boston’s work was terminated after he was criticized for generally identifying as gay in his workplace. The United States Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1994 prohibits the unfair treatment of a person based on their sexuality. This is a landmark case and a win for people that have been discriminated against or that are likely to be discriminated against.
Also, the leading United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) through a former High Commissioner Navi Pillay launched a public information campaign designed to raise awareness against discrimination of people based on their sexuality on 26th July 2013.
In New York, different non-discrimination laws protect people from any sort of discrimination in different sectors in environments they belong to. The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) is one such law that makes gender discrimination unlawful for anyone in New-York State.
A police officer was awarded $20million for being denied promotion for 6 years because of his sexuality. The case is Wildhaber v St. Louis County, which was decided in 2017.
The above cases, as well as laws, only show that societies are gradually embracing different sexual orientations, and while discrimination still exists, it is a welcome development that only shows that when injustice is committed against one in the form of discrimination for their sexuality, their ability to seek redress exists.
While laws exist to help individuals, it is important to reduce or change the opinion of people that aids discrimination against people of different sexual orientations. The campaign of acceptance needs to continue, and there is the need to increasingly help everyone see how these individuals are not different in any society they are found in.
Conclusion
It is our conviction that denying people of opportunities as a result of their sexuality is an evil that should be banished by all and sundry. It is important that we all collectively help them move closer to their dreams, give them access to instruments that will make them achieve such dreams without any form of discrimination as in making the world a better place, there is the need to forget our differences and embrace ourselves.
We believe you are not different for your choice of sexuality, and this is why we are here to help you fight such injustice. Do contact us if you have been subjected to any form of discrimination because of your sexual orientation or if you have been made to suffer because of a friend that subscribes to a particular sexual orientation, whether in Rochester, NY, or anywhere else in the world. The law remains a weapon that can be used to emancipate yourself with due compensation under the letters of the law as you deserve to be treated humanely.
Do contact us today for help.
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