12 December 2011
The traditional approach adopted in legislation, and in the institutional arrangements, is to address discrimination based on single specific grounds. This remains highly relevant. Human identity, however, is complex and an individual might be discriminated against because of his or her particular identity, which may combine a number of grounds for discrimination. This paper refers to the realities of additive, compound and intersectional forms of discrimination. There is now a gradual trend towards a wider recognition of multiple discrimination as a legal concept in itself. Difficulties in defining, measuring and addressing such types of discrimination necessitate further legal and policy developments. A number of national and
international initiatives are mentioned in this paper as regards legislation and national policy, adjudicating multiple discrimination cases and cross-constituency organizing. One of the
approaches explored is to look beyond the traditional comparator group analysis, which is well suited to address discrimination based on a single ground but not always able to capture multiple discrimination. The traditional institutional remedies, such as affirmative action, also
render themselves more to addressing inequalities resulting from discrimination on a single ground.