Your Life, Your Rights: Antidiscrimination

Everyone has the right to fair treatment. This includes having the same access to opportunities and chance at happiness. People should never mistreat or excluded others. This is your right to antidiscrimination. 

Antidiscrimination is treating all people fairly no matter who they are. This is equal treatment no matter what. Antidiscrimination is the opposite of discrimination. 

Discrimination is treating people different because of who they are. The different treatment is often bad. Discrimination is against the law.

Rights to Fair Treatment

It is against the law for people to discriminate against you based on your:

  1. Race: the color of your skin and your facial features.
  2. Religion: what you believe in, worship, and practice.
  3. National Origin: the country you were born in or your accent and looks.
  4. Age: if you are age 40 or older.
  5. Disability: your physical health, mental health, or both.
  6. Sex: your gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or if you are pregnant.

Resources 

To help people learn about their rights to antidiscrimination, BHDDH created two resources. The first is a one-page flyer, and the second is a guidebook.

Antidiscrimination Flyer 

The Antidiscrimination Flyer is a one-page document. It can be used as a factsheet on antidiscrimination rights. 

  1. Right to Antidiscrimination Flyer (PDF)

Antidiscrimination Easy Read Guidebook 

The Antidiscrimination easy read guidebook is a longer document. This document explains the information on the one-page flyer in more detail. 

  1. Right to Antidiscrimination Guidebook (PDF)

Right Protection 

To report discrimination, contact the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights by phone at (401) 222-2661 or by visiting their website at www.richr.ri.gov.