FACT SHEET
Human Rights & Discrimination
TEENS!
What are Human Rights & Equality?
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Human rights are the things fundamentally given to people for being alive and stem
from the idea that every single person is born equal and free! For example, people
are given the right to free speech and the right to live life free of discrimination.
The idea of human rights dates back to 539 BC and led to the development of The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This declaration guides countries to
attain a certain level of treatment for all people. Read the full declaration here.
Equality and human rights are closely related. Equality is the idea that every person,
regardless of age, sex, income, skin color, political beliefs, disability, language, sexual
orientation, ethnicity or religion, deserves the same amount of respect.
Why are they important?1
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Human rights strive to create a standard of protection and equality for all people.
For example, the declaration states that people are born free and equal in dignity
and rights. This standard helped to create laws that prevent discrimination, which is
the unjust treatment of people, based on things like race, age, or sex.
Despite human rights and the laws protecting equality, discrimination still exists.
Activists worldwide continue to fight for the equal and fair treatment of all people.
Fast Facts/Stories about youth working to protect Human Rights2
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Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani advocate for women and girls, who has campaigned
for girls’ education since age 11. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at 17,
making her the youngest recipient of the award.
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Camp Aranu’tiq is a transgender camp program. Camper Alex performed a rap
about his positive experience coming out as transgender to his mom. Watch it here.
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In 2011, the United Nations declared internet access a basic human right because
having internet helps you to exercise the right to freedom of expression and opinion.
Convention on the Rights of the Child
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The United Nations also created a special list of rights for youth under the age of 18.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child identify survival and development rights
specifically related to children. For example, youth have the right to education and
special care if their parents cannot sufficiently protect them.
Resources
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Read all about the history of human rights!
Humane Education put together a list of children’s books about human rights issues.
The United Nations created a short video providing an overview of human rights.
generationOn.org
(c) 2016
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What is Discrimination?
Discrimination is the unjust treatment of people, based on different factors including race,
age or sex. Despite the existence of human rights and laws protecting the fair and equal
treatment of all people, discrimination still exists.
Types of Discrimination:4
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Direct Discrimination is unfair treatment of a person because of their age,
sex, income, skin color, political beliefs, pregnancy, disability, language, sexual
orientation, ethnicity or religion.
Indirect Discrimination are laws or policies which put people at an unfair
disadvantage. These laws or policies can be in many types of places such as schools,
businesses and offices. For example, older businesses are not required to have
wheelchair accommodations, which puts disabled people at a disadvantage.
Harassment is unwanted or offensive acts against a person/group because of
a particular characteristic. Harassment can be a hand gesture, written or verbal
communication, or pictures—for example, bullying someone for their religious
clothing or calling someone a derogatory slang word based on their identity.
Effects of Discrimination:5
Discrimination has long-lasting negative effects:
• Discrimination can create social and emotional anxiety that could lead to violence.
• People who experience discrimination may feel unworthy and unaccepted, which
makes it hard for them to be social with others.
• Self-confidence can be undermined and often for youth, negatively impact school
performance. In 2012, roughly 160,000 American students stayed home from school
because of bullying, negatively affecting their chances of doing well.6
How Can You Help?7
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Check out our Embracing Differences project for a fun way to celebrate diversity!
When people experience discrimination, strong feelings begin to form. Identify how
to cope with these feelings and learn how to transform them to positive, impactful
actions. Our Seeds of Awareness project can help you get started!
Use our Practicing Empathy project to put yourself in someone else’ shoes.
Increase awareness on bullying against youth with special needs with SNAP training.
Resources:
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Check out these books that celebrate the diversity in our world.
Learn about what Discrimination against Youth Voice looks like and ensure your
environment is supporting youth to be heard.
Teaching Tolerance has great resources on diversity, equality and justice.
1 https://equitas.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/2008-Play-it-Fair-Toolkit_En.pdf
2 https://rewire.news/article/2014/12/19/12-ways-young-people-organized-human-rights-2014/
3 http://gizmodo.com/internet-access-is-now-a-basic-human-right-1783081865
4 http://eschooltoday.com/discrimination-and-prejudice/types-of-discrimination.html
5 http://www.kidshealthworks.com/topic.asp?topic_id=97
6 http://www.nea.org/home/53298.htm
7 http://www.earthskids.com/predjudice.aspx
generationOn.org
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