New federal portal launched to report civil rights violations. Here’s how it works
A new website will let people report civil rights violations online to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The department launched the new Civil Rights Reporting Portal on Monday.
The new site consolidates the 30 different ways people in the United States could make civil rights complaints, according to the department.
“The portal will dramatically ease the burden on victims of civil rights violations to identify the proper reporting channel. The form is fully accessible to people with disabilities. It is also available in both English and Spanish, with more languages to be added over the next year,” the department said in a news release.
Civil rights violations include discrimination by race, disability, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, citizenship status, national origin, age, family or marital status, pregnancy, being a member of the armed services and genetic identification.
People who feel they’ve been discriminated against can go through the online reporting form that is then reviewed and passed on to the right group within the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“The department is committed to upholding the civil and constitutional rights of all people in the United States,” said Eric Dreiband, with the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“The Civil Rights Reporting Portal will make it easier for the public to connect with us, which in turn makes us more effective at upholding these important rights. I encourage the public to use this portal to report civil rights violations,” he said.
“One of the most important responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Justice is to ensure that all Americans are treated fairly and equally and in conformity with our constitutionally protected civil rights. But, in order to do that, we must have an open and effective dialogue with those who believe those rights may have been denied to them,” said Robert Higdon, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
“This new tool will, we believe, help us to more effectively act to protect those rights. I urge everyone across the Eastern District to use this new tool whenever they believe their rights may have been denied,” he said.
The new portal is available at civilrights.justice.gov.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 3:02 PM.
