Discrimination in this context refers to the arbitrary denial of rights, privileges, and opportunities to members of these groups. Discrimination is an action or practice that excludes, disadvantages, or merely differentiates between individuals or groups of individualsDiscrimination is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of people and groups based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, or sexual orientation. Active discrimination and apathy on the part of public and private institutions have sustained the racial inequities that exist in the region today. Age, Age discrimination occurs when an applicant, employee, or student is treated adversely because of their age. A simplified description of the legal definition of discrimination is when a person is treated disfavourably or when a person's dignity is violated. Discrimination means, at a very basic level, the act of separating out singular things or groups of things. It can be both an adjective and a verb. ARDS, supra note 28, at 137 (on the circular reasoning joining definitions of femininity with sex discrimination). In a related vein, Michelle Alexander has analyzed modern justice systems in light of historical forms of race discrimination.