Equality and Human Rights Commission

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Equality and Human Rights Commission

• Khalida H Ashrafi
• Hub Leader
• Yorkshire and the Humber

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Order of presentation

• EHRC
• Public and Specific duties
• Examples of good practice

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Read this

• Dear Khalida,
• Perhaps mav should stick to making tea!! Have you
  seen their typing??!!
• Believe it or not you can read it.... try
  it yourself...
• i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulactly
  uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg.
• The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid
  aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabridge
  Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the
  ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng
  is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
  pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can
  sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.Tihs is bcuseae
  the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by
  istlef, But the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
  yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

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Vision Statement

• A society built on fairness and respect.
• People confident in all aspects of their
  diversity.

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Mission

• The commission will be the independent advocate
  for equality and human rights in Britain. It will
  aim to reduce inequality, eliminate
  discrimination strengthen good relations between
  people, and promote and protect human right
• The commission will challenge prejudice and
  disadvantage, and promote the importance of human
  rights
• It will enforce equality legislation (age,
  disability, gender, race, religion or belief,
  sexual orientation or transgender status, and
  encourage compliance of the human rights act 1998

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Mission (contd)

• Will work to bring about effective change using
  influence and authority to ensure equality and
  human rights stays at the top of government
  agendas for govt, employers, and society.
• It will act directly and by fostering
  partnerships at local regional and national
  levels. It will stimulate debate on human rights.
• It will give advice and guidance to businesses,
  the voluntary and public sector

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Focus on race

• There have been 80 racially orientated murders
  since Stephen Lawrences death. This is either
  because race continues to be at the bottom of the
  agenda, or many organisations just do not know
  how to respond to race issues.
• The BME population, which is currently 1 in 10 of
  the British population is set to grow markedly by
  the time of the next Census.

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Focus on race (contd)

• The numbers game Despite the legal requirements
  within the race relations legislation, progress
  continues to be painfully slow because work with
  BME communities is low on the public policy
  agenda. Philomena de Limas research
  particularly, has highlighted that the reasons
  for this are the lack of information on rural BME
  populations, the prevalence of numbers not need
  approaches and poor monitoring arrangements.
• There is a clear need for policy makers and
  service providers to tackle the invisibility of
  BME communities through instituting equal
  opportunities and exploring issues and needs
  through properly funded development work which
  engages as fully as possible with BME populations
  and gives them the opportunity, where possible,
  to lead these initiatives themselves.

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Economic position

• The economic inactivity rate for ethnic minority
  communities - at 11 - is significantly worse
  than for the white population which is 4.
• The unemployment rate for Asian/Asian British at
  12 is more than double the rate for the general
  population (5).
• Ethnic minority women, are twice as likely to be
  unemployed than white British women.
• Economic migration by A8 accession states

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Community Cohesion

• Community cohesion issues that are impacting
  internationally and nationally, 9/11. 7/7, can
  impact even sparse BME communities. Communities
  in more established areas such as Kirklees,
  Leeds, Sheffield are able to access support
  through specialist services, however this is a
  difficult matter where communities are less
  prevalent in numbers, and do not have
  infrastructure support
• Impact within education systems- student/tutor
  relations, issues of trust, wider messages this
  gives out.

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Legal duties and responsibilites

• Public duty to promote positive race relations
  between different groups
• Specific duties

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Examples of Good Practice

• Stephen Lawrence award
• Voice for Change
• Activity of students through unions and good
  relations with management
• Ofsted report (02/07)