Institutional Discrimination - Call it Out

Image from Pinkfamilies.com

In February 1999, Sir William Macpherson published his report into the Metropolitan Police ("the Met") and their handling of the murder investigation of the late Stephen Lawrence.

At that time, one of the controversial assertions made in his report, was that the Met was "institutionally racist".  This is the definition used by Sir Macpherson:

"The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people."

  

(Home Office, The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: Report of an Inquiry by Sir William Macpherson of Cluny, February 1999, para 6.34)

While the Macpherson Report had "race" as its focus, the definition provided can easily be expanded to encompass the other protected characteristics within the Equality Act 2010.

"The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because they share a Protected Characteristic, whether directly or indirectly. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and stereotyping which disadvantage people because they share a Protected Characteristic, whether directly or indirectly as the case may be."
Or words to that effect, replacing reference to "race" with "disability" or "age" and so on.  

The wide ranging application of Macpherson's definition has already been realised by a number of public authorities.  The definition has been used to inform their training in and understanding of equalities within their own policy framework.

However, nearly fifteen years on, the same cannot be said of every public service.    

In this article, I will examine the term institutional discrimination with reference to various Protected Characteristics.  I will also demonstrate where more work needs to be done in order to engender that cultural change, in "processes, attitudes and behaviour..." as identified by Sir Macpherson when addressing institutional racism within the Met. 

Example 1 - The Bedroom Tax

Readers may not be fully familiar with the full application of the policy described by the current UK Government as "the spare room subsidy" or more popularly coined as "the bedroom tax".

This policy cut the level of housing benefit paid to single people, couples or families with adult children who lived in public sector housing with more bedrooms that their assessed need.  In the case of a couple (without children) one double bedroom was deemed suitable.  This was also the case for single people or single parents who may only have their children stay with them for part of a week.

Disabled people were also covered by the new policy decision.  However, what was not taken on board by the UK Government was the lack of suitably sized and suitably located accommodation for disabled people, single people without children or couples living alone.  There was also a lack of appreciation to what purpose the extra bedroom was put.

For example, in the case of a disabled person who is a Kidney patient - and awaiting a transplant - the extra bedroom may be used to store essential medical equipment, including a hospital bed (or re-laxer chair), sink, dialyses machine, filters and other associated paraphernalia required by that patient for their day to day living.  It is also likely that that machine, together with its filter technology will have been permanently plumbed into the cold and waste water mains. 

The extra bedroom, in this case, is being used for a specific purpose.  It is also being used as an alternative to the patient taking longer term stays in hospital.  The patient's partner is usually the full time carer of the patient and will have received specialist training to assist their partner through their dialyses.  This approach is saving the NHS and also the Taxpayer money.

In the case of a single parent, estranged from their former spouse, but retaining full parental responsibilities and rights, the extra bedroom may be necessary to accommodate the children when they stay with that parent.   

In this scenario, the blind classification system adopted by the UK Government, a kidney patient, despite saving the Taxpayer money, will no longer be entitled to financial support to fund the spare room.  The single parent, who relies on the spare room for their children, will no longer be entitled to financial support for that room.  In both cases, the room will be classified as a bedroom, an extra room, surplus their assessed requirements.

Example 2 - Non Binary Gender

It is a common assumption that there are only two categories of gender - male and female.

To a certain extent, this assumption follows the sexing of a child at birth and the continued assumption that that sex will lead to a particular gender identity.

However, as a child grows and becomes more conscious of their own identity, they may find both the cultural gendering and their prescribed biological sexing difficult to reconcile.  The conflict may present at any age and in no particular prescribed manner.

Some people may grow up biologically female and yet identify more closely with the male gender.  Other people may grow up biologically male and identify themselves as female.  In both cases, some people may not identify with either the male or female gender, nor accept their prescribed sex given at birth.

The legal system has evolved - following a number of Human Rights challenges - to recognise that someone may wish to have their gender reassigned.  The law also protects someone, at whatever stage in their gender reassignment process, from discrimination.

Taking this into account, toilet and changing room facilities remain prescribed in many cases as either male or female.  Additionally, passports and birth certificates, both require a gender identity to be provided as either male or female.  It is noted, that in some cases, this culture has begun to change.  Nepal was one of the first countries to recognise another gender "X" in formal documents and other some venues have at least considered introducing some gender neutral toilets.

However, despite greater understanding and legal changes, the culture remains predominately discriminatory against non-binary gender people.

Example 3 - The Court System

The legal system is full of tradition and established models of work.  This culture extends to features, facilities and institutions through which the legal system operates.    

Court Rooms traditionally see the Judge sitting on a stepped, higher level, than the well of the Court or the Public Gallery.  Witnesses are usually required to enter a "Box", swear an Oath before God and stand to give evidence.

The majority of buildings are not fully accessible through the main entrance, host Court rooms in inaccessible locations and predominately contain features to accommodate the utility of the majority - namely able bodied, non disabled people.

To a certain extent, one has to acknowledge legacy issues, particularly concerning buildings and facilities built to a standard not accepted today.  However, this explanation has to be taken in context of legislative, jurisprudential and societal change.

The European Convention on Human Rights ("the Convention") was written with an Article 6 absolute right to a fair hearing.  The Disability Discrimination Act was passed by Parliament in 1995 followed by the Equality Act 2010 (disability and religion / belief are protected characteristics within the Equality Act).  The Human Rights Act 1998, brought the Convention into domestic law and the Scotland Act 1998 provided for the Scottish Parliament to encourage equal opportunities.

In addition, disabled people have featured more heavily in social policy and policy development.  A new societal understanding of disability has been encouraged and people who do not hold any specific religious conviction have their views recognised too, in addition to any traditional religious systems of belief.

Institutional Discrimination in Context

Bedroom Tax

In the first example, we see that both the disabled person (the kidney patient) and the single person (the parent) face discrimination against their own particular circumstances.

The Government has approached the Policy decision to withdraw financial support for extra bedrooms from the perspective of cost.  The policy primer; cut the cost of housing benefit, save the tax payer money and cut the budget deficit - look good to the voters.

Although the UK Government did consult concerning their policy, they ignored the representations made.

The policy discriminates against disabled people, who require a spare bedroom, as a consequence of their disability.

The policy also interferes with the respect for family and private life.  This is a Human Right found in Article 8 of the Convention.  It also likely indirectly discriminates against men, as single parents, who are statistically less likely than women to hold "full time" caring responsibilities for any children.  (Indirect discrimination occurs where an apparently neutral policy, criteria or practice has a disproportionate effect on one group of people more so than others).

The UK Government was aware of these policy impacts.  Yet, despite being made aware, the policy continues under the auspices of expediency.  In this case, the need to save money.

The policy is an example of institutional discrimination for that reason.      
        
Non Binary Gender

As described above, non binary gender people are protected from discrimination at any stage in their gender reassignment process or if they are perceived to be undergoing a gender reassignment process.  Yet, the Passport still requires to bear either a Male of Female gender identity.  Toilets and changing rooms remain focused on either male or female gender roles.

If you do not subscribe to either a male or female gender identity, what do you do about your Passport or which set of changing rooms do you use?

The culture of expediency is found here as well.  It is easy to use only male or female gender identities, that reduces the need for training of staff around the issues, the redesign of Passport form and booklets or changing the policy around toilet designs.  It is also easier to accept and go with the pre-existing convention, than seek to challenge it and thus have to face questions from the curious public about new ways of working.

This is institutional discrimination.  

The Court System

Direct disability discrimination can not be justified in law.

Almost 20 years have passed since the advent of the Disability Discrimination Act.

Public services have been put on notice for some time that old ways of working - which excluded disabled people - were not acceptable.

Similarly, public services should have also been aware that their legal duties do not stop with a limited range of reasonable adjustments.

The legal duty is both anticipatory and continuing.

Yet, disabled people, with a range of mobility related impairments are routinely discriminated against in both the facilities and accommodation they are presented with.

If someone is in a wheelchair, how is that person to give evidence from a "Box" if it features a step and is not wide enough to accommodate a wheelchair user?  Are lawyers with mobility impairments able to apply for the role of Sheriff (Judge) knowing that the working environment is largely inaccessible?

Of course, it is possible to make reasonable adjustments.  However, the crux is that it would not be necessary to do this if our Court buildings were made accessible in the first place.

The situation is further compounded when new facilities are built or when existing facilities are refurbished and the old, discriminatory, inaccessible practices continue.

This is institutional discrimination.

A similar story is found concerning the swearing of a witness' Oath.

The Law recognises and prevents discrimination against people with religious beliefs or people without religious beliefs.  This is a qualified right, in that it is not possible to claim religious discrimination when providing public services (for example, for a Christian couple to refuse B&B accommodation to a Gay couple).

Yet, the standard Oath used in Court is the religious Oath.

It is assumed, almost entirely, that this Oath will be used because it has formed standard practice for so many years.  An alternative is available, however it is not readily used or advertised.

This too, is institutional discrimination.
  
Going Forward

It is easy to discriminate.  That is self evident. 

It is more difficult, perhaps because of cost, resource allocation, or some other reason not to discriminate.

It is also too easy to provide passive acquiescence to the discriminatory status quo.    

However, both society and the law accept that discrimination is unacceptable.

Just as Sir Macpherson found in his report concerning the Met, institutional discrimination needs to be exposed for what it is.  It requires public scrutiny, it needs to be talked about and services have to be aware of how their organisation operates, at an institutional level, in generating an acceptable culture of discriminatory practice.

It is important, that where institutional discrimination is identified as a problem that no attempt is made to cover it up, silence complainers, or apply selective memory to recording particular incidents because of "...processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and  stereotyping..."

The UK Parliament held a Committee investigation into the progress made by the Police, in the ten years following the publication of the Macpherson Report. 

It was noted here that all but a few of the recommendations made had been implemented and had it not been for Sir Macpherson drawing attention to the problem through the label "institutional racism" little if any, progress would have been made. 

This is why it remains important to "call it out" wherever "institutional discrimination" is found. 

Only then can we move forward to generate positive solutions for overall cultural and thus institutional change.

Edinburgh Fringe - Bent

Has the world really changed since Nazi Germany and World War Two?  How does society treat people from different backgrounds, if they are LGBT, disabled, not white or a Jew?

The cultural parallels relayed in Bent could not be more relevant to the modern day.  LGBT people facing persecution in Russia, Traveling People evicted by the law, Religious and National conflict based on who you are or where you are from.  As a Human Race, will be ever learn the lessons of the past?

At first glance, it is hard to see how this show could possibly be about the Nazis.

Starting off in a small cosmopolitan Berlin flat, one camp queen - a dancer nonetheless - and a more hetero centric and stoic gay man.  They are living together, drinking coffee following another outrageous night out.  The stereotypical chat about who did who and in what position, does not allude to the more sinister aspects to come.

The first indication that this show has a dark side comes when the couple discuss their landlord - "that dirty Jew" - indicating that the social segregation of German society has in fact begun.  You could have missed the reference, but the Gestapo storming the flat and slitting the throat of last night's sexual conquest gave the reality check that this was no joke!

The couple's struggle begins at this point, returning to what they believe to be their safe place - only to discover that their "friend" had taken money in an act of vitriolic betrayal.  Who can you trust is no one will take you in?

They are vagrant, lacking money, food and a place to stay.  Deprived of their identities by the Nazi State, no where to go.

Capture

Dragged through the woods like dead animals in the night.

This marked the transition; whatever was left of humanity died as they are transported to the Camp.  Death follows; the twisted Nazi psyche is at its best.  The protagonist, humiliated; forced to punch and kill his lover.

Survivial

Left alone, he deals in with the devil and adopts the Yellow Star of the Jew.  This, through is eyes is better than being the Pink Triangle of Queer.  He is no longer a "Fluff" but has become a montage of was formerly his dirty Jew.

Camp

Here an unexpected new relationship develops.  Can the dirty Jew develop a friendship and then something else with a Pink Triangle piece of Fluff?  This new relationship is built on rocks, routine and regrets.    

Silence

Nazi Nihilist entertainment kills in the final scenes of the show.  However, not before the unexpected reclamation of identity, a monologue of memories and a conscious decision not to let the Nazi's control our protagonist's life. 

The drama is powerful and emotive.

The show is deceptive and dark.

It deserves more than five stars.

Bent is on at C Venues, C too.  The Show is on at 22.10 and ends late.  To book tickets or to read more, visit the Edinburgh Fringe Online.  

To find out more about the show directly, visit Table9 Productions http://www.table9productions.com/index.php/edinburgh-fringe-festival/bent

 

 

Secularism and religious intolerance

In today's guest Blog, Gordon Ellis writes about secularism, religion and Scotland.  

A former leader of the Anglican community’s 80 million adherents worldwide thinks that the government is "aiding and abetting" aggressive secularisation.

Lord Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, also drew attention to a recent ComRes poll, which suggested "more than two-thirds of Christians feel that they are part of a 'persecuted minority'".

Secularisation of Scotland

A 2008 report on secularisation in Scotland highlighted that Western countries are going through a process of cultural change driven by growing wealth over the last decades, which has spurred economic independence for individuals.

Their overall dependence on other people and institutions, including the church and religion has, it is stated, accordingly, diminished. The report went on to state that not only the increase in wealth, but also increased mobility and the global information network have opened new doors to regular members of society. As a result, society is less influenced by the traditional ties and values that once shaped society. These trends are thought by the authors to have contributed to a substantial increase in secularisation in the west, including in Scotland.

Global events: Islam and the west

At the same time, global events such as the emergence of Al Qaida, the Taliban influence in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and terrorist attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, have focused very much on Islam in the negative sense.

There is as a result a feeling amongst many Muslims that Islamophobia is not taken very seriously and that because of their history as Muslims, terrorist atrocities and such, people feel like they deserve the abuse.

Despite all the negativity, Islam is stated to be the fastest growing religion with over 1.5 billion followers or 23% of the world’s population, and second only in size to Christianity. So, from Christianity and Islam alone, religion is a major influence on almost half of the world’s population, and, in that context, still very much a force to be reckoned with.

Personal experience

In 2005 I was helping the Muslim Community in the Highlands organise a summer school for young Muslims, to assist them in developing their cultural identity within the wider Highland diaspora. It was scheduled to start on 25 July, and 7/7 intervened.

My first discussion with the teacher from Birmingham who was to come to Scotland some three weeks later, was to convince him not to cancel the summer school, as the timing was not right for “moderate” Muslims to be potentially in the public eye.

I am glad to say that the summer school went ahead and was an unqualified success, culminating in the awarding by the Provost of Inverness of certificates of achievement to the participants in the splendour of the Inverness Town House, and wide positive publicity in the media for “moderate” Islam.
Hate crime against Muslims

A UK wide government-backed project set up in 2012 to monitor anti-Muslim hate has recorded 632 incidents in its first year.

Three-quarters of the incidents recorded by Tell Mama occurred online, with Twitter particularly highlighted as a source of abuse. In cases of verbal or street-based abuse those behind the project say it is Islamic clothing, like hijabs, that singles people out.

In January a pig's head was left in the garden of an Afghan family in London. There have been a number of incidents involving pork-based items being left at mosques and in December a cross wrapped in ham was left outside the home of a Muslim family in Bingham, Nottinghamshire.

Support from the Jewish community

What is encouraging is the support, which is apparent from the Jewish community, on whose monitoring model the Muslim initiative is based. The Community Safety Trust (CST), which has for almost 30 years been recording incidents of anti-Semitism in the UK has indicated:

"CST is glad that our work countering anti-Semitism has helped Tell Mama provide the Muslim community with a proper mechanism for reporting and understanding anti-Muslim hate crimes. It has taken CST nearly 30 years of focus and professionalism to get to where we are today, so what Tell Mama has achieved in just one year is very impressive.…. if our joint co-operation helps break down barriers between British Muslims and Jews, then all the better."

Muslims in Scotland

The Scottish Muslim population is dwarfed by the much larger 2.7 million in England and Wales. Immigration of Muslims to Scotland is relatively recent, the bulk of Muslims in Scotland come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century.

The 2011 census analysis published by the Scottish government, indicates that In Scotland Muslims represent 0.9% of the population (42,557), with 30,000 in Glasgow (there are 10 times this number in Birmingham alone). Many Scottish Muslims are of South Asian descent primarily hailing from Pakistan, whose well documented political turmoil is rightly or wrongly associated with the more “extreme” adherents of Islam.

Islam misrepresented

In 2006, the Scottish Communities Minister opined that Islam is often "misunderstood, misinterpreted and misrepresented" and that anti Islam comments or abuse would not be tolerated in a Scotland which values religious diversity.

Notwithstanding, I am aware that many Muslims still feel vulnerable.

Indeed, there appears to be an increasing groundswell of opinion in the Muslim community in England, that the government does not offer the level of support that is justified by the vast majority of “moderate” Muslims, but chooses to focus on the radicalised minority and their excesses, both in the UK and abroad, for purely political ends. This would seem to accord to a considerable extent with what is being said by Lord Carey in respect of the government attitude to Christianity and the Christians’ feelings of persecution.

Religion: challenges from change

Like society at large, religion is looking to address change and challenges which are now on a global scale. The new Pope Francis has focussed very much on social justice, and a simpler “back to basics” approach. Included in the group that prayed with Pope Francis at the crypt of St Peter at his inauguration was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew. It was the first time since the split between the Eastern and Western churches in 1054 that the leader of the Eastern Orthodox churches has attended a papal inauguration.

Different denominations, and different religions, share many of the same challenges - scepticism and indifference for example - in the increasingly secular Western world.

In order to move with the times, and contribute to the development of a society which does not tolerate inequality or discrimination, as well as having the mechanisms in place to deal with it, churches, I would suggest, have a potentially pivotal role to play, but need to work smarter, and of equal, perhaps greater importance, together.

Positive change

On a positive note, with particular reference to Scotland, I am reminded of an Aberdeen Episcopal Church which recently opened its doors to local Muslims whose adjacent mosque was too small to accommodate them.

Despite unwarranted, primarily online, criticism from some, Muslims and Christian worshippers at St John's Church hope their special relationship could serve as a model for the rest of the country. Indeed, the Episcopal Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, Dr Robert Gillies, said the arrangement at St John's could serve as a lesson for the rest of the world.

''What we are doing here, is something local that has global significance,'' he said.

''We have demonstrated that Christians and Muslims do not have to agree with one another. But they can learn to respect each other's different beliefs and actually come to get along and even like one another." Take note, please, the religious persecutors of Indonesia, Southern India and Sri Lanka and Burma.

Religious tolerance in Scotland

In Scotland, religious tolerance even within the various Christian communities has proved challenging enough, the West of Scotland catholic protestant anxieties, and the splits within the Free Church, for example.

To add to the mix the impact of globalization and the influence of an increasingly diverse ethnic community, including Islam, contributes considerably to the difficulties of applying the requirement to “the fostering of good relations between individuals who share protected characteristics”, in this case religion and belief, of which the Aberdeen initiative is an excellent example. As if that is not enough, one must add the complicating dimensions of same sex marriage, women priests, celibacy and historical allegations of abuse.

Fostering good relations - Equality Act 2010

Interesting times lie ahead for religion, within and outside Scotland. In that context, the government, which is subject to the equality duty to foster good relations between individuals who share protected characteristics and for removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics, needs to play a more proactive part in addressing the legitimate concerns of both Christians and Muslims that they are being increasingly subject to persecution.

GORDON ELLIS, APRIL 2013

Equality Challenges facing the "New" Police Service

Corstorphine Police Station in Edinburgh

As of 1st April 2013 a new single Scottish police force will replace 8 regional and 2 national police agencies.

The amalgamation presents a number of challenges to policing in Scotland. One of the biggest challenges comes from the legal obligations the new force will inherit as a public authority, an large employer and as a service provider under the Equality Act 2010.

This article explores what potential risks and opportunities exist for the new force from an equalities perspective.

Legal obligations

The Equality Act will apply to the new police force. 

This means that the new force will have several legal obligations that cannot be ignored.

As a public authority, the force will have to have "due regard" to the promotion of equality of opportunity, the elimination of unlawful discrimination and the fostering of good relations between individuals who share protected characteristics.

The force will also act as an employer; not just of police officers but also of a large number of civilian staff. The force must not discriminate, harass or victimise someone because of their protected characteristic.

It is also likely, that the force will be a service provider. This means, that the clients or customers of the police are entitled not to be discriminated against in accessing police services.

It is all very well talking about these issues in the abstract. However, what will it mean in practice?

Example one - Hate Crime

This is the sort of racist graffiti that should be classified as a hate crime

It has already been acknowledged, by the incumbent Chief Constable, that there may be differentials between each of the individual force areas, in relation to the recording and processing of crime information.

This is due to different IT, training and employment practices between each of the existing police forces.

How this will impact upon the recording and monitoring of hate crime remains to be seen.

The identified issue here is not one of a lack of information within the police service generally about hate crime, but rather in the administrative processes behind reporting, identifying and then tackling hate crime at a local area.

Each individual police force areas utilises its own computer systems. Likewise, each individual force currently has separate training regimes in place for training both civilian staff and police officers concerning hate crime issues - or equality related issues generally.

It is unclear whether or not a new single police force will be any better equipped to deal with hate crime than its 8 predecessor forces.

The general duty described above, requires the new force to eliminate unlawful discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations.

If the IT and administrative structures of the new force are not up to the task of properly identifying, recording and tackling hate crime, then it is likely that this could constitute unlawful discrimination.

It is also likely, that the new force will not be able to comply with either the general duty or the scottish specific duties.

This could leave the new force open to judicial review of decisions taken if it has not had "due regard" to these important legal obligations in adopting new IT, administrative and training systems for the prevention, recording and detection of crime.

Example 2 - Employment Practice

In all likelihood, there will be some job losses as a consequence of dismantling 8 regional police forces and consolidating these into as single scottish police force.

The most likely source of job losses will be in administrative and back of house roles. because the Scottish Government has made clear that it does not want to reduce the number of front line Police.

At the moment, each individual force has identified individuals responsible for particular equality remits. For example, many local forces have community liaisons officers responsible for pro active engagement with LGBT people, minority ethnic and particular religious groups. Similarly, other administrative roles are also primarily concerned with the pro active promotion of equality with each individual force area.

It remains to be seen whether or not such arrangements will survive after April 1st.

It also remains to be seen whether or not the new force will adopt local equality training and promotion practice or if these particular functions will be centralised - one central equality officer replacing 8 regional officers.

It is also important to ensure that as a consequence of staff attrition, particular staff skill sets, such as those dealing with equality issues are not lost.

I do not know if the new police services authority, which is meant to supervise the work of the new force, has considered this point.

It is my experience, that many public bodies, when considering redundancy situations look to cover the basic legal requirements alone. It may not occur to them to also think further about the wider equalities impact of any redundancy exercise.

Example 3 - Service Provision

It will be unlawful for the new police force to discriminate in the provision of services. However, this duty goes beyond the obvious - denying access to the police services, harassing or victimising particular groups or individuals because they share a protected characteristic.

Consider the example of campaigns designed to tackle domestic abuse.

At the moment, under 8 separate authorities, each force is empowered to work with communities and other stakeholders on particular campaigns.

In Strathclyde, a poster campaign was launched to highlight the effect of rape and domestic abuse. In Lothian and Borders, similar posters are displayed at each local police station.

What is important here, is that a message gets delivered that victims of domestic abuse will be properly supported and that the police will act to prevent domestic abuse in what ever form it takes.

The majority of campaigns on domestic abuse are gendered - they specifically target men as perpetrators and women as victims. The majority of reported cases of domestic abuse follow this pattern and it appears logical that campaigns are designed around this model.

However, as our understanding of domestic abuse develops a new picture begins to emerge. In this new picture, we now see that domestic abuse can take place in same sex relationships too and that men can also be victims as well as perpetrators of domestic abuse. It is estimated that around 20% of cases reported and recorded in scotland place men in the role of victim.

The new police force cannot discriminate in the provision of services. This means that where a particular campaign is launched around an important social policy - such as tackling domestic abuse - that this campaign should not discriminate or stereotype to be more specific.

To a certain extent, this is already happening. Strathclyde made a point of highlighting that abuse can occur within a same sex relationship too as well as in mixed sex relationships in its latest poster campaign. However, there has yet to be any campaign, whether at a local or national level, addressing the issue of domestic abuse where men are portrayed in the role of victim and requiring support.

Hope for the Future

This article has sought to explore some of the equality issues and challenges that will face the new police force from April 1st.

I hope that the new force and the scottish police authority take the importance of these obligations seriously in order to build both the trust and confidence of the many diverse communities they will be empowered to serve.

"Getting AIDS comes from unhealthy relationships"

On BBC The Big Questions, aired on Sunday 17 March 2013, a religious audience member stated live on BBC TV that "getting AIDS comes from unhealthy relationships".  He went on to reference Gay men and Lesbians.  

The Presenter of the the programme did not robustly challenge him concerning this contribution.  

It can be difficult on a live television discussion programme to ensure that audience participants in the show avoid making derogatory  offensive or prejudicial remarks.

However, the BBC must set some standards for its television presenters and audience participants, even if the show is the topic of Christianity and Modernity.

My primary objection to this particular contribution, is that it was allowed to go unchallenged.

The Presenter moved quickly onto the next contribution and encouraged the audience member to elaborate on his contribution.

Because of the show's religious element, the BBC permitted this particular contribution to be broadcast and also to go unchallenged.

The BBC knew, or ought to have known, that this contribution was both stigmatising and inaccurate.

Two resounding questions for the BBC

Why is it that linking someone's sexual orientation to the spread of AIDS makes acceptable Sunday morning television?

Why is sexual orientation always viewed as a moral issue, inevitably linked to sex and then promiscuity?

History repeating itself?

The comment referencing AIDS to being Gay reminded me of the ill-informed, offensive and "hate" campaigns that featured throughout the 1980s.

At this time, a series of national adverts were being run by the UK Government to make the public aware of HIV / AIDS.  However, the reactionary media, were more focused on linking AIDS to being Gay and being Gay to spreading disease - this is where AIDS got its first name - The Gay Plague.

Call to be vigilant

Has nothing changed?  Or is this just a one off example, of an ill-conceived, off the cuff comment, made to promote the virtues of a religious celibate life?

I would like to think that this is the case.

However, it does go to show that we must all be vigilant.  Public opinion and with it, government and legislative policy can be easily swayed by both positive and negative media portrayal.

"Stories in the media can have a positive effect in increasing people's awareness of HIV and what it means to live with HIV. However media reports about HIV are often stigmatising or inaccurate. Many stories contribute to a culture of blame about HIV transmission, focusing on so-called irresponsible sexual activity, use judgemental language and stereotype people living with HIV."

People who are either HIV positive or who have AIDS already face discrimination and stigma.

We must do all that we can to address this problem and to challenge those, particularly in the media, who would like to see us revisit recent history.

 The episode of The Big Questions is available on iPlayer by clicking here.  It is available for the next 7 days from today.  The Contribution in question was made approximately 28 minutes into the programme.  

I have made a complaint to the BBC.

If you wish to complain too, you can do so by following this link:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/

Abolish the Bishops

The House of Lords, which forms part of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, has 26, unelected, Bishops of the Church of England within its membership.  

The Bishops are all from the same religious denomination, they are able to participate in Parliamentary business and they do not have to answer to any particular local community or constituency.  

In a modern 21st Century United Kingdom, should we allow one religious group an automatic right to sit in the House of Lords and have such an important role in the life of our Parliamentary democracy?

It is easy to answer this question in a partisan way.

If you believe that Parliament should be formed as part of a representative democracy, it is difficult to argue that one religious group should be given automatic representation in Parliament to the expense of other communities of faith or belief.

Another argument concerns the legitimacy of having religious representation in Parliament at all.  If we believe that the Government should operate on a secular basis and not subscribe to any one religion, then it follows that religion should play no part in the Parliamentary process.

I have concerns about the way the "Upper House" operates within our constitutional settlement generally, but for this purpose of this article, I shall focus on the "Lords Spiritual" to give the Bishops their proper constitutional title.

The Constitutional Position

The Church of England is the established Church.  The Queen - the Head of State - is also the head of the Church of England.

Parliament sits under the authority of the Queen and the Bishops are members of the House of Lords by virtue of their ecclesiastical role in the established Church.

For this reason, it is difficult to argue that the United Kingdom can ever be a truly secular state.

They are not members of any Political Party but they do always sit on the Government side of the House of Lords.  Their seats are located closest to the Queen; symbolising their loyalty.

No other religious group is represented as the Church of England is the only state Church.

The House of Lords is the Upper House of the British Parliament.  This means that although the Bishops only represent the Church of England, they can also become involved in matters that concern the whole of the United Kingdom and not just the dioceses from which they come.

Constitutional lawyers always argue over the relationship between the Church of England and the State.

Because of the link between the Queen, as Head of the Church of England and also as Head of State and also because Parliament sits under the authority of the Queen, arguments over the role of the Bishops in the House of Lord are often left unresolved.

Petition for Reform

A new petition has been launched on the HM Government e-petitions site.  This petition highlights the constitutional inequality, where one faith group is represented and others not.  It also calls on the House of Lords to become a fully elected second Chamber of Parliament.

There are whole text books dedicated to the subject of the British Constitution.

There are also numerous Government, academic and public media commentaries available on the subject of reform of the House of Lords.

For this reason, I cannot truly do the subject justice in a small article on this Blog.

I have signed the petition calling for reform.

If anything, the current constitutional settlement within the United Kingdom is already in a state of flux.

There is no better time to consider proposals for reform.

The Petition is available by clicking here

An Open Letter to the Catholic Church in Scotland

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An open letter to The Most Revered, Philip Tartaglia, President of the Bishop's Conference of Scotland, Archbishop of Glasgow and Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Edinburgh and St. Andrews.

Dear Archbishop,

I invite you to meet with me and other members of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Community in Scotland.

I want to give you an opportunity to have a positive and straightforward dialogue with LGBT people in Scotland.

I also want you to understand that the recent and historic words and actions by the Church have been tremendously hurtful towards LGBT people, no more so than the deployment of words and phrases that lack the basic compassion that should be at the root of Catholic Charity.

It is not easy growing up Catholic with such negative re-enforcement, where the love we express for our partners of the same sex or of the opposite sex as the case may be, is belittled and not recognised. It is also hard to rationalise the view taken that being gay is a “choice”, in the same way we choose the clothes we wear in the morning or what we buy for lunch. The Church can no longer promote a non sequitur.

This is an opportunity for you to hear from us and for us to hear form you; to enter into dialogue with members of our community.

I am disappointed that my previous correspondence to the Church has gone unanswered. I now, following recent events, make the offer to you again, in an open letter, affording you another opportunity to respond.

In the Words of Saint Paul, it is now time to show Charity.

Yours respectfully,

Daniel Donaldson