Race Equality- Legislation
| Legal Drivers in England |
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Race Relations Act 1976 - encouraged local authorities to tackle racial discriminination in employment and service delivery and to promote good relations between people from different ethnic communities.
Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 - Gives local authorities are under a positive duty to promote race equality.
Public Order Act 1986 - can be used in response to racial harassment and racist incidents. Section 4 covers fear or provocation of violence and section 4a covers intentional harassment, alarm or distress.
Protection from Harassment Act 1997 - makes it an offence to commit harassment.
Crime and Disorder Act 1988 - introduces new racially aggrevated offences of assault, grevious bodily harm or criminal damage. |
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In Europe the Race Directive makes it illegal to discriminate in employment on racial grounds and the Human Rights Act 1998 confers a broad spectrum of civil rights. |
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| At the international level the work of organisations like the United Nations, Oxfam, and the Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) all aim to tackle social and economic injustice. |
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| Political Drivers |
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MacPherson Report 2000 - the death of Stephen Lawrence ignited public debate about the concept of instituional racism which was defined as
"the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appriopriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture and ethnic origin. It can be see or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amout of discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people." |
The report gave education a crucial role to play in preparing students for life in a multicultural society. |
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- Different Government departments like the Department for Education and Skills, the Social Exclusion Unit e.t.c. have identified inclusion, joined up thinking and building cohesive societies as priorities. Race equality can help achieve these priorities.
- Recent riots in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford show that there is no room for complacency in maintaining positive inter-racial community relations. A report by Sir Herman Ouseley into the Bradford situation concluded there was endemic segregation between the Muslim and white communities of the city.
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| Educational Drivers |
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- OfSTED have race equality indicators in their inspection framework. These include noting the attainment of all students across all subjects, judging the ethos of the school and how well it provides for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students.
It also includes how behaviour is managed, how inclusive the curriculum is, and the parnerships with parents and community organisations. In this way schools are encouraged to embed equal opportunities into the life of the school.
- Warwickshire County Council has a number of strategies and schemes in Equality and Diversity which support efforts in education.
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