We’ve launched our online handbook, Practical Equality Rights in Welfare Benefits Advice, in May 2018 . This handbook will help everyone working in welfare benefits advice to make practical use of the Equality Act to solve everyday discrimination problems and fill the ‘discrimination advice gap’.
The Government Equalities Office announced that it will consult on the future of civil partnerships.
This is from their May 2018 policy paper (pdf) which sets out plans for a new consultation to assess whether there is still enough demand for civil partnerships among same-sex couples, now that marriages are available to them. And whether there is demand for civil partnerships amongst opposite-sex couples.
The House of Commons Library have published a May 2018 briefing paper, which provides links to a selection of debates that have referenced Brexit in the title or during a debate in 2018.
Those identifying as Black or Black British are 13% more likely than average to have accessed services in 2016/17. Those identifying as White British are 3% more likely than average to have accessed services.
This is according to an April 2018 research briefing published by the House of Commons on mental health in England (pdf).
The Scottish Government have published its 2016 Official Statistics for Scotland on people, communities and places. This data came from the Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ) and covers the period of 2012 – 2016.
The Government Equalities Office have published its 8th report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (pdf), in April 2018.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have published their business plan 2018/19 (PDF), in March 2018.
This plan outlines the priorities for their work in the coming year.
The Social Mobility Commission has a vital role to play in “[putting] the Government’s feet to the fire” – but changes need to be made.
‘Every non-trans person can be an ally for trans equality, but not
everyone feels confident doing this. It’s not complicated’.
This is from the March 2018 guidance (PDF) from UNISON on supporting trans people in the workplace.
The guidance recommends:
Speak up when there are no trans people present. Transphobia is always wrong and shouldn’t be ignored
Misgendering someone or using their previous name (sometimes called ‘deadnaming’) is hurtful and may be unlawful harassment
Try not to make assumptions. Although there aren’t many trans people (which is why allies are so important) they are all individual. There is no one way of being trans.
Read the guidance (pdf).
Human rights belong to everyone. We all have rights regardless of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, income, gender, country of birth or belief.
This is from the February 2018 report from the Scottish Human Rights Commission on building a human rights culture in Scotland.
The research tested and identified the impact of different types of messages on people’s attitudes towards human rights
The report finds:
Demographic groups of women and 16-24 year olds were most likely to become more supportive and engaged with human rights when exposed to key human rights messages
When talking about human rights, organisations involved in human rights secured the greatest levels of trust amongst all those surveyed, with 58% of participants saying they would trust them a great deal or fair amount.
This compares to 17% for a famous singer, actor, sportsperson or musician who is well known for caring about human rights
Different spokespeople affected the impact of messages. For example across all those surveyed, a disability rights campaigner has more impact than the Chair of the National Human Rights Institution when discussing disability rights.
Read the full report (pdf).
