To discriminate means to recognize and differentiate between things, or, in a social context, to treat people unfairly based on specific characteristics such as race, gender, or age.
In a social or legal context, discrimination refers to unfair or prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups based on certain characteristics that are unrelated to their abilities or merits. Common grounds for discriminatory practices include:
Race or ethnicity: Treating people differently because of their racial background.
Gender or sex: Making distinctions that advantage one gender over another.
Age: Favoring or disadvantaging people based on their age.
Religion or beliefs: Unequal treatment due to religious affiliation or convictions.
Disability: Denying equal opportunities to people with physical or mental disabilities.
Sexual orientation or nationality: Bias against individuals based on who they love or where they come from.
Such discrimination is often unlawful in workplaces, education, housing, and public services because it violates principles of equality and human rights. Social and legal frameworks, such as the Equality Act 2010 in the UK, exist to protect individuals from discriminatory practices.
Intersectionality of Discrimination
It’s important to recognize that individuals may experience discrimination based on multiple grounds simultaneously. For example, a person who is both a woman and a member of a racial minority may face unique challenges that are not fully addressed by considering each characteristic in isolation.
The grounds of discrimination refer to specific characteristics or attributes that are protected under human rights laws, preventing unfair treatment based on these traits.
What are the different types of discrimination?
The Equality Act protects people who have a disability against these types of discrimination:
Direct discrimination
Discrimination arising from disability
Indirect discrimination
Harassment
Victimisation
Failing to comply with duty to make reasonable adjustments
It’s possible that you’ve experienced discrimination in more than one way. If this is the case, you can claim for multiple types of discrimination in one claim.
You have to show that there’s a link between your disability and the way you’ve been treated. This can be difficult. But you don’t always have to give an example of a specific non-disabled person who was treated better than you. It just needs to be clear from all the circumstances that your disability was the reason why you were treated as you were.
Discrimination arising from disability
This is where you are treated badly because of something that happens due to your disability.
Unlike direct discrimination, there’s no need for you to compare yourself with anyone else. You just have to show that you were treated badly. And this treatment was linked to your disability.
You don’t need to show that the person who treated you badly was aware that the behaviour was due to your disability. But they do need to be aware that you have a disability.
Example of discrimination arising from disability
Nigel is the tenant of a housing association. He has obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Because of this, he walks around his flat a lot. This disturbs his neighbour. His tenancy officer at the housing association sends him a warning letter. It tells him that he will be taken to court if he continues to disturb his neighbour. This may be discrimination arising from disability.
Situations when unfavourable treatment might not be discrimination
There are some situations in which it might be lawful for a person or organisation to treat you unfavourably. These are if they can show at least one of the following:
There were valid intentions behind their action. For example, ensuring the health and safety of others, or keeping up staff attendance so that their business can run properly. And that it was an appropriate action to take in the circumstance. Legally this is called a ‘justification’.
They did not know you had a disability and could not reasonably have known.
A service provider can be held responsible for the actions of its staff or agents. For example, a waiter in a restaurant or a receptionist at the local authority.
But the service provider may be protected if they took all reasonable steps to avoid the discriminatory act. Or if their employee or agent was acting outside the scope of what they were told to do.
Example when unfavourable treatment might not be discrimination
Peter experiences psychosis and hears voices, which he manages by talking to them. A member of staff in a shop asks Peter to leave when he is talking to his voices. Peter has been treated unfavourably because of behaviour related to his disability.
Normally the company running the shop would be held responsible for the actions of its employee. But the company has issued clear instructions to staff about their obligations under equality law. And it’s provided equality training. It also regularly checks that staff are following the law. It may be able to argue that it’s taken all reasonable steps to prevent its staff from acting in a discriminatory way. The member of staff who asked Peter to leave wasn’t acting in the way he’d been told to.
For a good reason
Appropriate and necessary
For indirect discrimination, it doesn’t matter whether the person or organisation knew about your disability. This means they have to plan in advance and think about how their policies and practices may affect people with mental health problems.
But it is not indirect discrimination if the person or organisation can show these practices and arrangements were justified.
Harassment
Harassment is behaviour from others that you don’t want, that:
Violates your dignity or creates an environment that is intimidating, degrading, offensive or humiliating
relates to a disability. It does not have to relate to a disability that you have.
Victimisation
Victimisation is when an employer or organisation puts you at a disadvantage. It could be because of one of the following:
You’ve made allegation about discrimination
You’ve supported someone who has made an allegation of discrimination
Examples of victimisation
Sarah makes a complaint that her GP’s receptionist has discriminated against her because of her mental health problem. As a result, her GP’s practice manager tells her she must leave the practice and register with another practice. This is likely to be victimisation.
Deb has an anxiety disorder. She genuinely believes that she has been discriminated against by an assistant in her local supermarket. The assistant made remarks about her condition in front of customers. Her friend Chris helps her to complain to the supermarket. After this, the manager says both of them should shop elsewhere.
Failing to comply with duty to make reasonable adjustments
The Equality Act says that employers and service providers should think about making reasonable adjustments.
If a person or organisation does not make reasonable adjustments when it would have been reasonable to do, this will be unlawful discrimination.
Why is the UDHR important?
The UDHR marked an important shift by daring to say that all human beings are free and equal, regardless of colour, creed or religion. For the first time, a global agreement put human beings, not power politics, at the heart of its agenda. Communities, movements and nations across the world took the UDHR disruptive power to drive forward liberation struggles and demands for equality.
What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
The UDHR is an enduring commitment to prevent the bleakest moments in history from happening again.
‘The UDHR is living proof that a global vision for human rights is possible, doable, workable.’
When was the UDHR created?
The UDHR emerged from the ashes of war and the horrors of the Holocaust. The traumatic events of the Second World War brought home that human rights are not always universally respected. The extermination of almost 17 million people during the Holocaust, including 6 million Jews, horrified the entire world. After the war, governments worldwide made a concerted effort to foster international peace and prevent conflict. This resulted in the establishment of the United Nations in June 1945.
Who created the UDHR?
In 1948, representatives from the 50 member states of the United Nations came together, with Eleanor Roosevelt chairing the Human Rights Commission, to devise a list of all the human rights that everybody across the world should enjoy.
What are the legal aspects to be aware of?
A legal framework is provided in the Equality Act 2010 to tackle disadvantage and discrimination, and this framework applies to job descriptions too. The Act details 9 protected characteristics which individuals cannot be treated unfairly as a result of. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. It is also important to note that the right to discriminate is not a legal right. Rather, it is a term that is often used to describe the ability of individuals or organizations to make decisions based on their own preferences or beliefs. However, it is important to remember that discrimination can have serious consequences for individuals and society as a whole, and that it is important to treat everyone with respect and dignity.
The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995 was a landmark legislation that made it illegal for employers and service providers such as shops and restaurants to discriminate against someone because they were disabled. The act was preceded by years of campaigning and protests, including incidents of civil disobedience. The DDA was later replaced by the Equality Act 2010, which provides a legal framework to protect the rights of disabled people and promote equality.
Although it is not legally binding, the protection of the rights and freedoms set out in the Declaration has been incorporated into many national constitutions and domestic legal frameworks. All states have a duty, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights for everyone without discrimination.
Besides, parents have the right to take their kids wherever they want to take them.
Ally or Accomplice?
Well then, why is it that when it comes to disability, people start cherry picking rights?
Why am I fighting so hard for something that is already my human and legal right?
We need to get our priorities straight!
If you have experienced discrimination, you may be able to take legal action. The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides information and advice on discrimination and your rights. You can also contact Citizens Advice for guidance on what to do if you have experienced discrimination.
Institutions are not solutions, and the UK has come a long way in recognizing the rights of disabled people. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure that disabled people have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
In summary, while discrimination can involve mere recognition of differences, it most commonly refers to unjust treatment of individuals or groups, and understanding this distinction is crucial when discussing rights, fairness, and social ethics.
Types of discrimination in the Equality Act
https://www.bihr.org.uk/get-informed/what-rights-do-i-have/the-right-to-be-free-from-discrimination
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/discrimination/
https://www.gov.uk/discrimination-your-rights
https://www.ohchr.org/en/what-are-human-rights
https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/disability-discrimination-act-1995-and-now/
Was 1995 the year that changed everything for disabled people? – BBC News https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/protection-against-disability-discrimination
https://www.bihr.org.uk/get-informed/what-rights-do-i-have/the-right-to-education
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/42/schedule/1/part/II
https://www.disabilitymedwaynetwork.org.uk/2019/01/19/a-history-of-disability-rights-in-the-uk/
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