Policy Review: Equality and Human Rights. (original) (raw)
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Introduction: Equality and Human Rights in Britain
Social Policy and Society, 2011
The first ten years of the twenty-first century has seen the British Government introduce radical change to its equality policy. These changes have included the creation of a single equalities body, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC); the expansion of the equality terrain to include age, sexuality and sexual orientation and faith and belief in addition to gender, race and disability as protected grounds; the decision to coalesce human rights and equality legislation under the direction the EHRC; the development of an Equalities Framework; the promulgation of a new Equality Act (2009) with the aim of creating a single legal framework to cover all equality legislation together with the development of specific Equality Duties for the public sector around the areas of gender, race and disability with the aim of ‘mainstreaming’ equality. Barbara Roche, the then Minister responsible for equality co-ordination across the UK Government described these changes as ‘the most signi...
Getting it Right: Human Rights in Scotland
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Human rights impact on all of our lives every day. They belong to all of us and can be a powerful driver of humane, dignified and fair reatment in our homes, our workplaces, our schools, our hospitals and are homes, in fact everywhere we go in all aspects of our everyday lives. Human rights set the conditions in which we should all be able to live with dignity, free from degrading treatment and with the capability to live a full life. Realising this potential requires the right structures and processes to be in place to influence outcomes. That means ensuring that the right laws and institutions are in place to respect, protect and fulfil the full range of civil and political and economic, social and cultural rights. It means taking effective steps to put those rights into practice, for example through policy and strategy setting and in the allocation of resources. Monitoring is also required to make sure that what happens in practice meets the requirements of international human rights law. Scotland needs a more systematic approach to assure - and not assume - the realisation of human rights in our day to day lives.
The Equality Act 2010: Five years on
The Equality Act 2010: five years on' conference was organized as a collaboration between the Forum for Research into Equality and Diversity (University of Chester) and the School of Law and Social Justice (University of Liverpool). The Equality Act 2010 has arguably been one of the most important and challenging pieces of legislation introduced in the last decade in the United Kingdom. As such, it was felt that the 5-year anniversary of its implementation provided an excellent opportunity to bring together those researching and practising in this area of law. In particular, the conference was intended to provide the opportunity for a review of the implications and impact of the legislation during this period, but also to consider the way in which it can continue to promote equality and protect against discrimination into the 21st century.
The Equality Act 2010: Context and Legacy
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The following paper aims to explore, describe and analyse the political, historical and social contexts of The Equality Act 2010. Examples and parallels are drawn on to consolidate an understanding of the act and its importance in the 21st century, and to better understand the legacy that it has left in British policy making. This paper serves as a follow up to my original, shorter paper on the same policy. As was required as part of the essay, I also give a short description as to how my learning and understanding of policy making has improved as a result of the studying of this act. It also provides a number of references relating to The Equality Act 2010, which those conducting their own research on this policy will find useful.
Legal Studies, 2019
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) was created in 2006 with wide-ranging powers to protect human rights, promote equal opportunities and encourage mutual respect between different groups. Alongside the Commission, individuals, through the courts and sector-specific enforcers (such as ombudsmen and regulators), have also been given equality and human rights enforcement powers. Within this enforcement landscape, the Commission has struggled to craft an enforcement role for itself. For the first time, this article, through the mapping of these different actors in their shared regulatory space, outlines a role for the EHRC in equality and human rights enforcement. This role consists of three primary tasks: (1) taking action that courts and sector-specific enforcers are unable to perform; (2) overcoming some of the limitations of private enforcement in the courts; and (3) coordinating and supporting sector-specific enforcers. The article concludes by exploring how the EHRC can effectively fulfil this role.
Digest of Research on Equality
Part of consultation on Equalities and Human Rights in Scotland, see related working papers and final report at: http://www.creid.ed.ac.uk/projects.html#feaseq
List of Figures and Appendices 3 ii Acknowledgement 8 Further significant impacts of devolution on equalities are higher levels of women's political representation and changes in the way that politics are conducted at the devolved level. In part, this is linked to the international first when the Welsh legislature secured gender parity amongst elected representatives (without the use of quotas). Research shows that the high proportion of women elected to the National Assembly are probabilistically more likely than their male counterparts to advance gender equality issues in political debate and committee work. 5 A further dimension to post-devolution governance relates to procedural aspects of the National Assembly: its Standing Orders set out a number of requirements such that the principal of equality is upheld in all its proceedings. At present there is variability between government departments/ policy areas regarding the promotion of equalities. For example, there is evidence of sustained and generally good practice in areas such as education, children, young people and, older people-and shortcomings in others (e.g. the environment and, sustainable development).