DEFINITIONS OF TERMS & ACCEPTABLE LANGUAGE

March 2008

Adverse Impact

This is a significant difference in patterns of representation or outcomes between racial groups, with the difference amounting to a detriment for one or more racial groups.

Attributed Gender

The gender and sex that one is taken to be by others. This is usually an immediate, unconscious categorisation of a person as being a man or a woman, irrespective of their mode of dress.

Best Value

Legislation aimed at the public sector, which abolishes competitive tendering, and amongst other things develops the concept of ‘Compare – Compete – Consult – Challenge’, together with continuous improvement.

Bisexuality

Is where the sexual preference is either or both sexes.

Black

This term is used to describe non-white people with heritages in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, who share a common experience of discrimination on the basis of their skin colour, racial origin and culture.

Consultation

Asking for views on policies or services from staff, colleagues, service users or the general public. Different circumstances call for different types of consultation. For example, consultation includes public meetings, focus groups, surveys and questionnaires, and meeting with experts.

Coloured

This is considered a derogatory term in Britain at the moment. It makes the assumption that white is the norm to which everyone else is compared. It is also considered offensive because it echoes the use of the term in the apartheid regime in South Africa, in which white people divided black people into three categories: ‘Blacks’, ‘Indians’, and ‘Coloureds’.

Critical Friend

Independent Advisors who constructively advise and challenge organisations on their policy, procedures and practices, advising them accordingly on how to improve these key areas, so their policing performance is improved.

Critical Incident

Is any incident where the effectiveness of the Police response is likely to have a significant impact on the confidence of the victim, the family and/or the community.

Direct Discrimination

Occurs when a person is treated less favourably than others on the grounds of race, colour, religion, gender, ethnic or national origin and disability.

Disablism

Discriminatory, oppressive, or abusive behaviour arising from the belief that disabled people are inferior to others. Unlike racism or sexism, it is not defined in most dictionaries but is commonly used by people to describe.

Disability

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines a disability as ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial or long term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

Disability Equality Duty (DED)

Came into force in December 2006 and was created by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005 that amended the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The General Duty means that authorities when carrying their functions must have due regard for the need to:

· Promote equality of opportunity between disabled people and other people

· Eliminate unlawful discrimination under the DDA

· Eliminate disability-related harassment

· Promote positive attitude towards disabled people

· Encourage participation by disabled people in public life

· Take steps to take account of disabled people’s disabilities, even where that involves treating disabled people more favourably than others.

The Specific Duties area intended to help the organisation to meet the general duty. This includes the development and implementation of a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) which includes an action plan. In drawing up the DES organisations are required to:

· Involve disabled people

· Set out their arrangements for gathering and using information

· Set out their methods for carrying out impact assessments

· Produce an action plan

· Report annually on progress made

· Review and revise the scheme every three years

Disparity

The difference in representation or outcomes between different groups that may not amount to a detriment for a particular group (or groups).

Due Regard

The weight given to an issue that should be proportionate to its relevance. In practice, this approach means giving greater consideration and resources to functions and policies that have most effect on the public, or on employees.

Ethnocentricity

Viewing the world from the perspective of a particular ethic group usually based on assumptions about ones race and the superiority of ones own culture.

Ethnic Minority

The term is used most frequently to describe people who share a common sense of identity based on shared kinship, culture, language, religion, history, or country of origin. It tends to be defined by social rather than physical characteristics.

Ethnic Monitoring

A process for collecting, storing and analysing data about individuals’ ethnic (or racial) background and linking this data and analysis with planning and implementing policies.

Focus Group

Focus group research involves organised discussion with a selected group of individuals, to obtain information about their views and experiences on a particular topic. Focus group interviews are particularly suited for obtaining several perspectives about the topic.

Gender

Expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and affects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave.

Gender Equality Duty (GED)

Came into force in April 2007 and was created by the Equality Act 2006. This Act amends the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to place a statutory duty on public authorities, when carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to:

· Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment

· Promote equality of opportunity between men and women

In addition to this General Duty, there are Specific Duties to:

· Prepare and publish a Gender Equality Scheme, showing how it will meet its general and specific duties and setting out its gender equality objectives

· In formulating overall objectives, consider the need to address the causes of any gender pay gap

Gender Identity

The gender to which one feels one belongs.

Gender Reassignment

Process of medical treatment to enable transsexual people to alter their bodies to match their chosen gender identity.

Gender Dysphoria

The medical name given to the biological condition whereby an individual’s biological sex does not match their anatomical and/or physical appearance. Some of the symptoms of the biological condition may be that an individual experiences anxiety, uncertainty or persistently uncomfortable feelings about their birth gender. This may lead to a fear of expressing their feelings and a fear of rejection, which may lead to deep anxiety, leading to chronic depression and possibly attempted suicide. Sometimes, once an individual has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria they may embark on a course of hormone treatment and surgical procedures to physically align their external appearance to their true biological sex, this phase of treatment is referred to as “transsexualism” or the “transsexual phase” whereby an individual could define themselves in monitoring forms of being from within this category. Any individual who is receiving treatment is protected by the Gender Re-assignment Regulations 1999, The Sex Discrimination Act 1975, The Gender Duty 2006 and also the Gender Recognition Act 2004. Please note that Gender Re-assignment is not a “sex change” but merely a process that aligns the true biological sex of an individual to their external physical appearance. Also please be aware most individuals from the “Trans” community to not like the term Gender Dysphoria as it gives the impression that it is a Mental Health problem and a medical condition that individuals should be cured of. Gender Dysphoria is purely a medical term and should not be commonly used to describe an individual but should be used purely to aid the understanding of the biological condition.

General Duty

The duty stated in section 71 (1) of the Race Relations Act 1976. This gives the public authorities listed in the schedule to the Act a legal responsibility when carrying out their functions to have ‘due regard’ to the needed:

· To eliminate unlawful racial discrimination

· To promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups

· To promote good relations between persons of different racial groups

Harassment

In the workplace, this is unwanted conduct affecting the dignity of men and women. It may be related to sex, race, disability, religion, nationality or any personal characteristics of the individual. It may be persistent or an isolated incident. The key is that the actions or comments are viewed as demeaning and unacceptable to the recipient.

Homophobia

An intense fear or hatred of homosexual people.

Homosexuality

Sexual attraction is felt for people of the same, rather than the opposite sex.

Indirect Discrimination

Where a requirement is applied equally to all groups, but has a disproportionate effect on the members of one group because a considerably small number of that group can comply with it.

Institutional Racism

‘Institutional racism consists of the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, cultural or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amounts to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.’ (Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report)

Inter-sex

A term covering a wide range of conditions in which the sex may be indeterminate to some degree at birth. Such people are often subject to ill conceived attempts at surgical ‘correction’ early in life which may cause major problems later, some including gender dysphoria.

PACE

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act – this amongst other things, are the codes of practice that govern ‘Stop and Search’ powers and the detention, treatment and questioning of a person in police detention.

Policies

The set of principles or the criteria that define the different ways in which an organisation carries out its role or function and meets its duties. Policies also include formal and informal decisions made in the course of their implementation.

Positive Action

Is legal under the Race Relations Act 1976. It is often confused with positive discrimination, which is not legal. Positive action involves providing a level playing field in order that everyone can compete equally. For example, providing training in post or pre-entry to equalise opportunities for employment or promotion.

Policy/Service Delivery

Public Authorities that are bound by the employment duty must set out how they will monitor the impact of the policies they have adopted, or are proposing to adopt on promoting race equality. This applies to all functions and policies that are relevant to the general duty. The code of practice defines functions as the full range of a Public Authorities duty and powers. It defines polices as the formal and informal decisions a Public Authority make to carry out its duties and use its power.

Prejudice

Literally to pre-judge an individual or group in a negative way. A preconceived idea or notion based on little or no fact.

Qualitative Data

Information gathered from individuals about their experiences. Qualitative data usually gives less emphasis to statistics.

Quantitative Data

Statistical information in the form of numbers normally derived from a population in general or samples of that population. This information is often analysed using descriptive statistics, which consider general profile distributions and trends in the data, or using inferential statistics, which are used to determine significance within relationships of differences in the data.

Race Equality Duty

This term is used to refer to both the general duty and, where appropriate, the specific duties, placed on public authorities under section 71(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976, as amended and the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) Order 2001 and Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Order 2002.

Race Equality Policy

A written statement of an establishments or organisations policy on race equality, which is put into practice and monitored.

Race Equality Scheme

Most Public Authorities bound by the general duty have a specific duty to produce a Race Equality Scheme. This is a document setting out how the Public Authority plans to meet its statutory duties under section 71(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976 and in particular articles 2(2) and 2(3) of the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) Order 2001 and articles 2(3) and 2(4) of the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Order 2002.

Racial Group

Any group of people who are defined by reference to their race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origin. For example, this term could include travellers, refugees or asylum seekers.

Racism

Ideas and attitudes that imply members of one race are superior to another.

Race Impact Assessment

A systematic way of finding out how a proposed policy is likely to affect the promotion of race equality.

RR(A)A – 2000

The Race Relations (Amendment) Act came into force on the 2nd April 2001, it is the Government’s response to the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. It strengthens the 1976 Act by imposing a statutory duty on all public services to address institutional racism. The Act imposes a ‘general duty’ on all public bodies to promote race equality. The ‘general duty’ to promote race and equality should be through the ‘specific duty’ i.e. a Race and Equality Scheme. Public bodies were also required to produce and publish a ‘Race Equality Scheme’ which is basically an action plan that sets out how they will promote race equality in their organisations.

Relevance

For the purpose of the Race Relations Act, ‘relevance’ means ‘having implications for’ (of affecting) the general duty. A function or a policy will be relevant to race equality, if it has, or could have, implications for promoting race equality. Relevance is about how far a function or policy affects people – as members of the public and as employees of the authority.

Reliable/Valid Data

Reliable data is consistent information – a record of the same results on repeated occasions, that is, your findings would be similar to someone else’s if they were to repeat your research. Validity refers to the notion that the information you gather is about the topic in question. For example, in an interview, the respondent may give the replies they think the interviewer wants to hear, or they may just go off the point. If this happens, we could say that the data collected is not valid, that it is not relevant to the topic. Research is also seen as invalid if the people who take part in it are not representative.

Religious Groups

Any group of people defined by reference to their religious belief or lack of religious belief. For example, this would include Christians, Hindus and Muslims and different sects within these religions. It would also include people with no religious belief at all.

Sexism

Ideas and attitudes that one gender is superior to the other and therefore entitled to higher status, or better conditions. Most often used in reference to the behaviour of men towards women.

Specific Duty

A duty imposed by the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) Order 2001 and the Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) (Scotland) Order 2002.

Stereotype

Generalised perceptions leading to predictions of behaviour.

Transgender

A term used to include transsexuals, transvestites and cross dressers. A trans-genderist can also be a person who, like a transsexual – sometimes with the help of hormone therapy and/or cosmetic surgery – wishes to live in the gender role of choice, but has not undergone, and generally does not intend to undergo surgery.

Transsexual

A person who feels a consistent and overwhelming desire to transition and fulfil their life as a member of the opposite gender. Most transsexual people actively desire and complete Sex Reassignment surgery. However, it is important to note that not all transsexual people will go through surgery, sometimes because they cannot, for medical reasons.

Transvestites

People who dress in the clothing of the opposite sex, but will not normally wish to change their physical characteristics. They are not covered by legislation.

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