Equality, Diversity and Human Rights

The following are some of the ways that good equality, diversity and human rights practice can be promoted in adult social care:

• Applying the FREDA principles (Fairness, Respect, Equality, Dignity, Autonomy) to all aspects of practice, from the first point of contact through to assessment, eligibility decisions, financial assessment, Care and Support /Support Planning, review and safeguarding;
• Understanding and respecting the diversity and culture of people and their carers/families and arranging/providing culturally appropriate care that meets their needs;
• Involving people and their carers/families in plans and decisions, supporting them to have choice and control over their own care and support;
• Providing information and advice on rights and entitlements, and how to access advocacy or legal support if needed;
• Working in partnership with other agencies to promote a culture of equality and human rights across organisations.

If equality, diversity and human rights values, principles and legal obligations are not respected or upheld, this can lead to poor practice and/or discrimination.

GOV.UK: Equality Act 2010 guidance

Skills for Care: Equality and Diversity

Local Government Association: Equality, diversity and inclusion in care and health

Care Quality Commission: Equality, diversity and human rights - adult social care services

Care Quality Commission: Culturally appropriate care

Skills for Care: Culturally appropriate care

BASW: Social Work and Human Rights - A Practice Guide

Equality and Human Rights Commission: The Human Rights Act

Equality and Human Rights Commission: Equality and human rights in social care

Staff are protected under the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 in the same way as everyone else.

Anyone that feels they are a victim of workplace discrimination should make a record of the behaviour that has taken place.

Available options:

• Report the discrimination;
• Raise a grievance using the grievance procedures;
• Make a claim to the Employment Tribunal.

Independent advice can be sought from the Equality Advisory Support Service:

Tel: 0808 800 0082

Online contact form: www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/app/ask

For further information, see: Citizens Advice - Dealing with discrimination at work

Note: Anyone raising a complaint about discrimination must not experience further discrimination or be negatively impacted on because they have made a complaint.

What do Equality, Diversity and Inclusion mean?

Equality means offering the same rights and opportunities to all people.

Diversity is understanding that each person is unique. It means embracing people’s differences, including their beliefs, abilities, preferences, backgrounds, values, and identities.

Inclusion is an extension of equality and diversity. It means that all people, without exception, have the right to be included, respected, and appreciated as valuable members of the community.

Below you will find a glossary of terms in relation to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion – please note this is by no means an exhaustive list, however the list does cover common language often linked to Race and Culture.

A

Adultification 
A persistent and ongoing act of dehumanisation, which explicitly impacts Black children, and influences how they are safeguarded and protected. This form of bias spans pre-birth and remains on a continuum to adulthood. Where at this juncture it becomes absorbed within the normative negative racialised experiences many Black adults encounter throughout their life course. Adultification may differ dependent on an individual's intersecting identity, such as their gender, sexuality, and dis/abilities. However, race and racism remain the central tenant in which this bias operates (Adultification bias within child protection and safeguarding (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk)).

Ally
An ally is someone who champions underrepresented groups whilst not being a member of the group that they are defending (allyship-toolkit_14_03.pdf (imperial.nhs.uk)).

Anti-Racist
Anti-racism is the work of actively opposing racism by advocating for changes that promote racial equity in society (DPAG).

B

BAME
A term previously used, to describe Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. The term is frequently used to group all ethnic minorities together, however this has been criticised in excluding other minoritised ethnic groups who also face negative disparities (Equality Hub).

C

Colourblind
Colourblind ideology aims to treat individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race.

It focuses on commonalities between people, such as their shared humanity.

Colourblindness creates a society that denies individuals negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives.

Cultural humility 
Cultural hHumility is a stance that attempts to understand peoples’ identities in relation to race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class and socioeconomic status, education, social needs.

E

Equity
Equity means offering rights and opportunities fairly, catering to people’s differences so they are given fair access to opportunities. It means providing various levels of support depending on specific needs or abilities (What do equality, diversity, and inclusion mean? (reengage.org.uk)).

G

Global Majority
Global Majority is a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called to think of themselves as belonging to the global majority. It refers to people who are Black, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities' Rosemary Campbell-Stephens | Leeds Beckett UniversityRosemary Campbell-Stephens | Leeds Beckett University.  

I

Institutional Racism
Institutional racism is that which, covertly or overtly, resides in the policies, procedures, operations and culture of public or private institutions – reinforcing individual prejudices and being reinforced by them in turn (Institute of Race Relations (irr.org.uk)).

M

Microaggressions
A microaggression is a subtle verbal or nonverbal behaviour, committed consciously or not, that is directed at a member of a marginalised group, and has a harmful, derogatory effect.
Although subtle and potentially less harmful than outright prejudice or intolerance, microaggressions have an impact too; in fact, being exposed to chronic microaggressions over a period of time may be hurting your mental health.

It's important to note that those individuals who engage in microaggressions may or may not be doing it on purpose. Instead, these actions or comments may reflect the biases held by a particular group about other groups of people.

P

People of Colour
People of Colour is an umbrella term that generally and collectively refers to all people of colour, except anyone who is white. The term includes but is not limited to Black, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latinx, and multi-racial communities (Talking Together for Change).

Prejudice
A negative or hostile attitude/opinion based, not on actual factual information, but on a prejudgement depending on stereotypes about a whole group (irr.org.uk).

R

Racism
The belief or ideology that ‘races’ have distinctive characteristics which gives some superiority over others (irr.org.uk).

W

White Privilege
White privilege is the multiple social advantages, benefits and courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race (barnardos.org.uk).

White Fragility 
In a nutshell, it’s the defensive reactions so many white people have when our racial worldviews, positions, or advantages are questioned or challenged. For a lot of white people, just suggesting that being white has meaning will trigger a deep, defensive response. And that defensiveness serves to maintain both our comfort and our positions in a racially inequitable society from which we benefit (robindiangelo.com).

White Saviour Complex
A symptom of racism and white supremacy which places those in a position of privilege into the role of saviour over those who have been historically oppressed and exploited (White Saviourism in International development. Theories, Practices and Lived Experiences | From Poverty to Power (oxfam.org.uk)).

LGBTQ+ Glossary of Terms

Gender Identity refers to one’s deeply held, core sense of being a man, woman, or some other gender. A gender identity can be a combination of two or more genders (such as gender fluid), and some individuals don't identify with any gender at all, described as being agender. May or may not correspond with the sex or gender assigned at birth (Gender and Sexual Identity Learning Hub | Identiversity).

Sexual orientation is commonly used to refer to who we are or are not attracted to (sexually, romantically, and emotionally), the relationships we have, and how we personally identify. Sometimes used more narrowly to refer to sexual attraction, behaviour and identity. Attraction and behaviour do not always define a person's sexual orientation (Gender and Sexual Identity Learning Hub | Identiversity).

Below you will find a glossary of terms in relation to LGBTQ+ – please note this is by no means an exhaustive list, however the list does cover common language often linked to Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation.

A

Abro (sexual and romantic)
A word used to describe people who have a fluid sexual and/or romantic orientation which changes over time, or the course of their life. They may use different terms to describe themselves over time.

Ace
An umbrella term used specifically to describe a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of sexual attraction. This encompasses asexual people as well as those who identify as demisexual and grey-sexual. Ace people who experience romantic attraction or occasional sexual attraction might also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with asexual to describe the direction of their romantic or sexual attraction.

Ace and aro/ace and aro spectrum
Umbrella terms used to describe the wide group of people who experience a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of romantic and/or sexual attraction, including a lack of attraction. People who identify under these umbrella terms may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including, but not limited to, asexual, ace, aromantic, aro, demi, grey, and abro. People may also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with ace and aro to explain the direction of romantic or sexual attraction if and when they experience it.

Agender
Agender is a term used by individuals who do not identify with any specific gender or who experience a lack of gender altogether. Agender people have a sense that their gender identity is completely neutral, or does not exist at all. They may use words like "genderless" and "gender free" to describe themselves.

Allo (sexual and romantic)
Allo people experience sexual and romantic attraction, and do not identify as on the ace or aro spectrum. Allo is to ace and aro spectrum identities, as straight is to LGBTQ+ spectrum identities. It is important to use words that equalise experience, otherwise the opposite to ace and aro becomes ‘normal’ which is stigmatising.

Aro
An umbrella term used specifically to describe a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of romantic attraction. This encompasses aromantic people as well as those who identify as demiromantic and grey-romantic. Aro people who experience sexual attraction or occasional romantic attraction might also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with asexual to describe the direction of their attraction.

Aromantic
A person who does not experience romantic attraction. Some aromantic people experience sexual attraction, while others do not. Aromantic people who experience sexual attraction or occasional romantic attraction might also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with asexual to describe the direction of their attraction.

Asexual
A person who does not experience sexual attraction. Some asexual people experience romantic attraction, while others do not. Asexual people who experience romantic attraction might also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with asexual to describe the direction of their romantic attraction.

Ally
A (typically) straight and/or cis person who supports members of the LGBT community.

B

Bi
Bi is an umbrella term used to describe a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards more than one gender.

Bi people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including, but not limited to, bisexual, pan, queer, and some other non-monosexual and non-monoromantic identities. 

Bigender
Having two different gender identities, which can be felt either alternatively or at the same time.

Biphobia
The fear or dislike of someone who identifies as bi based on prejudice or negative attitudes, beliefs or views about bi people. Biphobic bullying may be targeted at people who are, or who are perceived to be, bi.

Butch
Butch is a term used in LGBTQ+ culture to describe someone who expresses themselves in a typically masculine way.

There are other identities within the scope of butch, such as ‘soft butch’ and ‘stone butch’. You shouldn’t use these terms about someone unless you know they identify with them.

C

Cisgender or Cis
Someone whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. Non-trans is also used by some people.

Coming out
When a person first tells someone/others about their orientation and/or gender identity.

D

Deadnaming
Calling someone by their birth name after they have changed their name. This term is often associated with trans people who have changed their name as part of their transition.

Demi (sexual and romantic)
An umbrella term used to describe people who may only feel sexually or romantically attracted to people with whom they have formed an emotional bond. People may also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with demi to explain the direction of romantic or sexual attraction as they experience it.

Demiboy
A person who feels a partial but not full connection to a boy/man gender identity, regardless of their assigned gender at birth.

Demigender
An umbrella term for a person who feels a partial but not full connection to a particular gender. Anyone can be demigender, regardless of their assigned gender at birth.

Demigirl
A person who feels a partial but not full connection to a girl/woman gender identity, regardless of their assigned gender at birth

F

Femme
Femme is a term used in LGBTQ+ culture to describe someone who expresses themselves in a typically feminine way.

There are other identities within the scope of femme, such as ‘low femme’, ‘high femme’, and ‘hard femme’. You shouldn’t use these terms about someone unless you know they identify with them.

G

Gay
Refers to a man who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards men. Also a generic term for lesbian and gay sexuality - some women define themselves as gay rather than lesbian. Some non-binary people may also identify with this term.

Gender
Often expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity, gender is largely culturally determined and is assumed from the sex assigned at birth.

Gender dysphoria
Used to describe when a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity.
This is also the clinical diagnosis for someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Gender expression
How a person chooses to outwardly express their gender, within the context of societal expectations of gender. A person who does not conform to societal expectations of gender may not, however, identify as trans.

Genderfluid
Having a gender that is not fixed; a person can move between two or more different identities. (For example, a genderfluid person may feel like a girl one day, a boy another day, and a different gender altogether another day.) 

Gender identity
A person’s innate sense of their own gender, whether male, female or something else (see non-binary below), which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth.

Gender reassignment
Another way of describing a person’s transition. To undergo gender reassignment usually means to undergo some sort of medical intervention, but it can also mean changing names, pronouns, dressing differently and living in their self-identified gender.

Gender reassignment is a characteristic that is protected by the Equality Act 2010, and it is further interpreted in the Equality Act 2010 approved code of practice.

Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)
This enables trans people to be legally recognised in their affirmed gender and to be issued with a new birth certificate. Not all trans people will apply for a GRC and you currently have to be over 18 to apply.

You do not need a GRC to change your gender markers at work or to legally change your gender on other documents such as your passport.

Gillick competence
A term used in medical law to decide whether a child (under 16 years of age) is able to consent to their own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge.

Grey (sexual and romantic)
Also known as grey-A, this is an umbrella term which describes people who experience attraction occasionally, rarely, or only under certain conditions. People may also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with grey to explain the direction of romantic or sexual attraction as they experience it.

H

Heterosexual/straight
Refers to a man who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards women or to a woman who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards men.

Homosexual
This might be considered a more medical term used to describe someone who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards someone of the same gender. The term ‘gay’ is now more generally used.

Homophobia
The fear or dislike of someone, based on prejudice or negative attitudes, beliefs or views about lesbian, gay or bi people. Homophobic bullying may be targeted at people who are, or who are perceived to be, lesbian, gay or bi.

I

Intersex
A term used to describe a person who may have the biological attributes of both sexes or whose biological attributes do not fit with societal assumptions about what constitutes male or female.

Intersex people may identify as male, female or non-binary.

L

Lesbian
Refers to a woman who has a romantic and/or sexual orientation towards women. Some non-binary people may also identify with this term.

Lesbophobia
The fear or dislike of someone because they are or are perceived to be a lesbian.

LGBTQ+
The acronym for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace.

N

Non-binary
An umbrella term for people whose gender identity doesn’t sit comfortably with ‘man’ or ‘woman’. Non-binary identities are varied and can include people who identify with some aspects of binary identities, while others reject them entirely.

O

Orientation
Orientation is an umbrella term describing a person's attraction to other people. This attraction may be sexual (sexual orientation) and/or romantic (romantic orientation). These terms refers to a person's sense of identity based on their attractions, or lack thereof.

Orientations include, but are not limited to, lesbian, gay, bi, ace and straight.

Outed
When a lesbian, gay, bi or trans person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is disclosed to someone else without their consent.

P

Person with a trans history
Someone who identifies as male or female or a man or woman, but was assigned the opposite sex at birth. This is increasingly used by people to acknowledge a trans past.

Pan
Refers to a person whose romantic and/or sexual attraction towards others is not limited by sex or gender.

Passing
If someone is regarded, at a glance, to be a cisgender man or cisgender woman.

Cisgender refers to someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were ‘assigned’ at birth. This might include physical gender cues (hair or clothing) and/or behaviour which is historically or culturally associated with a particular gender.

Platonic partnerships
People who are on the ace and/or aro spectrum may have platonic partnerships. These are relationships where there is a high level of mutual commitment which can include shared life decisions, shared living arrangements, and co-parenting of children. These partnerships can include more than two people. Like allosexual and alloromantic people, ace and aro spectrum people may be monogamous or polyamorous.

Pronoun
Words we use to refer to people’s gender in conversation - for example, ‘he’ or ‘she’. Some people may prefer others to refer to them in gender neutral language and use pronouns such as they/their and ze/zir.

Q

Queer
Queer is a term used by those wanting to reject specific labels of romantic orientation, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. It can also be a way of rejecting the perceived norms of the LGBT community (racism, sizeism, ableism etc). Although some LGBT people view the word as a slur, it was reclaimed in the late 80s by the queer community who have embraced it.

Questioning
The process of exploring your own sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

R

Romantic orientation
A person’s romantic attraction to other people, or lack thereof. Along with sexual orientation, this forms a person’s orientation identity.

S

Sex
Assigned to a person on the basis of primary sex characteristics (genitalia) and reproductive functions. Sometimes the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are interchanged to mean ‘male’ or ‘female’.

Sexual orientation
A person’s sexual attraction to other people, or lack thereof. Along with romantic orientation, this forms a person’s orientation identity.

Spectrum
A term used to cover a variety of identities that have a root commonality or shared experience.

T

Third Gender
A concept in which individuals are categorized by themselves, their society, or outsiders to their society, as not fitting into the Western ideas of binary gender and heterosexual roles. The phrase "third gender" has been used for a wide variety of meanings, including in reference to: hundreds of indigenous societal roles as described (and often misrepresented) by Western anthropologists; transgender people who are nonbinary; and women who are considered to be gender-nonconforming. The term can be considered offensive. When possible, use the culturally appropriate and/or individually preferred term when referring to someone’s gender identity in lieu of “third gender.”

Trans
An umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.

Trans people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) transgender, transsexual, gender-queer (GQ), gender-fluid, non-binary, gender-variant, crossdresser, genderless, agender, nongender, third gender, bi-gender, trans man, trans woman, trans masculine, trans feminine and neutrois.

Transgender man
A term used to describe someone who is assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as a man. This may be shortened to trans man, or FTM, an abbreviation for female-to-male.

Transgender woman
A term used to describe someone who is assigned male at birth but identifies and lives as a woman. This may be shortened to trans woman, or MTF, an abbreviation for male-to-female.

Transitioning
The steps a trans person may take to live in the gender with which they identify. Each person’s transition will involve different things. For some this involves medical intervention, such as hormone therapy and surgeries, but not all trans people want or are able to have this.

Transitioning also might involve things such as telling friends and family, dressing differently and changing official documents.

Transphobia
The fear or dislike of someone based on the fact they are trans, including denying their gender identity or refusing to accept it. Transphobia may be targeted at people who are, or who are perceived to be, trans.

Transsexual
This was used in the past as a more medical term (similarly to homosexual) to refer to someone whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth.

This term is still used by some although many people prefer the term trans or transgender.

U

Undetectable
HIV medication (antiretroviral treatment, or ART) works by reducing the amount of the virus in the blood to undetectable levels. This means the levels of HIV are so low that the virus cannot be passed on. This is called having an undetectable viral load or being undetectable.

Resources:

www.stonewall.org.uk 

www.identiversity.org

www.pointofpride.org