autumn 2010 runnymede bulletin

girls & school exclusion

black feminism

minoriTY eThnic Women & Work

auTumn 2010 / issue 363runnYmeDe

Women

Intelligence fora multi-ethnic Britain

2 | runnYmeDe bulleTin | Autumn 2010 / Issue 363 www.runnymedetrust.org

runnymede

bulleTinDr rob berkeley Director

sarah isal Deputy Director

Dr Debbie Weekes-bernardsenior Research & Policy Analyst

Dr omar khan senior Research & Policy Analyst

Julie gibbs senior Research & Policy Analyst

Jessica mai sims Research & Policy Analyst

kjartan Páll sveinsson Research & Policy Analyst

Phil mawhinney Research & Policy Analyst

Jacob lagnado Research & Policy Analyst

gabriela Quevedo Research & Policy Analyst

Vastiana belfon Real Histories Directory

robin frampton Publications editor

Vicki butlerPublic Affairs Officer

klara schmitz Project Assistant

kamaljeet gill Project Assistant

riffat ahmed Arts Project manager

rebecca Waller Administrator

colin kelly Business Development manager

nina kelly Online editor

Issn 2045-404X

the Runnymede trust, sept 2010. Open access, some rights reserved, subject to the terms of Creative Commons Licence Deed: Attribution-non-Commercial-no Derivative Works 2.0 uK: england & Wales. You are free to copy, distribute, display and perform the work (including translation) without written permission; you must give the original author credit; you may not use this work for commercial purposes; you may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. For more information please go to www.creativecommons.org. For purposes other than those covered by this licence, please contact Runnymede.

runnymede is the uK’s leading race equality thinktank. We are a research-led, non-party political charity working to end racism.

WeLCOme to the Autumn 2010 edition of the online Runnymede Bulletin.

this quarter we shift our focus to women and their organisations. though most of us are still reading the fine print in an attempt to understand exactly how (badly) we’ll be affected by the Comprehensive spending Review 2010, few doubt that the zealous cuts in expenditure will be felt keenly by women. Four in ten working women are employed in the public sector. enough said.

meanwhile women’s organisations in the voluntary and community sector have already been steadily culled as a result of the economic downturn’s all-round pull on purse strings.

these miserable truths are even more emphatically the case for minority ethnic women and their organisations. How black women fare in the wider labour market will be of particular interest in these worrying financial times, and is the focus of Omar Khan’s fact-rich piece on page 6.

meanwhile Pragna Patel paints a bleak picture for the future of black and minority ethnic women’s organisations, which are widely expected to be among the first casualties of a dearth of funding opportunities (Q&A on page 22).

But, before you worry that our ‘women’ issue is to be wholly grim, read about the positive work being done to counter health inequalities for black women on page 10. And Ranjit Kaur writes in praise of black feminism from page 8.

Keep an eye out for the sign on the contents page opposite for all our women-related articles and regular features.

Off theme this month, Vicki Butler explains what the Big society is all about, and how equalities may or may not fit in with it, on page 14. While shamus Khan and Casey stockstill give us the benefit of the us experience of localism on page 12.

As always, I cannot sign off without thanking all the contributors who have lent us their thoughts, ideas and precious time to make this Autumn 2010 Runnymede Bulletin happen.

If you have any feedback or suggestions for our forthcoming bulletins, please get in touch with me at the email address below.

nina kelly, editor

[email protected]

Front cover image by Vijay Jethwa at the Bangla stories launch, July 2010

eDiTor’s LetteR

www.runnymedetrust.org Autumn 2010 / Issue 363 | runnYmeDe bulleTin | 3

conTenTs

10

14

20

on The coVer

06 black Women & Workthe facts on minority ethnic women and the labour market speak for themselves

08 black feminism How much more inclusive will the apparent resurgence in the feminist movement be?

11 girls & school exclusionYoung women are often forgotten in the debate on pupil exclusions

regulars

04 neWs in brief A round-up of some of the most notable race-related news

22 Q&a Pragna Patel of southall Black sisters tells us why black and minority ethnic women’s organisations matter

27 keY facTs ten facts you ought to know about race and women

28 Vox PoPs How does ‘double discrimination’ affect minority ethnic women?

29 reVieWs Book reviews and a round-up from the edinburgh fringe festival

31 DirecTor’s column Rob Berkeley on trying to engage with the ‘Big society’ rhetoric

feaTures

10 breasT cancer aWarenessHow certain groups of women are losing out on breast cancer care, and an innovative new project designed to help

12 localism in The usWhat could the uK’s ‘Big society’ advocates learn from examples across the pond?

14 big socieTYWhat is it exactly, and how might it affect the struggle for equality?

16 foreign ex-offenDersVilified by the press, forgotten by the state and hidden from view: what becomes of foreign nationals released from uK prisons?

18 DiVersiTY & olDer PeoPleHow financial policy needs to reflect the increasing diversity of our older generations

20 bangla sTories A new online teaching resource focusing on the Bengali diaspora

a VieW from...

24 ...suffolk the chief executive of the Ipswich and suffolk Race equality council on why race matters in suffolk

25 ...laTVia With its recent history of soviet occupation, xenophobic attitudes to foreigners are rife in Latvia

16


THOUSANDS OF TRAVELLER AND Roma communities have been removed by French police as part of the government’s new scheme to reduce crime associated with this ethnic group.

More than 186 people were flown to Bucharest on just one day in August. This marked the beginning of a controversial ‘crackdown’, justified as a means of tackling crime. The deportation, which is part of President Sarkozy’s new anti-crime initiative, is described as a ‘voluntary reform procedure’. The intention is to dismantle at least half the country’s estimated 300 illegal Roma camps within three months. This year so far more than 8,000 individuals have already been deported, with almost 1,000 of the removals taking place in August. Although this compared with little fewer than 10,000 total removals of members of the Roma and Traveller community in 2009.

Although the individuals in question are citizens of the European Union (EU), and therefore entitled to live and work in member countries such as France, they are required under French law to have a valid permit to remain in the country after three months. Each adult that ‘volunteers’ to return is entitled to 300 euros compensation, while children will receive 100 euros each.

The European Commission has been closely monitoring the expulsions and commented that, while France does have the right to take measures regarding foreigners living on their territory, EU law requires that each person’s case is dealt with individually

and the EU’s freedom of movement laws must be respected.

As EU Fundamental Rights Commissioner Viviane Reding prepared to report on whether the policy contravened EU law, French ministers met a selection of EU Commissioners in Brussels on 6 September 2010 to defend their country’s expulsion of Roma migrants. They insisted that European law had been respected ‘scrupulously’ and that deportations were in keeping with EU rules allowing for the free circulation of citizens within the 27-nation bloc. French immigration minister Éric Besson, talking to the International Herald Tribune, emphasised that those expelled were targeted because they “posed a threat to public order”. However, Reding’s speech, though she has since backtracked on the more extreme parts of it, was unreserved and comprehensive in its condemnation of the scheme. Yet almost 80 per cent of French people polled supported the deportation, according to a poll taken by Le Figaro newspaper and released on 6 August 2010. It is not known whether supporters may have decreased in number after hearing the outcry from the European, and wider international, community.

In fact, dissent among the international community has been rife, with commentators in France and across Europe condemning the expulsions. Jean-Pierre Grand, a member of the governing UMP Party has compared the raids to the round-ups of Jews and Gypsies during Nazi occupation. Teodor Baschonsi, Romania’s foreign minister told Radio France

Internationale that he is “worried about the risks of populist provocation and the prompting of certain xenophobic reactions at a time of economic crisis.”

Human rights groups and the left-wing opposition have called the crackdown a crude and divisive policy being used to bolster the government’s right wing credentials. Many opposing the expulsions have also been involved in grass-roots activism in the form of rallies and protests, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets of more than 100 cities and towns across France. In London, a rally on 4 September 2010 organised by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB) attracted around 50 supporters, and ended with a delegation of demonstrators delivering a petition to the French embassy.

While much UK media coverage has highlighted the injustice of the deportation, little has focused on the experience of the deportees, or of the Bulgarian communities that have received them. Boyko Borisov, the Bulgarian Prime Minister defended France’s actions, after a meeting with ex-Spanish prime minister José María Anzar, but has not released an official statement on the matter.

The Roma and Traveller community is the largest ethnic minority group in Europe, including an estimated 7.9 million people. There are 15,000 Roma of Eastern European origins in France. Members of the community still experience high levels of discrimination and inequality in many European countries.

neWs in brief

International criticism as French Government removes Roma people

ANTI-FASCISM CAMPAIGNERS AND local police were successful in their bid to ban a planned English Defence League (EDL) march through Bradford.

Chief constable of the West Yorkshire Police, Sir Norman Bettison, applied to Bradford Council requesting a ban for the march planned on 28 August 2010. The application was also supported by a petition with 10,000 signatures, handed to home secretary Theresa May earlier in the month.

The ban was authorised less than two weeks before the date planned for the march. The grounds for the ban included the fear that

the march could result in violent civil unrest Despite this, the police and the Home

Office had no authority to prevent the EDL from holding a protest in which marching was not an element.

The ‘static demonstration’ that resulted included 700 activists throwing bricks, bottles and smoke bombs, fighting with police, and shouting racist chants.

The protest was countered by thousands of anti-racist activists and local residents, through events organised around the city. Thirteen arrests were made following the protest, but violence and rioting of the kind

that occurred in 2001 during the Bradford race riots was notably absent. Paul Meszaros, of the anti-fascist Bradford Together campaign, said: “In the face of provocation, the way all the people of Bradford, particularly the Muslim people, reacted was wonderful.”

The EDL formed in Luton last year and, according to the Guardian, has become the most significant far-right street movement in the UK since the National Front in the 1970s.

While it purports to be a peaceful, non-racist organisation opposed only to ‘militant Islam’, racist behaviour and violence are recurrent elements of EDL events.

campaigners and police in bid to ban racist march

by Sarah Sternberg


ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS HAVE a startling lack of access to green spaces compared to white people, a new study has found.

A government report released by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) in July 2010 revealed the disparity between UK residents of different races.

In areas where residents are almost entirely white, there is 11 times more green space than in areas where 40 per cent of residents are from black or minority ethnic (BME) groups. There is also a discrepancy in the quality of green space UK residents of different ethnic backgrounds can expect to have access to.

The study draws on a number of themes around the provision of green space, including investigating survey respondents’ attitudes to the use of it. Interesting findings included feelings of safety, with only half of Bangladeshi people reporting feeling safe in their local green space, compared with three

quarters of white people interviewed. Differences between ethnic groups

are also evident in respondents’ comments on how well they were satisfied with their local parks and green patches. More than 70 per cent of people in affluent, predominantly white, wards are satisfied. This compares with only 50 per cent of satisfied residents in wards where more than 40 per cent of the population are from BME groups.

The research has received attention in the public policy and academic spheres. Danny Dorling, professor of human geography at Sheffield University, comments that the report ‘shows that the inequality in provision of green space is even worse than inequality in schooling, housing, jobs and health’.

Recommendations from report authors CABE include local authorities working with voluntary groups to make it easier for people to improve the green spaces on their doorsteps and allowing more scope for communities to take over temporarily vacant land.

ethnic minority groups suffer from lack of access to green space in uk

CERTAIN ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS are less likely to engage with mainstream banks and other financial institutions than the white population, according to a report published by Runnymede.

The report, entitled Saving Beyond the High Street, reveals that Bangladeshi, Caribbean and Chinese people are less likely to engage with formal finance, often because they lack trust in banks and are reluctant to get into debt.

Instead, informal community savings schemes are becoming a popular alternative for some ethnic groups in the UK. These more traditional forms of saving, such as ‘pardnas’ (among Caribbean communities), are typically organised by a group of no more than 20 people agreeing to save a small amount of money among themselves, usually involving relatives or members of close-knit communities.

While there is no return on the investment (savers get out exactly what they put in over time), such savings clubs are proving popular. The self-run schemes are seen by participants as instilling financial discipline in the saver. Other forms of financial investment that do not involve reliance on banks, such as investing in property, are also popular.

The report found that these alternative saving decisions are not necessarily taking place due to poor financial understanding, but are rather the result of a perception that banks are insecure or unethical. This perception, according to Runnymede’s research, has become more widespread following the banking crisis. The report recommends that, in response, banks need to to consider how to extend their support and expertise to community and local banking.

Runnymede director Rob Berkeley said: “We now appreciate more than ever the central role that banks play in providing access to money for investment, but for some communities banks fail to offer appropriate services, meaning that they miss out on custom, but also that some groups may be missing out on investment opportunities. To serve all parts of society banks should do more to reach out, or alternative solutions must be found.”

The full report is available to download for free at this link: http://bit.ly/savingsreport

ethnic minorities turning from banks

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Nonetheless, more women are inactive than men, and this raises the wider question of expectations for different genders. For many years research has shown that people treat male and female babies differently, and this continues throughout childhood and into early adulthood, particularly in education. For example, at age 16 boys and girls choose subjects at a similar rate: girls represent 52% of pupils studying English literature, 51% studying a science double, 50% studying mathematics, and 46% studying design & technology. By A-level (age 18), however, 71% of students taking examinations in English literature are women and 76% of students taking physics are men; at higher education the numbers are more extreme when 82% of those studying education (teaching) are women and 86% of those studying engineering are men.

For apprenticeship courses the segregation is greater still, with nine in ten in health and social care, hairdressing, and early years care and education being women. In contrast, at least 97% of those doing an apprenticeship in engineering, the automotive industry, construction, plumbing and the electro-technical industry are men.

Some argue that women’s ‘preferences’ explain the pay gap, as they are less likely to want to work in high-pressure jobs with long hours. If it is true that women prefer socially useful work in care professions and jobs with flexible hours and more scope for better work-life balance, there is increasing recognition that men would also benefit from similar work conditions and flexibility. It is not obvious why these jobs should have lower rates of pay.

It is hard, however, to sustain the argument that women’s unequal outcomes can be explained wholly by their different preferences, especially given that at age 16 males and females study courses at roughly similar percentages, but that university subject choices were heavily skewed. Is it likely that so few women do not like or have any interest in jobs in engineering, the automotive industry, construction, plumbing and the electro-technical industry? Should

Black and minority ethnic (BME) people and women generally have worse experiences in the labour market, whether in terms of their

employment rate, earnings, promotion, or experiences of discrimination. Black and minority ethnic women are therefore particularly disadvantaged in the labour market. However, the experience of these women differs significantly across different sectors and ethnic groups.

Most of us consider our job to be one of the most important parts of our lives. National statistics on unemployment, working conditions, and wages have become the crucial indicators to the relative ‘success’ of a country.

Work has become the predominant way of measuring people’s contribution to society, and indeed their own self-worth, meanwhile women have increased their participation in the workforce. Women’s wages and the diversity of their work experience have also expanded significantly. This has resulted from genuine struggle on the part of many women (and men), acting both individually and collectively to ensure fairer access to employment.

However, it is widely understood that whatever success women have achieved in the labour market, a significant ‘pay gap’ persists in every sector of the economy, and for every level of skill and talent. Black and minority ethnic people experience a similar gap, and so it is hardly surprising that black and minority ethnic women are generally disadvantaged in the labour market.

According to the most recent data (from the second quarter of 2010), the female ethnic minority employment rate is 52.3%. This represents a gap of 16.5% compared to women generally, and 15.7% compared to men from ethnic minority groups. These gaps have declined only slightly over the past five years.

Among BME women, black Caribbean (64.0%) and Indian (64.4%) women have the highest employment rates, while Pakistani (29.6%) and Bangladeshi (35.0%) have the lowest employment rates.

Data on employment in the UK distinguishes employment, unemployment and inactivity. ‘Inactive’ people are not actively seeking work, either because of caring responsibilities, because they are studying, or because they are disabled or unable to work. ‘Unemployed’ statistics therefore refer to people actively seeking employment, and the rate for BME women is currently 13.5%, which is 6.3% higher than for females overall. The groups with significantly higher unemployment rates are Pakistani/Bangladeshi women (19.8%) and black African women (18.0%).

In general women have higher levels of economic ‘inactivity’ than men, in large part due to caring responsibilities. However, the figures vary considerably for different ethnic groups. While the overall female inactivity rate is 25.8%, it is one and a half times this number for ethnic minority women at 39.6%; roughly four in ten BME women are economically inactive. Within these percentages, however, the numbers of inactive for different ethnic groups vary significantly. For Pakistani (62.2%) and Bangladeshi (58.7%) women, the figure is much higher than the next highest ethnic group (Other Asian at 40.1%).

Having set out the headline figures it is worth trying to explain them in further detail. Starting with the last point, some black and minority ethnic women are particularly likely to be economically inactive, meaning that they are not seeking a job. This is most likely because they are carers, many of them raising children. It appears that for some groups, and in particular Bangladeshi and Pakistani women, the value of family life currently trumps their participation in the labour market. Of course it is also true that these same women also have the highest unemployment rates, meaning that inactivity rates alone cannot explain their labour market position at the bottom of the pile. Indeed, these high unemployment rates may convince Bangladeshi and Pakistani women that they cannot get a job easily or fairly, which could result in more of these women choosing to be ‘inactive’ for that very reason.

omar khan examines the statistics representing black and minority ethnic women’s chances in the labour market. While this group reports a diverse set of experiences, overall there is a disappointing trend

How do black women fare in the job market?


we interpret these outcomes as examples of a person’s ‘preferences’ or as a ‘constraint’ on their opportunities?

As with women generally, BME women are more likely to work in particular industries. As with their male counterparts, Bangladeshi and Chinese women are much more likely to work in the distribution, hotel and restaurant industry, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Further statistics from the ONS reveal that two in five Chinese women and one in three Bangladeshi women worked in this industry in 2004, compared with one in five of all women in employment. Half of black Caribbean and black African women (54% and 52% respectively) worked in the public administration, education or health sector.

Indian, Pakistani and black African women were around four times more likely than white British women to be working as packers, bottlers, canners and fillers.

If minority ethnic women’s concentration in these sectors is really down to their preferences, must we conclude that Chinese women particularly like working in catering, or that black African women are four times more keen to work as packers, bottlers, canners and fillers? This raises a fundamental question when addressing current labour market disadvantage. Should we focus on ensuring that employers treat existing and future female staff equally, raise their pay and status? Or do we need to change deeper social expectations about gender roles, both inside and outside the job market?

We obviously do not have to choose one

of these strategies over the other, but this difference does matter in thinking about, for example, caring responsibilities. Women suffer a significant disadvantage in the labour market following the birth of their first child, and this often persists over time. Evidence suggests that more highly educated women who return to full-time work do not suffer this penalty as much as less-educated women. Policies that might respond better to maternity leave, or even adopt more generous parental leave for both parents, could potentially alleviate some of this disadvantage.

This raises another point: that women’s experiences, including among ethnic minority women, are not all the same. For example, black women of Caribbean or African heritage have a higher hourly wage than their male counterparts. This is partly explained by the low wages of black Caribbean and black African men, but also indicates the relatively better position of some black women. In this context, it is perhaps worth noting that many more black women are single mothers, so their apparent success in the labour market may not mean that they have higher levels of wellbeing. Given the lack of good public provision of childcare, the high cost of private care, and many men’s unavailability to help in parenting responsibilities, black women are particularly vulnerable to reductions in benefits.

Black and minority ethnic women, as with BME employees generally, are more likely to be in low-paid jobs. Half of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women have net incomes below £100 per week, for example.

As with women generally, BME women are particularly under-represented in positions of power. This includes in the financial sector, where there is a very large pay gap for women overall. There are only four minority ethnic women directors in the FTSE 100, or 0.4% of the total. There are only ten BME female MPs (about 1.5%), though this is a significant improvement from two in the last parliament. Only 1% of all councillors are women from an ethnic minority background and only one high court judge. In the media, academia, the voluntary sector, and the arts, while women may do well at lower levels of the job scale, they become increasingly less common higher up, with ethnic minority women particularly under-represented.

Although black and minority ethnic women have a diverse set of experiences, they are significantly disadvantaged in the labour market. No group earns the median UK wage, and all groups have lower employment rates than men. Responding to these gaps is a challenge, and requires policymakers to challenge both racism and sexism.

There appear to be particular biases about the competencies of some ethnic minority women that prevent them from advancing further. However, there are also wider social and cultural expectations about the role of women that make it difficult to tackle labour market disadvantage in one neat policy. Unless black and minority ethnic women become more likely to occupy a more diverse set of jobs in the future, including more powerful ones, pay gaps will persist.

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expertise gained through their work in the communities affected. equally worrying is the accusation that some black women’s groups are beginning to behave similarly towards other black women’s groups. An example of the former was the funding crisis at southall Black sisters (sBs) and their legal battle with ealing Council, which threatened the organisation’s core services (see page 24 for an interview with sBs trustee Pragna Patel). thankfully, and unsurprisingly, sBs won the case securing a landmark decision not just for themselves, but for the whole of the voluntary sector. What is shameful is the fact that while they were busily involved in this campaign, another women’s group saw fit to approach ealing Council and offer to take over the services. such unsisterly and predatory behaviour reinforces the view that some mainstream women’s groups only pay lip service to the notion of an inclusive women’s sector.

Women’s issues not a priority

Within the black community too, women’s issues are often forced down the agenda. Yasmin Rehman, women’s rights campaigner and chair of Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP) and formerly the most senior Asian woman in policing in the united Kingdom illustrates the problem when she says:

“I do think there is a resurgence in feminism but this resurgence is limited to white women. Black women’s issues are again being subsumed in the wider debates around guns, gangs, youth crime and of course the counter terrorism debate. It’s a repeat of the 1970’s - black women are campaigning with black men on these wider issues while issues affecting women are suppressed until a later date. The policy of divide and rule has succeeded. Where we once all stood together as black sisters we are now so divided by ethnicity, faith,etc. This silences the possibility of a collective voice and makes the battle for funding even more difficult and intense - pitting sisters against sisters.”

However, there is also a feeling that the reason we have not seen a resurgence in black women’s activism is because black women have never stopped fighting to secure equality and their basic human rights on a number of fronts. talk of resurgence implies that something had become less important or extinct. Being complacent has never been an option for black women. It is no coincidence that the leading women’s campaigning group in the uK today is sBs as evidenced through their successes and public acclaim. nor is it a coincidence that the million Women Rise Coalition (mWR), one of the most successful feminist movements since the suffragettes, is largely driven by black women. sabrina Qureshi, mWR coordinator said:

“I did not learn about feminism through books. I learnt it

Originally published in the Women resource centre’s Source, here ranjit kaur outlines her hopes for an inclusive brand of feminism

Black women have always had a role in feminism, if not a voice

several new books about feminism have been published recently, such as The Equality Illusion, by Kat Banyard. Coupled with the creation of a plethora of new websites dedicated to discussions about feminism, this has led to claims that we are experiencing a new surge in feminism.

For those of us who have spent the majority of our lives, time and energy arguing and campaigning for equality and human rights, any surge in feminist activity is very welcome. this is especially pertinent at a time when our hard-earned rights are under growing threat, and funding to the women’s sector is likely to be cut, further threatening the existence of many worthwhile and important projects for women. However, one concern I do have is whether the feminist movement has learnt lessons from the past and whether it can be said to be truly inclusive in reflecting the needs and aspirations of black women.

lack of diversity in the women’s movement

From my discussions with other black feminists, it is clear that they do not believe that the women’s movement has actively engaged them or is that interested in their issues and views. In researching this article, I was given numerous examples of how black women feel marginalised by the key issues that are being promoted as the so-called modern ‘feminist agenda’. A common theme was how the feminist movement continues to fail to recognise that the experiences of black women in relation to sexism and violence differ in comparison to those of white women and how the impact of racism and social class are conveniently ignored.

As Jocelyn Watson, a black lesbian socialist activist, put it to me:

“In these times of global economic crisis it is crucial that the voices of the most marginalised in society – black and minority ethnic women, disabled, elderly, refugee and asylum seeking and impoverished women are heard, listened to and supported in their struggles by feminists throughout the world”.

An unwelcome consequence of the funding crisis has been the accusation that some mainstream women’s groups are behaving unscrupulously in competing with black women’s groups for funding on issues such as forced marriage and honour crimes. Historically, these are areas where it has been generally accepted that black women have unparalleled


what is said and it results in tangible change.

susana Klien, Head of Programmes at Womankind Worldwide and former director of Latin American Women’s Rights services offers the following advice:

“The women’s movement and women’s organisations need to work on inclusiveness and have a political analysis of poverty, disempowerment and women’s rights. Women, in particular the poorest, face multiple discrimination. You can’t see gender as the only cross cutting issue. In order to engage and really be inclusive you need to be open to be challenged, you need to be open to have your assumptions on how the world should be challenged, and you need to listen. You need to be aware of multiple ways in which you exercise power, even in your relations with other organisations. And be clear if you want your agenda to be pursued, or you are prepared to develop a joint agenda with points for agreements and disagreement, but a joint agenda that may allow collective action.”

so, what is my dream for the future? I would like to see the women’s movement develop a greater sense of genuine solidarity and sisterhood, and in all its diversity attempt to develop a joint agenda, enabling collective action based on mutual respect.

Ranjit Kaur is a freelance consultant and fundraiser. She is the former director of Rights of Women, an advice centre and research organisation committed to informing and empowering women regarding their legal rights.

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through life and through my own experiences I learnt it through the experiences of my mother and grandmother and other black women and their mothers’ and grandmothers’ experiences.”

exciting times for black women

these are interesting times for black women. Diane Abbott is standing for the leadership of the Labour Party; Oona King is hoping to stand as the Labour candidate in the London mayoral election and a record number of black women were elected to parliament at the recent general election. Film director Pratibha Parmar will be releasing an updated version of her film A Place of Rage at the end of this year. the film focuses on black American feminists Angela Davis, Alice Walker and June Jordan. the updated version looks at how these women, along with Rosa Parks and others, played a significant part in events leading to the eventual election of the us’s first black president. many black feminists, myself included, have been greatly influenced by the work of black American feminists and the release of the film in the uK will be welcomed.

so where do we go from here? How can we ensure that the women’s sector and feminism generally reflects the interests of the widest and most diverse audience of women? Although I have focused on black women in this article, my question also relates to the involvement of disabled women and LGBt women. A good start might be for some kind of conference or event where black women can expand on their concerns. this will only work if everybody else listens, takes on board

southall black sisters and supporters celebrate their high court victory


A new project using oral storytelling to encourage black and minority ethnic (Bme) women to attend breast cancer screening appointments has been launched in south east London. the initiative, a local response to the Department of Health’s Pacesetters Programme aimed at reducing health inequalities, is based in Lewisham.

the aim of the project is to address inequalities in diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer among Bme women. this follows a report by the national Cancer equality Initiative, which revealed that women from black and minority ethnic groups are more likely to visit a doctor for the first time with more advanced breast cancers and have poorer survival rates than white women. Patient surveys also show that Bme groups in general report a worse experience of cancer treatment and care than non-minority groups.

the three-month programme, called Women Opening the Pathway to a Healthy Life, has engaged black African and black Caribbean women aged

between 45 and 70 in a number of training sessions. Promoting breast checking and awareness of physical changes plays a large part in the focus of the project. storytelling has emerged as a means of comfortably communicating experiences, with discussions focused around the potential barriers that prevent some Bme women from attending breast screening appointments. Facilitated by project workers, the sessions also benefited from the insight of leading storyteller, Jan Blake, who has been performing internationally for more than 20 years. the storytelling sessions also provide an opportunity for participants to share their concerns about healthcare with medical professionals. the supportive environment that is created allows women to share their stories in a safe space, free from any discrimination or prejudice.

One participant in the project said: “I have been able to address my own fears and anxieties around breast screening, something I previously didn’t want to even think about. I now feel more confident to be able to talk to other women about

gemma novis and sarah sternberg report on a scheme to increase minority ethnic women’s chances of survival from breast cancer

short stories for longer lives

breast screening.”

Following the success of the workshops, there will be an event held at Lewisham Civic suite on Friday 1 October 2010 for the women involved to share their stories with a wider group of women in the community.

the project is also having an impact on the wider work of the nHs. A series of focus groups held with local women revealed feelings that current publicity materials for screening did not relate to black women. Participants claimed that the types of images and wording often used were at odds with the lived experience of black women. several women from these initial focus groups are now involved with producing images that they feel black women will connect with, thereby encouraging them to see breast screening as significant to them.

A 2008 study including 35,000 women found that 17% of

Pakistani women and 15% of black African women were diagnosed with breast cancer that had spread. this compared with 7% of white women, who were nonetheless the group most likely to be diagnosed with the disease overall. (Cancer Research uK)

many uK cancer registries did not start collecting data on

patients’ ethnicity until very recently. some studies that have been done on ethnic differences have used so-called ‘dirty data’.this involved the ridiculous practice of making assumptions about people’s ethnic origins on the basis of their postcode or surname. (BBC news)

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community, in their nation and across the globe. this implies an education system which educates against racism and for social justice. It also implies an education system that is accessible to all on the basis of equality. the disproportionate exclusion of any group of young people by race or ethnicity (and the failure to provide alternative education for those who are excluded) is in contravention of children’s human rights. since we have failed as a society, and as an education community, over a number of decades, to operate a system of school discipline that uses exclusion as a form of punishment, in a way that secures children’s right to equality and to education, there is a strong argument for abandoning the practice altogether.

the racist stereotype remains of the young black man who is perceived as a threat to the wider community, whereas young black women are often portrayed as educational successes. It is important that we highlight black educational success among both girls and boys, since it challenges stereotyping and may also reveal ways in which individuals may effectively counter racism in their education and in their working lives. nevertheless, young black women of Caribbean descent (like their male peers) remain under-represented in the most prestigious universities and like all women, go on to suffer a gender penalty in the employment market.

In discussions of school exclusion, as in other areas of social policy, girls and young women of colour remain invisible. If the discussion is about gender or class inequality, it is generally assumed to be a discussion about white people. But in discussions about race, young black women are also overlooked, since they are considered to be less of a problem than their male peers.

Where, then, do young black women fit into the picture? sadly, young black women, like young black men, are still on the receiving end of racist stereotyping in the debate about school exclusions. they are most likely to come in for criticism when researchers look for family-based explanations for the disproportionate exclusion of young black males. then black mothers are the ones who are required to shoulder the lion’s share of the blame.

audrey osler looks at young girls’ absence, both from school and from the wider debate about pupil exclusions

excluded from the debate

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the issue of school exclusions is one that highlights the ongoing, deep-seated and savage inequalities that remain in our school system and in British society. A society like ours, in which debates on race inequality are often muted or marginalised, might be predicted to have a school system that reflects rather than challenges racism in society.

Parents sometimes assume that high exclusion rates reflect a school that is strong on discipline, whereas there is growing evidence that exclusion is used as an alternative form of selection, and that an individual’s chance of being excluded depends less on race, gender or class, but more on the particular school that he or she attends. there is therefore much to be learned from those schools and local authorities that have zero or low exclusion rates.

Debates about school exclusion have tended to focus on official exclusions (those that are recorded), both permanent and fixed-term. Yet there is evidence to suggest that unofficial exclusion continues to be a very serious problem that official statistics tend to hide. Recorded exclusions appear to be the tip of an exclusion iceberg, reflecting wider issues of student control, institutional racism and also interpersonal racism and bullying, faced by those young people perceived by their peers to be different. these include those of mixed heritage and lesbian and gay students. We know from official statistics that students of mixed heritage are particularly vulnerable to exclusion. Yet when students are asked to self-identify, my research has shown how mixed heritage is itself often under-recorded.

Perhaps no one understands the patterns of student behaviour and student discipline better than those who are subject to it. Research that focuses on student perceptions of discipline challenges some commonly held assumptions. many students who are considered troublesome or who take up a disproportionate amount of teacher time and energy are being excluded or are choosing to self-exclude. Ofsted has noted how the typical profile of a black student who is excluded is different from that of his or her white counterparts. Black students are more likely than white to be excluded for ‘challenging behaviour’.

Girls are much less likely than boys to be officially excluded from school and therefore have often been overlooked by school authorities, research-funders and those who offer alternative education. Yet girls report high levels of self-exclusion, bullying and violence (including racist violence) in schools. these experiences, which often go undetected by adults, lead to self-exclusion in many cases.

Children and young people in Britain are entitled, under the un Convention on the Rights of the Child, to education that is accessible to all. under the convention children’s education must prepare them to live in a multicultural society and in an interdependent world, in the spirit of solidarity with others in their


As our nations have grown, economies changed, and communities transformed, so too has concern about the narrow characteristic of political power. Few of us are involved in making the decisions that affect us, corporate actors are taking over and we are losing control of our collective governance.

Recently a potential saviour has emerged, particularly in the us: localism. the basic premise of localism puts local issues in the hands of local people, with smaller governing bodies weilding power over their local areas. In practice, this means decisions being taken at local government level, rather than being

handed top-down from the nationally elected state.

Whether it is how we run our children’s schools, where we buy our food, or how we decide about the location of bus routes, localism is seen to have the promise of reforming our communities by re-engaging our citizens in political life. the reason for this hope is simple enough: people have interests in their own local communities. Working on this smaller scale, people have greater capacity to bring about change, thereby make their lives better and their political commitments stronger.

the darker side of localism

Yet before we commit ourselves to the promise of localism, we must consider

its impacts on political life on a broader scale. While we share in the hopeful promise of localism we also worry about a darker side. Drawing on lessons from the united states, it is reasonable to suggest that if localism is not combined with national standards for, and commitments to, equality, it is likely to aggravate social problems. the cost of vibrant local political life could be increasing racial and economic inequality.

One of the sources of these worries is that communities tend to be more homogeneous than the nation as a whole. though patterns of residential segregation are far more pronounced

in the us than the uK, Britain still experiences considerable segregation by community. While the ethnic experience in Britain is varied, ethnic minorities are concentrated in a few central cities, and the most disadvantaged (Pakistanis and Bangladeshis) tend to experience the highest levels of residential segregation.

segregated communities

the spatial distribution of minority ethnic people and the high levels of economic segregation in Britain affect how we might view localism. Let’s simply accept, uncritically, that localism increases political participation. We must ask, through such a local orientation, who do we think of as part of our political community? How does that community define the range of political problems that must be

addressed? What issues are excluded? And most importantly, how does localism affect advantaged and disadvantaged communities respectively?

the insight we seek to provide here is a straightforward one: if political participation increasingly moves to the local level, and if local communities are not representative of the national population, then politics can become increasingly particularistic and interest-based. Within racially, economically, and religiously segregated communities, such local politics is likely to lead to ignorance around issues that do not influence local communities. It is also likely to lead to a ‘political community’ – those who have the power to govern locally – that is unrepresentative of the nation at large, particularly in terms of race and social class. this would lead to a further disempowerment of the most disadvantaged citizens. the cost of local democracy might be national equality, unity, and identity.

schools as an example

Let us explore an example to show that these worries are not simply theoretical. the case we take up is one that has been the most triumphant instance of localism in the united states, and one that will resonate with British readers: schooling. the Charter school movement is representative of the localist impulse. these schools receive public money, but do not have to follow the same curriculum as other state-run schools, in exchange for producing certain results. this initiative frames itself as offering ‘school choice’ and so creating competition within, and improvement of, national education. today more than 1.5 million American children are enrolled in some 5,000 charter schools, many set up by teachers or parents unwilling to be

As the uK’s coalition government pushes ahead with its Big society agenda, power may well be devolved to a more local level, encouraging political participation. shamus khan and casey stockstill of Columbia university look at how this type of ‘localism’ has played out in the us. By using real world examples that have parallels in the uK, they warn against the pitfalls of this approach

Dangers of localism

the cost of vibrant local political life could be increasing racial and economic inequality


restricted by national teaching policy.

those that run charter schools can design school programmes to meet the needs of their children and students. the result has been an erosion of broad-based political movements for national equality through support of more individualistic drives towards ‘competition’ and ‘choice’. As scholars have shown, such competition has led to a ‘dumbing down’ of education and teaching that emphasises testing over knowledge. such choice has worked to drain the political power of less advantaged communities by creating incentives for the best students and their families to exit failing schools. Charter schools represent giving up on national standards for education in favour of the interests of a smaller group.

While some local families and hedge fund managers have been quick to jump upon charter schools as their saviour and embrace the principles of choice and competition, the results of these schools could not be described as anything but a failure. the only major study of charter schools found that while 17 per cent of charter schools gain higher student test scores than their local public schools, 46 per cent had equivalent scores, and 37 per cent were significantly worse. Charter schools have also drained state-run schools of economic resources. Further, the charter school scheme has led to a decline in communities’ social resources, as more engaged citizens are seduced by the opportunity to influence the schooling of their own children

rather than paying into the pot. And most importantly, it has led communities to give up on national commitments to equality and to give in to their own individual interests in advancement.

Forgotten groups

We can also see here that the expected empowering effects of localism in politics are unlikely to extend to the most disadvantaged citizens, primarily

because of problems of access. Participation in local politics requires time, knowledge and interest in politics

and an established sense of power. In all communities, even well-integrated ones, research has shown that the most disadvantaged people in the neighborhood are the least likely to participate in local politics.

the stratification of political participation is mostly the result of differences in civic skills. skills like confident public speaking, letter writing, and communication within a group are honed through schooling, at church, and in the workplace. It is not by virtue of economic disadvantage alone that these citizens have significantly fewer opportunities to build civic skills, but also because of the strong correlation between low economic status, unskilled jobs that do not nurture civic skills and low educational attainment. the extra layer of difficulty that the lack of these skills places on disadvantaged citizens is a roadblock to all political participation, but to local politics especially. And so,

the growth of localism is incompatible with the increased political participation of the disadvantaged. At the local level it will still be the advantaged who rule, and we have seen a clear example of this within American charter schools.

Assumptions of apathy

Despite the fact that the most disadvantaged people are not as able to engage in local politics as their

neighbours, localism perpetuates the assumption that disadvantaged citizens have had ample opportunity to make

changes for themselves. significant improvements for the economically disadvantaged are unlikely because of the relative powerlessness of local governments in the uK and the lesser likelihood of participation from the most disadvantaged. Yet, under the structure of widespread localism, active citizens can claim that inequalities only persist because the most disadvantaged are apathetic or make poor decisions. Localism not only exacerbates inequality in participation, but also prevents the larger political community from addressing the issues of the disadvantaged. Instead of increasingly engaged and responsible citizens, localism can produce self-interested and homogenous local political communities.

How to increase participation

If we do not focus on localism, then, where should we place our efforts as we work towards a more engaged and vibrant political life? Put simply, research shows that political engagement and economic equality go hand in hand. the higher the degree of income inequality, the less likely people are to participate in civic life. We should stop obsessing over localism and start working on inequality. the uK has the lowest levels of intergenerational mobility in the industrialised world, and its levels of inequality are near those of the us (which is to say, they are embarrassing). As inequality declines, political participation increases. And the worries we express about differences between the political capacities, power, and interests of the advantaged become less pronounced.

Reviving our political communities does not require a new saviour; it requires one of the simplest yet hardest to realise principles: equality.

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the most disadvantaged ethnic minority communities tend to experience the highest levels of residential segregation

the greater the degree of income inequality, the less likely people are to participate in civic life


race equality. This is a recommendation from Runnymede’s paper Local Decision Making and Participation (2007).

In addition, it is important that the new Public Sector Duty introduced in the Equality Act is used to ensure accountability. Used properly, as ippr argue in Equality, Entitlement and Localism, the Public Sector Duty should make sure that localism does not lead to a reduced focus of tackling inequalities experienced by particular groups. It is also important that when local or central government are commissioning services to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charities that they ensure requirements under the Public Sector Duty are met. Worryingly, it appears that the duty will not apply to voluntary organisations that provide services as part of the Big Society but aren’t commissioned to do so by local or central government.

Finally, another way to enforce accountability at a local level could come from an increased role for Race Equality Councils (RECs) in holding local authorities and service providers to account. RECs may well have a better understanding than central government of the local situation and of the specific needs of the different ethnic groups in the area. Currently the size and effectiveness of RECs across the country is varied; indeed some areas have no RECs at all. A lot of work would need to be done to increase their capacity and presence if RECs were to play a part in holding public services to account.

Postcode lotteries

Increasing localised services could potentially encourage innovative ways to protect and promote equality and cohesion. For instance, Blackburn and Tower Hamlets local authorities have introduced innovative methods to bring about greater equality in their workforce,

The big society and localism have been central to the coalition government’s agenda since the 2010 general election. But while this drive for decentralised services and greater public participation could provide opportunities to improve race equality, it is important to ensure that these initiatives do not lead to a reduced focus on black and minority ethnic (BME) people, particularly given the disadvantages these groups continue to experience.

What is the big society?

The idea of the Big Society is related to the localism agenda (see the article on page 12) in that it too focuses on decentralising power from the central to the local. However, unlike localism, one of its key aims is reducing the role of the state and government, instead shifting power directly to people. Its stated aim is: “to create a climate that empowers local people and communities, building a big society that will take power away from politicians and give it to people.” The plans include setting up a Big Society bank and introducing a national citizenship service. In addition, four flagship community projects have been launched in Liverpool, Cumbria, Windsor and Sutton.

Given the close relationship between these two concepts, their implications for race equality are often similar.

Potential benefits

Decentralised power under both localism and the Big Society may lead to public services more effectively tailored to the communities they serve. As ippr state in their report Equality, Entitlement and Localism (2010), it makes sense to assume that those working in particular localities, whether local authorities or voluntary organisations, will be better

placed than central government departments to tailor public services to the needs of service-users. Areas with large black and minority ethnic populations, for example, whose local leaders have a better understanding of the needs of their specific communities and, under the premise of the Big Society, be able to do something about it.

In addition, it could be argued that there is potential to unite local communities as they work together to provide services under the Big Society. In particular, one of the aims of the government’s National Citizen Service (a summer volunteer programme for young people currently being piloted) is to create a more cohesive society by mixing participants of different backgrounds and ethnicities on volunteer projects. In addition, the scheme could also act as a way to equip BME young people with the skills they need to successfully participate in the Big Society.

However there are some key concerns surrounding localism and the big society, particularly in relation to accountability, equality of outcome and participation.

accountabilityThere is a danger that, in the drive to localise power and cut bureaucracy, local authorities and other service providers will not be sufficiently held to account on decisions they make. This is a particular concern following the scrapping of the Audit Commission, whose remit it was to track the ‘economy, efficiency and effectiveness’ of bodies providing public services. In particular, if equality regulations are watered down as part of a drive to reduce bureaucracy this could have a negative impact on black and minority ethnic groups.

One solution to this could be for the government to determine areas over which local communities (and local councils) should not have the authority to decide, such as minimum standards of human rights and

Runnymede’s public affairs officer Vicki butler explores how we can work within the framework of the coalition’s Big society to ensure that race equality remains integral to the agenda

making the Big society work for race equality


partly in recognition that their staff should reflect local diversity. This example is noted by Zubaida Haque in her paper for the 2020 Public Services Trust entitled The Changing Landscape of Equalities, Cohesion, Human Rights and Public Services (2010). Similarly, the Big Society could open opportunities for local charities and social enterprises working in race equality.

However, while some areas may use the opportunity of less bureaucracy and greater responsibility to introduce innovative ways to promote equality, others may not. Unless there are effective accountability structures or guidelines relating to equality, some areas may introduce particular services with little consideration on what impact it will have on different minority ethnic communities, particularly in areas where the BME community is smaller.

Already there are different outcomes for certain ethnic groups in relation to where they live. Black pupils are more likely to be excluded in outer London than in inner London, for example. This result, first pointed out in Runnymede’s paper Local Decision Making and Participation is surprising given that outer London have similar rates of exclusion to inner London for all non-black groups. This variation suggests that devolving local decision-making to local government or voluntary organisations could sometimes

lead to unfair outcomes. Certain areas are less familiar with diversity and are therefore less capable of responding to difference in way that is fair to all local citizens.

Participation

Geographical variations of race equality may be further exacerbated in areas with little black and ethnic minority representation and participation. Indeed, if BME people do not have a voice locally, particularly in less diverse areas, there is a danger that under localism local decision-makers will introduce services which have a negative impact on minority ethnic groups.

Black and minority ethnic people are also less likely to be represented on local councils, though some BME groups are doing significantly better than others in terms of political representation. For example there are far more political representatives from the Indian community than the Chinese community. These disparities in representation mean that people from certain ethnic minority groups are less likely to have a voice locally, which could lead to decisions being made that negatively impact on these communities. This is a particular worry because research suggests that the participation of BME people in institutions can result in a more effective response to the needs of BME service users.

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Runnymede’s research into school governors and race equality found this to be the case with regard to schools, for example.

Evidence also suggests the black and minority ethnic people are less likely to exercise ‘choice and voice’ than others, meaning that their voices are less likely to be heard in local decision- making. Many BME parents find it difficult to exercise choice in relation to selecting a school for their child, for example, as found in Runnymede’s report School Choice and Ethnic Segregation. Downgrading their options prior to selecting schools and finding it difficult to navigate the school choice system were elements holding parents from some ethnic minority communities back. Again, see the article on page 12 focusing specifically on localism with an example of how it has worked in schools in the US for more on this.

involving ethnic minorities

The question is also what role the coalition government will have in creating the Big Society and whether it will support and introduce initiatives in areas with bigger BME populations. Similarly will they a) encourage initiatives working specifically with BME people and b) provide guidelines and requirements as to how Big Society schemes must take into account the needs of all communities?

The initiatives announced so far are, with the exception of Liverpool, in areas with very small ethnic minority populations. However, it is crucial that a representative proportion of the BME communities in an area become involved in these local initiatives in order to ensure that voices of the BME community – however small – are heard. There is a particular danger in less diverse areas for race equality to completely drop off the agenda.

getting the best out of it

More needs to be done to involve minority ethnic people in local decision-making. The government needs to ensure that Big Society initiatives look at ways to involve people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Similarly, while the Big Society could introduce more innovation in public services it is important that decentralisation does not exacerbate the postcode lottery of service provision already existing in the UK.

Finally, it is crucial that accountability measures are not lost in the drive to make public services more efficient. Safeguards will be needed more than ever in order to ensure that decision-makers and service providers are held to account.

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a young girl helps out at her local allotments


this article examines the plight of foreign national prisoners who have reached the end of their custodial sentences. Instead of being released into the community as British nationals would be, foreign national prisoners from countries outside the european economic Area (eeA) given sentences of 12 months or more face what is known as ‘automatic’ deportation. they are ‘released’ into immigration removal centres while their deportation is arranged. It is not unusual for them to spend longer in immigration detention than they did in prison in what amounts to de facto indefinite detention.

The factsthe number of foreign nationals (defined as a person who does not hold a uK passport) in uK prisons has risen in the past ten years, from 9 per cent of the total prison population in 2000 to 14 per cent in 2010, with the number of foreign

nationals in prison standing at 11,100 in June 2010.

Although foreign nationals in prison come from around 166 countries, more than half of them are from just seven countries (Jamaica, nigeria, Republic of Ireland, Poland, Pakistan, somalia and Vietnam). In 2009, the uK Border Agency (uKBA)removed 5,535 foreign national ex-prisoners back to their country of origin. Guidelines and targets now exist for prioritising the removal of ‘higher harm’ foreign nationals, in other words those that are judged to pose a greater threat to wider society.

media hysteria and recent political debates have created the impression that foreign nationals are committing more serious offences than British nationals. statistics show that this is not the case, with drugs-related crimes being the largest category of offences that foreign

nationals commit.

‘automatic’ Deportation A national scandal broke in the uK media when it was revealed in 2006 that around 1,000 foreign nationals had been released from uK prisons without being considered for deportation. the resulting uproar led to the resignation of the then home secretary Charles Clarke, and a subsequent change in law. the uK Borders Act 2007 removed the discretion of the home secretary over whether to deport foreign nationals given a sentence of 12 months or more. In practice this means that at the end of their custodial sentences, instead of being released back into the community, possibly under licence or Probation service supervision, this group of foreign national ex-offenders are placed in immigration removal centres. they must wait in these secure premises while their deportation is arranged, often with little prospect of early removal. A signed deportation order automatically

Julie gibbs and adeline Trude highlight the costly and unjust practice of detaining foreign ex-offenders who have just been ‘set free’ from jail

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revokes Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). non-eeA nationals suffer the most serious consequences of automatic deportation, as there are a number of exclusions that apply to eeA nationals that make deportation action difficult for all but the most serious offenders.

Foreign national ex-offenders in detention are a diverse group of individuals. In many cases foreign nationals subject to deportation action will have lived in the uK since childhood and will have little knowledge of, or few contacts in, their country of birth. this means that people who have come to the uK as children with their families to claim asylum or who have settled in the uK with some form of ‘Leave to Remain’ are at risk of being returned to countries they don’t know. Other detainees may have been apprehended on entering the uK and have gone straight to prison then to detention after being convicted of a document-related offence, such as fraud. Clearly, while deportation will be distressing for anyone, those who have been in the uK since childhood and have families here and few connections in their country of origin are likely to have greater difficulties on return.

the uK and Denmark are the only countries in the european union to have opted out of the Returns Directive, which allows for administrative detention only up to 18 months. uK courts can however rule that detention is unlawful in some cases. Individuals held in immigration detention have not been found guilty by a trial or jury; they are there for the administrative convenience of the uK Border Agency, which believes they have no right to be in the uK. Increasing numbers of detainees are held for long periods according to reports from some non-governmental organisations (nGOs). Currently around 10 per cent of the detention population has been held for over 12 months, several of whom have been held for two or three years. Almost all long-term detainees are ex-offenders, who the Home Office finds hard to remove for often document-related reasons.

The effectsResearch has shown that the effects of indefinite detention on a person’s physical and mental health can be devastating. Foreign nationals who have spent little time in the uK prior to their sentencing may not have the language skills required to communicate with

staff, legal advisers and fellow inmates. this can leave them isolated and lonely on top of not understanding their rights, options, what is likely to happen to them,

and how to get legal and other help. the rehabilitation facilities and preparation for release that are provided for British nationals in prison are generally not made available to foreign nationals. As a result, assessments of risk on release for foreign national ex-offenders applying for immigration bail and accommodation support are made on out-of-date information, and can prejudice chances of release on bail. Foreign nationals report that they have few visitors in prison or detention and find it hard to telephone families abroad due to the cost and limits on calls. Isolation and frustration can lead to self-harm, depression, and other mental illness. these situations can make it difficult for prisoners and detainees to feel sufficiently motivated to progress or challenge their immigration situation and exercise their rights, which in turn may prolong their detention.

Detainees cannot be removed or deported without some form of travel document, such as a passport. Foreign national ex-offenders face particular problems in obtaining travel documents, especially those who have loose ties with their country of origin as a result of years spent in the uK. Foreign embassies in the uK vary in their willingness to recognise, document, and facilitate the return of their nationals who have criminal convictions. this means that many foreign national ex-offenders get stuck in immigration removal centres while awaiting documentation.

The economic costsGiven that it costs around £130 a night to keep a detainee in an immigration removal centre, the costs of this policy of indefinite detention are hitting the uK taxpayer hard. Information released under the Freedom of Information Act shows that in just one immigration removal centre between 15 and 19 march 2010 there were 338 foreign national ex-prisoners. this would have cost the

treasury £219,700, and that is before the costs of removal flights and legal advice are taken into account. some detainees have been in immigration detention for

more than three years at a cost of around £140,000 each.

unjust systemto date little research has been carried out on the long-term effects of the automatic deportation policy or the risks that foreign nationals pose as compared to British nationals. Given that foreign nationals commit broadly the same crimes as the general population it is hard to understand how they could be more of a threat to society just because they happen to be foreign nationals. those living in the uK without documentation of course are likely to be subject to immigration removal. However, for those who have lived in the uK for a longer period of time and do have the right to stay it is difficult to see how this policy is defensible.

Despite the costs, the current and previous governments have shown a commitment to the continued growth of immigration removal centres. On the 2 August 2010, immigration minister Damian Green opened a new wing of the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre, making that centre the largest of its type in europe. With a capacity of 615 detainees, the centre has been built to category B prison standards (ie the second most secure type of facility for detention in the uK). Green stated that the centre is for the ‘most challenging’ detainees including foreign national ex-prisoners.

Criminals are sent to prison to serve their time and to deliver justice to their victims. Once their sentence has been served, British moral and legal codes resolve that they should be free to return to their lives, regardless of their nationality. Punishing foreign nationals further by placing them in potentially indefinite detention, hidden from public view, with limited access to legal advice, and then removing them from the country - all at huge personal and economic cost - can hardly be considered efficient or humane.

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It is a myth that foreign nationals commit more violent crimes than other offenders


these findings are a valuable contribution to the high-profile debates on ageing, which often focus on the economic sustainability of an ageing population but rarely address the increasing diversity of older people. For example, while most Bme people live in urban areas, many older people retire to rural or seaside areas where there are relatively few ethnic minority people. Will the increasing numbers of older ethnic minority people result in diversity in areas where they were previously less likely to live? Policymakers need to plan today for this change in the demographic landscape of non-urban areas.

The costs of ‘returning home’

most black and minority ethnic people older than 65 were born abroad, and many of them have lived in the uK for 30 or 40 years. some will consider returning to the country where they were born for their retirement. Of course, this decision will be influenced by a host of factors, including whether they have close family living in the uK or abroad. But there are also serious financial costs and implications to moving abroad, which we detail in The Costs of ‘Returning Home, the second report of the

Phil mawhinney summarises Runnymede’s latest financial inclusion research programme, which focuses on older people

Future older generations will be more ethnically diverse

Runnymede is exploring the financial challenges that older black and minority ethnic people face in a new programme of financial inclusion research. the purpose of the programme, entitled Older Black and Minority Ethnic People and Financial Inclusion, is to keep the interests of race equality among our older population on the policy agenda. Our launch event, including a lively drinks reception in the House of Lords, gave many older people the opportunity to a space, at the heart of government, which they had never had the occasion to be in before. the event, which was kindly supported by Baroness Whitaker and Baroness Greengross, was also a great opportunity to assure older people from varied ethnic backgrounds that their concerns are on our agenda. Omar Khan, who is leading this work, discussed our progress in this topical policy area.

an increasingly diverse older population

In order to understand the financial needs of older black and minority ethnic (Bme) people, we must first know how the ethnic make-up of the uK’s population of older people is changing. Given that the older population, which is currently made up of very few Bme people, is set to increase significantly over the next forty years, we commissioned the Centre for Policy on Ageing to estimate that future population. the resultant report, The Future Ageing of the Ethnic Minority Population of England and Wales by nat Lievesley, is available to download from our website. (bit.ly/futureageing)

By 2051 the uK will be a much more diverse society. People belonging to an ethnic minority group, who in 2001 made up 9 per cent of the population of england and Wales, are projected to make up 21 per cent in 2026 and eventually 30 per cent in 2051. this increasing diversity, coupled with an ageing society, means that the population of older people will also become much more diverse. Indeed, the number of Bme people aged 65 and over will increase from 231,000 in 2001 to 0.8 million in 2026 and eventually to 2.7 million by 2051. Of course, by 2051 the state pension age for both men and women will be 68, if not 70. so it is significant that by then there will be 1.9 million Bme people aged 70 or over, compared to just 269,000 in 2016. the point to be taken from these statistics is that in future there will be, for the first time, a sizeable group of older Bme people – including particularly large numbers of Indian, black African, Pakistani and Chinese people – whose financial needs need to be anticipated today by policymakers, public service planners and financial institutions.


is therefore an important consideration when thinking about where to retire.

the uK healthcare system is one of the most affordable and comprehensive in the world. Average life expectancy, at 79, is high compared to many countries, for example India and Pakistan (66) or Kenya (59). Older people considering returning home may be put off by worse quality healthcare, but also by the additional costs of accessing high-quality health care, a need that becomes more prevalent as people grow older.

As with other costs, the price of health is relevant to all retirees, regardless of ethnicity. However, in our research we are focusing on the less-studied needs of black and minority ethnic people in returning to their countries of birth, many of whom are particularly likely to face additional financial considerations.

As government and financial institutions begin to adapt to an older society, our work will ensure that they understand and meet the needs of Bme older people. We will hold two ‘deliberative assemblies’: managed discussion groups in which 50 older people from different communities will come together and discuss their own experiences and concerns. In this way, we will ensure that our research reflects real lives and gives voice to a particularly hidden minority.

get in touch

If you are an older person or work with older people and would like to get involved in this research, please contact Phil mawhinney at [email protected]

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research programme. (see: bit.ly/costsreturninghome)

Retired people receive a state pension, based on contributions they have made throughout their working lives. these pensions are generally increased or ‘uprated’ in line with prices or earnings, and to take into account the rising cost of living over time. In general, prices double in under 20 years. this means that people who live 20 years past retirement age (say, to 85) will see their weekly state pension double in value.

People who have worked in the uK for many years continue to receive a state pension even after they move abroad. However, one of the most significant and often hidden costs of retiring abroad is moving to a country where pensions are not uprated. unlike most countries, the uK does not uprate pensions for everyone living abroad and receiving a pension. Of the 1.1 million British pensioners living abroad, roughly half have had their pensions frozen at the moment they leave the uK. so, for example, a person who retired to Canada in 1990 would still be receiving £46.90 per week, more than £50 less than the current rate of £97.65.

People’s pensions are uprated in all eu countries, as well as various other countries including the Philippines, Barbados, Jamaica and usA. In contrast, people returning to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh will not have their pension uprated. the largest groups of foreign-born minority ethnic people in the uK are from these countries. Pensions will also not be uprated in China, sri Lanka and all African countries. many black and minority ethnic people considering returning to these countries will not be aware of this serious financial cost.

this is an unfair situation; people who have worked and paid national insurance contributions in the uK should have a right to a valuable pension regardless of where they live in retirement. We therefore urge the government to uprate all state pensions to respond to this inconsistency and lack of equality, and to give older people the retirement finance they have earned.

counting the costs

those considering retiring abroad face other financial considerations. some countries have arrangements with the uK allowing people moving there to continue to receive some state benefits, such as those relating to disability, caring and bereavement. Outside europe there are only a handful of countries that have arrangements with the uK, offering access to a small number of benefits. It is financially easier for people returning to Barbados, Jamaica, turkey and the Philippines, which have arrangements in place. Countries including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and China have no such arrangements, again affecting large numbers of people considering returning. this may make it difficult for ill people in particular to return if their home country provides less generous benefits.

many migrants come to the uK assuming that they will eventually return to their countries of origin. they remit large amounts of money back home to build a house for retirement and they may make little long-term investment in housing here in the uK. However, as migrants stay for longer than planned and have children and grandchildren, many end up staying in the uK for retirement with little prospect of owning a home here. Housing

By 2051 black and minority ethnic (Bme) people are predicted to make up 30% of the total

population of england and Wales, this is compared to 9% in 2001

People who have paid their taxes and national Insurance in the uK but retire to certain countries

(including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kenya and nigeria) have less of a pension to look forward to that others

the largest groups of Bme older people in future generations will be Indian, Pakistani, black African

and Chinese

It is estimated that there will be 2.7 million black and minority ethnic people over the age of 65 in

england and Wales by the year 2051. the same statistic was just 231,000 when collected in 2001

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a ‘voucher visa’. He arrived at Heathrow and travelled by taxi to Burnley, where he worked in the cotton mills for 25 years. He arrived in January and told us that there were no street lights and because of the winter nights and the smog he thought there was no day here. He said: “We would only see day for three or four hours and then it was dark.” He recalled that the local english people and the police were ‘very kind’ to the new arrivals. He shared a house with ten other Bengali men and sent most of his money back to support his family in Bangladesh. He brought his wife and children to Britain in 1971 to escape the turmoil following the Liberation War in the country. samuz has nine children: his oldest son owns a local restaurant, three of his daughters are teachers, one is a secretary and one a social worker. His youngest children are students. He is happy living in Burnley because, he told us, unlike nearby Oldham, “in Burnley there are no racists”.

aleya Parveen

some stories take place in the much more recent past. twenty-eight–year-old Aleya Parveen, who came to the uK in 2006 as a bride, was the youngest person we interviewed. Arriving in Birmingham, she began her role as housewife to husband Akram, her ‘cousin brother’ (first cousin), who her uK-based uncle had arranged for her to marry. In Bangladesh, Aleya had worked as a model and a television presenter, but when she arrived in england she began working in a factory. Aleya stopped working at the factory when she fell ill. While she is not in employment, she has taken her love of performance with her from her work in Bangladesh to her new home. she is now

mohammed shamsul huq

When we met him in 2008, mohammed shamsul Huq told us he believed he was 108 years old. He lives in a refugee camp next to a temple in Dinajpur in north-West Bangladesh, but he was born in Calcutta in the time of the British Raj. His father, like many Bengalis, worked for the British on the railways, but shamsul told us that he ‘used to dream of the sea and of travelling’. As a young man he worked as an oilman on a British merchant steamer called the Arenda and travelled to Colombo, Rangoon, singapore, Jeddah and Africa. He also saw London, where he admired the beautifully designed houses, wide roads and big warehouses. the Arenda was sunk by the Japanese in the second world war and shamsul was adrift for eight days on the sea before he was rescued.

He returned to Calcutta and opened a tea stall, but moved to east Pakistan in

the aftermath of the 1947 partition of what was British India into separate states, including Bangladesh and Pakistan. unable to find work and made homeless by floods, he moved again to Assam but was expelled by the Indian army in the 1960s and came as a refugee to Dinajpur, where he still lives, recounting stories to his great-grandchildren. He says that he lost contact with his extended family over the years: “We lost addresses and contact details three times. the first time in a fire in Calcutta, the second time in noakhali in the floods and the third time when we were chased away by the Indian army from Assam. they must be dead now, but I remember them fondly in my heart.”

mohammed shamuz miah

Or take a story from closer to home. mohammed is now in his 70s and lives in Burnley. He arrived in the uK from the sylhet province of Bangladesh in 1964 on

the Bangla stories website focuses on one of the largest migration episodes of the modern era. Here claire alexander recounts a few of its more colourful tales and tells us more about the teaching resource

Individual stories of a collective history


involved with local Bangladeshi cultural organisations, where she has taken part in singing groups, drama and musical productions. she found it hard to adjust to life here at first, but with the support of her husband and family in Britain, now feels that this is her home. she said: “At first, I felt very bad. I don’t know whether it was for my country or my relatives. Gradually, I got better. After three months, I went to Bangladesh. then I came back. I didn’t go back again. I had no father, mother or sister over there. I had no reason to go there. I felt no pressure to go. Gradually I also adjusted to being here. my brother came; my sister was here before me. there are other relatives here. so I like this country. I am happy with my husband in this country. I’m happy all round.”

our story

these three very different migrant tales arise from a three-year Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded research project, organised by the London school of economics (Lse) and the university of Cambridge. the focus was on the Bengali diaspora, exploring the process and experience of migration and settlement within and from the Indian state of Bengal in the period after 1947 (the year of partition), from

the viewpoint of migrants themselves. It is estimated that there have been 20 million people from this region who were displaced or migrated in this period; it is one of the largest migrations of the modern era. Of these, less than 2 per cent migrated overseas, mainly to the uK or the middle east, and while some of these stories have been told (often and most powerfully as fiction), the vast majority remain silent and invisible. the project brought together the ‘big histories’ of this migration. Partition, the Liberation War, post-war global migrations were all told with the stories of ordinary people caught up in these extraordinary movements. the tales provide an evocative lens onto the sweep of history ‘from below’. the project researchers collected more than 160 life histories from Bengali muslim migrants in India, Bangladesh and Britain. these intimate family portraits form the basis of a unique collaboration with Runnymede, aimed at bringing these stories into the classroom.

the Bangla stories website and educational resource pack (banglastories.org) is designed for children aged between 11 and 14. Its primary aim is to bring these hidden, unknown or forgotten histories to life for a generation of British young people. Whatever their background

or heritage, the project aims to encourage school pupils to learn more about these stories, to discover the experiences of their parents and grandparents, and to consider how far we have come, literally and symbolically.

Their stories, our history

But there is a bigger picture too. the stories of shamsul, samuz and Aleya are travellers’ tales that tell the story of Britain writ small; their migrant stories are inherently British, as well as insistently global. theirs is the story of the east India Company, of the rise of British empire, of two world wars in which anonymous Bengali sailors fought and died in the bellies of British merchant navy ships and of the careless abandonment of the imperial project. theirs is the story of the Imperial Docks in east London, where Bengali sailors jumped ship and headed to Brick Lane, of the postwar labour shortage, of the invitation to work in the cotton mills and the steel industries of Oldham, Bradford and Burnley, and the sweatshops of tower Hamlets. theirs is the story too of deindustrialisation, of the struggle against racism, of the rise of multicultural ‘Cool Brittania’ and, of course, of chicken tikka masala. their stories are also our story.

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baroness uddin and pupils from mulberry school in Tower hamlets launch the bangla stories project


We know, from years of experience, that those who have power on a local level do not necessarily exercise it in the interests of everyone. many local leaders are interested in entrenching their own position and creating empires, and basically excluding the more vulnerable, including women. so, of course, there are huge dangers and we really are going backwards. What I can see in ten years from now, if this situation continues, will be more litigation, and more vulnerable groups saying: “We are entirely excluded”. Organisations will end up in court when they see that the equality legislation, whether it’s gender, race, disability, age or sexuality, is not being implemented in the way that is should be. I think that [equalities organisations] will be looking to turn more to the law to uphold our rights

my worry is now that the social policy aspect of the government - whether it is the Big society or the new Labour agenda - is actually going to encourage more segregation.

Why are specialist women’s services like southall black sisters still important?We set up because the needs of black women and migrant women were not being met by statutory bodies due to institutionalised racism. these same needs were not being met by the organisations rooted in the communities in which these minority women were living either, because they were very male-dominated. that is why groups like us emerged, and those reasons have not gone away. Racism has not gone away. Gender discrimination and inequality, far from going away, has actually become entrenched. so the need for organisations like ours is perhaps even greater now than it was 30 years ago.

Pragna Patel is chair and a founding member of southall black sisters (sbs), a grassroots campaigning organisation based in west london. sbs is a safe haven for women escaping male violence and, while open to all women from all backgrounds, the organisation specialises in helping black and minority ethnic women. Pragna was instrumental in sbs’s successful court bid against ealing council in 2008. The local authority was forced to rethink a change in its funding policy that could have resulted in southall black sisters’ closure. Pragna has written extensively on race, gender and religion.

What is the current climate like for black and minority ethnic women’s organisations?the situation is pretty bleak at the moment, particularly for the more long-established successful black women’s organisations. One of the success stories in the struggle for equality over the last few decades has been black and minority ethnic (Bme) women who have self-organised.

All of that is now under threat. However, you cannot pin this all on the coalition, under new Labour there was this push for community cohesion, which did not work in favour of specialist Bme women’s services. there was a backlash against multiculturalism for not being progressive enough. there was this idea that the reason there are so many divisions and segregations in society was because multiculturalism recognised difference and gave it too much credence. then ‘cohesion’ became the new buzz-word. this meant that there was less tolerance of autonomous, self-organised groups. so without questioning what segregation means, and how it is brought about by poverty, racism and discrimination, it was blamed on multiculturalism. Groups like southall Black sisters were very much caught up in this new Labour initiative, which attacked what policymakers called ‘single-identity groups’.

now with the coalition government, there is no indication that this agenda has been jettisoned. As for the ‘Big society’, it is a euphemism for cuts, for rolling back the welfare state and for devolving power into local communities. But what will it mean to give power to local leaders? the very groups who have the power at local level are often the ones who have largely excluded the more vulnerable within their communities. now they could be even further empowered.

Pragna PaTelsOutHALL BLACK sIsteRs

Q&a

Pragna Patel


We now see that vulnerable groups of women, particularly refugee and migrant women, face a multitude of problems. many of them have no state support and no community support; they are completely marginalised and invisible. Yet their needs have to be met. If we are interested in equality, then we cannot afford to ignore these women. And the reason we need autonomous spaces such as ours is so that women feel safe about where they are, and feel that they are being listened to.

What organisations like ours do is we unlock access to the legal services, social services and child protection services to vulnerable women. many of these women cannot or would not go to the state or statutory bodies because of a host of often very valid reasons. there are issues such as language difficulties, particular vulnerability or lack of confidence, the trauma suffered as a result of experiences of violence: all of these things combine to make it very difficult for the majority of migrant women to feel safe in accessing public services. Groups like ours play a very important role in bridging that gap and connecting women to political and legal processes. For those reasons, we need to exist. Our existence is fundamental to vulnerable women being able to assert their human rights.

are black and minority ethnic women marginalised within the women’s sector?Absolutely, I think black women are marginalised within the third sector generally. Whether it is organisations working on race who do not want to take up women’s issues, or women’s organisations who do not understand that race and gender often impact simultaneously. this can create a kind of intensity of discrimination for many black and ethnic minority (Bme) women. Interestingly, the groups who have been worst hit by funding cuts have been Bme women’s groups. the refugee centres, the advice centres: many of them have closed or have been threatened with closure. Yet none of these smaller organisations have the kind of support of patrons and contacts that major women’s organisations have. more mainstream organisations in the wider women’s sector are able to garner more resources and funding. However Bme women’s groups do not have this kind of power and ability and, because of who we are, we struggle.

the creation of competition for funding within the voluntary sector means that it will be Bme women’s groups that face the axe. these more specialist organisations cannot provide the same kind of services as cheaply as the larger women’s groups can. so the women’s sector is in turmoil. minority ethnic women’s groups, rather than religious women’s groups, are particularly on the front line in terms of cuts. It is incredible the number of organisations that have contacted southall Black sisters, asking us for advice on how to challenge these kinds of funding cuts.

is black women’s contribution to the feminist movement better recognised now? I think black women have contributed enormously to feminist thinking in the uK. And I don’t think you can open any book on feminism now that doesn’t touch on this. I think that black women’s organisations have brought a kind of energy and a thinking that is very different. Black women realised that we cannot talk about racial discrimination as a neat, compartmentalised experience. Our experience of discrimination often occurs at the cross-section of a number of strands of inequality, including gender, race and class, among others. this led to the introduction of the term ‘intersectional discrimination’, which it is now fashionable to talk about. this recognition that there is a larger context for discriminatory feelings can be attributed to the energy and sophistication that black feminism has brought to the debate.

Of course there is also a whole awareness now around cultural forms of gender-based violence. When I was practising twenty years ago, it was impossible to get social services to understand that forced marriage was a form of child abuse or violence against vulnerable women. now social services bend over backwards to help, and there are guidelines and laws, such as the Forced marriage Civil Protection Act. All this is because of black feminist activity, which has enriched the wider debate on feminism. there are many other examples and successes. no book on feminism in the uK should talk about the movement without mentioning the contributions of black women, particularly over the last 30 years or so.

how have some members of the communities you are part of objected to your existence?From day one, we were asked: “Why are you washing your dirty linen in public? Don’t you know that you are demonising your communities?” the answer to that is we were always very alert to the fact that in raising certain issues we give ammunition to racist practice and thinking. But that cannot stop us from raising these issues, because they are realities. In not acknowledging these realities, you’re sweeping repressive practices under the carpet, and by doing that you’re colluding in actions that should not be tolerated.

Instead we have to find ways of struggling against both racism and discrimination against women at the same time. southall Black sisters has always tried to work with women in the wider community to raise awareness of issues of violence against women. We may be talking about forced marriage, or honour-based violence, but all these are simply forms of violence against women, which is a phenomenon that occurs across all ethnic communities. these are very difficult issues, but at sBs we’ve always tried to speak to all women, hoping to encourage solidarity, so that we can stand together and demand change.


We have managed to fill the financial gap by developing law undergraduate summer placement schemes, and engaging redundant lawyers through a national scheme that resulted in more than a 1,000 legal volunteer hours.

In 2007 black exclusions from suffolk schools were among the highest in the country. While it appears to have dropped we still hear stories of mid-term transfers and managed moves by anxious parents. the needs of those young people from 2007 remain unmet. We have hardly any black teachers here. In fact there are few black people working in any of our public sector organisations, and none are leaders. Attainment in suffolk schools is generally poor. African Caribbean students between the ages of seven and 11 have an attainment level 16 per cent lower than their white counterparts, and this disparity rises to 21 per cent for young people at GCse level. this is why we have developed a pilot Leadership Academy for boys aged eight to 11 who have an African or African Caribbean heritage.

suffolk police stop and search rates were some of the most highly

‘surely we don’t need a race equality council in a place like suffolk - there aren’t many of them - you know what I mean - is it politically correct to say coloured people?’ this is one of a range of similar comments I have heard from people who should know better, in my four years of running the Ipswich and suffolk Council for Racial equality (IsCRe).

suffolk’s estimated black and minority ethnic people (Bme) population is 6 per cent. this rises to about 13 per cent in Ipswich. Because of historic agricultural links, we know that suffolk has a long history of Gypsy and traveller populations, which are invisible in census data.

Consider a recipe for rural racism. take the isolation of being in a school, a workplace, a town/village in suffolk where you might be the only Bme person or family; add the neighbours turning your child away from their child’s birthday party because of her colour; shake into the pot the fact that other than IsCRe and the Bangladeshi support Centre there are no Bme groups commissioned to deliver services for and within Bme communities. this is a recipe too for embedded inequalities.

newmarket’s prestigious racing industry is now largely staffed by workers from India and Pakistan. this explains the unacceptable spike in racist incidents in schools and in the wider community. Lowestoft’s once vibrant fishing industry is gone, replaced with high levels of deprivation. Rising unemployment brews resentment that results in increases in racist incidents against migrant workers, who have been brought in to work in the many food processing factories in the area. Overseas students who attend the maritime course at the local college are also targeted.

Demand for IsCRe’s legal services, which is part funded by the equality and Human Rights Commission is high. We dealt with 158 discrimination cases last year – more than double that of the two previous years. People still get stabbed at work here because of their colour.

disproportionate in the country in 2008. In some places, such as Lowestoft, black people were 22 times more likely to be stopped than white people. A newly appointed chief constable allowed us in to conduct a piece of research that gave the lie to the stereotypical myths being used to excuse this racial disparity. A groundbreaking community-led reference group emerged, with a core group of local people meeting with the police monthly to scrutinise forms and shape police policy and practice. Yet the group’s future is at risk despite national and international recognition. Is this because of funding cuts, or because confronting these issues is simply too uncomfortable? the community is angry that after two years of working closely together, suffolk police as an institution has been far too slow to change.

I believe suffolk’s public services have remained untouched by the 2009 stephen Lawrence Inquiry, which found uK police to be institutionally racist. When I hear people talking about institutional racism no longer being a helpful term, or the need for other words to talk about racism it worries me; suffolk is only just starting to think about it.

a VieW from... suFFOLK

Chief executive of the Ipswich and suffolk Council for Racial equality Jane basham explains why organisations like hers must exist, particularly outside the uK’s cosmopolitan metropolises

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boys engage with teachers at the iscre’s leadership academy


the unofficial version is that the ministry was blamed for exacerbating social and political problems.

Between the years of 2006 and 2007 a liberalisation of the Latvian migration policy was discussed in the ministry for Integration. then came the crisis and all plans have vanished.

Hanovs firmly believes that there is a need for the ministry as well as public discussion of racist attitudes, particularly because of the impending lack of labour force. “But at the same time the politicians’ ideas are that Latvians are threatened by external factors,” he says. “We have to protect the borders of the country because we experienced migration during the soviet time and we don’t want to have it again.”

However this “migration” to which Hanovs refers was in fact a Russian occupation, which began after the second world war and ended with Latvian independence declared in 1991; this is deeply rooted in the minds of the Latvians, even among the generations too young to have experienced this era themselves. this phenomenon of a “cultural memory”, passed on from generation to generation, is not unique to Latvia of course, and allows a dark period in a country’s past to remain imprinted on the consciousness of its people after those who experienced it firsthand are dead and gone. Hanovs says: “We are a society that reminds me of an old lady who remembers her past but doesn’t really move on.”

Yet, if you ask a Latvian if racism exists, more often than not they will tell you it doesn’t in Latvia. the Latvian Centre for Human Rights (LCHR) published an article in 2001 claiming that even this denial is related to the soviet period, where racism was never officially accepted. the government insisted that xenophobia was a phenomenon of the decadent West, but not of communism. the doctrine of “friendship of peoples” was preached and used as a propaganda tool. to prove the point, moscow went out of its way to develop

sitting in a café in the Old town of Riga, George steele pulls in a fair few sideward glances. there is nothing extraordinary enough about his person to catch the eye of the average Londoner. But he is black, which is enough to attract attention in the Latvian capital.

“I’m not invisible here”, says steele. “Occasionally people show me that I am not welcome here.”

the overt racism that steele reports is nothing new in Latvia. At the end of the 1990s racist attitudes in the Latvian society appeared to increase in frequency.

Yet there is an extraordinary challenge in the years ahead. Forecasts suggest that Latvia’s population will decrease by as much as half by the year 2050 to 1.6 million people, according to euROstAt, the european statistics office. Ongoing emigration trends, an increasing proportion of older people and a declining birth rate will make a growing migrant labour force necessary.

However, Latvia’s immigration policy is conservative and based on the concept of limited immigration from developing countries. members of the european union are, of course, free to move around. But who from the ‘older’ eu states wants to migrate to the third poorest country in the union?

Instead, Latvia has to look to the much-despised former soviet countries, or welcome migrants from Asia and Africa. Yet problems due to the uncertainty of legal status, the lack of social protection guarantees and a lack of information as a consequence of not speaking Latvian or Russian make life difficult for migrants from different continents. this is before we consider racism and xenophobia.

“the official version is that there are some signs of racism,” says Deniss Hanovs from the Friedrich-ebert-Foundation (Fes) in Riga. Hanovs used to work for the Latvian ministry of Integration from the very beginning in 2003 until its closure in 2008. the formal reason for shutting the ministry down was given as absent financial resources.

cultural exchanges with African nations. the LCHR article also cited statistical

data from the Baltic Data House that in 1998 that around ten per cent of the population would be willing to block black people from entering the country. newer data shows that racial intolerance is in fact rising in a society that has had little history of immigration from Africa or Asia.

moreover the Baltic republic came out at rank 28 out of 28 in welcoming migrants and promoting integration, in a 2008 study by the Center for Public Policy PROVIDus. A highly bureaucratic process system, a lack of information and the enormous risks of immigrant alienation, both politically and socially, are blamed for this result.

In the run-up to the 2002 elections the nationalistic Freedom Party ran a political advertisement showing a black man standing in front of Riga’s Freedom monument, wearing Latvian military pre-war garments and kissing a local girl. the Latvian state television, LtV, banned the commercial. A leaflet on the same subject said: “today he is guarding Latvia. tomorrow he may become your son-in-law.”

the campaign attracted criticism from all the other political parties. members of the Freedom Party defended the advertisement as an “exercise in drawing attention to the risks of joining the eu.”

George steele, an African-American and one of approximately a hundred black people living in Riga, sued the Freedom Party for the racist publicity. the court ruled in his favour and the party failed to win enough votes to get a seat in the government.

steele, who has lived in Latvia for 15 years, is married to a Latvian. He has been condemning racist attitudes in the country for years. In an interview with politika.lv he stated that he is living in one of the most racist societies he knows, worse than the usA. “Here in Riga where I live in the centre, every day leaving the house, I expect humiliation and contempt.”

a VieW from... LAtVIA

It has only been an independent state for a couple of decades, yet Latvia faces an uncertain future if it cannot learn to accept foreign migrants. elisabeth fischer reports from her time in Riga


are you passionate about race equality?

Do you want to increase your connections and challenge racism?

Runnymede 360° is a new national network connecting aspiring and established leaders in race equality. By joining the network you would increase your knowledge base, improve your professional skills, and make contacts that may help you in your work, while also contributing to challenging racism.

being part of runnymede 360° will enable members to: • have the opportunity to raise their profile • share their experience and learn from others • create partnerships across regions and sectors for future work • have early access to Runnymede’s work and events • have access to the latest policy developments related to race equality

Runnymede draws on over forty years’ experience providing research intelligence, policy influence, and partnership building in order to promote a successful multi-ethnic Britain. the aim of Runnymede 360° is to bring together the most passionate and innovative thinkers and actors in race equality from all sectors, backgrounds and regions of the uK. the network meets monthly at seminars, e-conferences and receptions. It also has an online discussion space to keep up with the latest current events and policy developments on race equality.

The ideal candidate will: • have been working in private, public or voluntary sectors for a minimum period of five years • have an understanding of the policy and practice landscape on national and/or local levels • have the ability to apply their knowledge, creativity and experience to their commitment to

race equality, equal opportunities and social justice • be committed to the network for at least two years during which they will be expected to con-

tribute to the Runnymede Bulletin, attend Runnymede 360° on/offline events, and participate in the Runnymede 360° social networking space

most importantly, the Runnymede 360° member will have something to say and will want to say it.

Why not apply to join?

For more information on current members and details on how to apply go to: www.runnymedetrust.org/360net


1Pakistani and bangladeshi women in the uk earn only 56% of the average hourly

wage of white men

Fawcett Society

2indian and chinese girls in the uk achieve the highest gcse grades, above all other

groups categorised by gender and ethnicity

Equality and Human Rights Commission

3more than half of black and mixed race families are headed by a lone parent,

usually a mother

Office for National Statistics

4helen grant was the first black woman to be selected to defend a conservative

party seat, and her subsequent election made her the first black female Tory member of parliament

The Guardian

5There are currently no women from an ethnic minority group appointed as

police chief constables. neither are there any female ethnic minority judges in the uk’s house of lords or court of appeal

Fawcett Society

6a record 22 british asian women stood for election to parliament in 2010, of which

six were successful

BBC

KeY FACts ABOut...

race anD Women

There are currently no black women chief constables serving in the uk police force

7 rates of suicide among young south asian women in the uk are double that of the

general population

Centre for Evidence-based Mental Health

8almost half of the bangladeshi women in the uk have no educational

certificates recognised in the country. of all groups characterised by gender and ethnicity, they are the most likely to have no qualifications at all

Government Equalities Office

940% of london-based black and minority ethnic women’s organisations have no full

time paid staff

Women’s Resource Centre

10Diane abbott was the first black woman mP to be elected when

she took her seat in 1987. she also became the first black or minority ethnic person to stand for leadership of the labour party, or for any major party, in 2010

The Guardian

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Diane Abbott was the first black woman to be elected as an mP

Diane abbott, mP for hackney north and stoke newington


sabrina QureshiFounder and co-ordinator

million Women rise

“All the Women Are White, All the Blacks are men but some Of us are Brave”, to paraphrase the title of a book by Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell scott and Barbara smith published in 1982.

the biggest battle is the dismantling of this coordinated and systematic male violence and oppression of black, minority, refugee and asylum seeking women in the uK.

Oppression still comes from global imperialist systems that exploit women, and the darker your skin, the greater the oppression and violence. the uK is a diverse and culturally mixed country, yet violence affecting black communities is a cultural norm and black women are doubly invisible.

We can’t just talk about black women in the uK either. the world may have borders, but women must make connections. If feminism has seen a resurgence, then what we need is an action to end violence against African women in particular.

You end male violence against black women and you set the world free.

how do two strains of discrimination (gender-based and racial) combine to affect minority ethnic women?

Vox PoP

Professor avtar brahProfessor emeritus of sociology

birkbeck, university of london

Discrimination experienced as a woman and as a member of an ethnic minority group often operate simultaneously and have combined effects.

All women share certain disadvantages because of the fact of being a woman, but the precise form that a particular disadvantage takes will vary with the ethnic background of each woman.

For example, all women are affected by the gender segregation of the labour market, but within each sector minority women may occupy a specific position.this may influence the level of an ethnic minority woman’s wages, which on average may be lower than other women.

On the other hand, there are some practices that are specific to a particular ethnic group, such as arranged marriages, which are quite rightly prohibited by law if they become forced marriages. strategies for tackling inequality due to gender and ethnicity need to be aware of the relationship between the two.

samantha mangwanatrustee

The fawcett society

the Fawcett society campaign “seeing Double”, aimed at combating the ‘double invisibility’ of minority ethnic women, found part of the problem to be generalisations about all women or all members of ethnic minorities.

In policy arenas ‘gender’ tends to mean ‘white women’, and ‘race equality’ often refers to experiences of non-white men. the needs of minority ethnic women, different from those of both groups, all too often fall through the cracks. Differences between individual groups of minority ethnic women have virtually no chance of being addressed.

As a discrimination lawyer, I learn of experiences my clients face in workplaces where, after time, it can be impossible to untangle the roots of discrimination and all that is readily apparent is unfairness and disadvantage.

early access to evidence through use of a statutory discrimination questionnaire, and reversal of the burden of proof at trial are mechanisms that could assist minority ethnic women at this stage.


window into the legacy of slavery in America: that a black woman, treated in the ‘coloured’ ward of a hospital in the segregated South, would unwittingly change medicine forever. Yet 50 years later, that same woman’s son would wake up from quintuple bypass surgery $125,000 in debt, with no medical insurance to cover the costs.

which helps to enrich our understanding of migration, belonging and identity. Anyone interested in issues of transnational migration, integration and belonging, and families would be satisfied with this book.

I was content with the USA (my country of birth) drawing its match with England (where I live). But if the match had been USA versus Vietnam (my mother’s country of origin), well then that would be a different matter entirely.

In 1951 an African-American woman named Henrietta Lacks died at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, the victim of an aggressive strain of cervical cancer. But Henrietta wasn’t an average patient. Before her death, unbeknown to her family, doctors had extracted cancerous cells from Henrietta’s body. These cells went on to became the first ‘immortal’ human tissue, known as HeLa.

While the Lacks family continued to live in a community entrenched in poverty, crime, and inadequate health care, Henrietta’s cells became instrumental in medical advancement. HeLa cells were used in the development of the polio vaccine, in vitro fertilisation (IVF), cancer treatments, cloning, genetic mapping among others, spawning a massive industry in the sale of biological materials.

Over the summer football supporters poured into different pubs around the capital to support their team in the 2010 World Cup. How they each decided which ‘their’ team may have been determined by national or ethnic background, the prowess of the team, or, as in my case, the results of the office sweepstake (Uruguay and Brazil for those interested).

International sports have long been linked with ethnic and national identity and belonging, the most obvious case being Tory MP Norman Tebbit’s ‘cricket test’. In Transnational Families, support of football team is just one of the themes that the authors consider while exploring how identities, attachments and social relations are developed and maintained across borders. If not football, what is an accurate representation of our national and ethnic identities?

The immortal life of henrietta lacks

by Rebecca skloot, macmillan 2010Book review by Kate mcGovern

Transnational families: ethnicities, identities and social capitalby Harry Goldbourne et al, Routledge 2009Book review by Jessica mai sims

Now journalist Rebecca Skloot, after more than a decade of research, has produced a book that tells Henrietta’s whole story. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks digs deep into the Lacks’ past and present, but also the uncomfortable interplay between race and medicine in American history, and the debatable ethics of the commercialisation of human tissue.

Skloot also traces her own integration into the Lacks family. Most interesting is the connection between Skloot and Deborah Lacks, Henrietta’s daughter. In spite of their differences in background and experience, the two women share a deeply rooted concern with doing justice to Henrietta, who rests in an until-recently unmarked grave, on the land where her family farmed tobacco for generations. That common driving force is what ultimately carries the women through ten years of complex and often devastating discoveries.

That Skloot, as an educated white woman, comes from a life of privilege compared to the Lacks family is an issue she doesn’t shy away from. Skloot presents readers with a particular

Transnational Families offers a fascinating look at how families are created and maintained, culture and tradition are understood and performed, and how race and ethnicity, gender and generational identities impact on family relations. Divided into two sections, the first devoted to theoretical exploration of social capital and the second drawing on case studies (Caribbean and Italian), Transnational Families offers a thorough analysis of how social relationships serve to influence identities across borders. For those of us interested in empirical accounts of transnational migration, the second part of the book discusses the specific issues that impact on transnational families and social capital in practice. Through the interview material with Italians and Caribbeans (both in and outside the UK) the authors explore themes of support, values and traditions, pressures of tight-knit families and belonging, with a concluding chapter on families of mixed ethnic or national backgrounds.

The authors provide an interesting account of the complexity of identities depending on context, migration, generation and gender

An extraordinary legacy

Families across borders

reVieWs: books


reVieW

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which ran from 6 to 30 August this year, is still the world’s largest arts festival. This year it boasted over 2000 performances in 259 venues by performers from over 60 countries. With such a deluge of art forms, genres and perspectives the festival provides a rich arena for the exploration of new ideas.

This potential was recognised by Amnesty in the Freedom of Expression Award, now in its eighth year. This year’s winner was Roadkill, a site-specific production in which the audience followed a young Nigerian girl onto a bus and across Edinburgh to an abandoned flat in which she was held captive and forced to have sex for money. The play also represented cycles of abuse through the character of the girl’s captor, who had also been trafficked to the UK and force to sell sex.

Roadkill represented just one of a crop of performers and artists who chose to engage with the issue of sex trafficking at this year’s Fringe, mirroring the growing interest in this issue, highlighted by Channel 4’s recent documentary series and the EU’s directive to combat human trafficking. ‘Verbatim theatre’

piece Fair Trade presented the personal stories of two young women from Albania and Sudan who were brought to the UK under false pretences and forced into prostitution. The testimonials raised important issues regarding the rights of women in the UK and how victims of trafficking must be protected.

Perhaps surprisingly, Keith Farnan’s stand-up comedy show Sex Traffic: How much is that woman in the window? was more thought-provoking than either of these, and alone linked sex trafficking with wider issues of women’s oppression. Farnan asked: ‘Do we value women, or do we just put a value on them?’ Farnan used sex trafficking as the most extreme version of wider structural processes, exploring a range of issues from the Rwandan parliamentary quota enforcing 50% female representation (the UK ranks 52nd in the world at 22%) to high-flying career women with no time for family.

The theme of women’s oppression was also addressed by Angie Le Mar’s play Do You Know Where Your Daughter Is? The production presented some of the issues faced by girls growing up in the UK today, such as low self-esteem, peer pressure from other girls and coercion from boys into having sex. It also addressed the relationship between mother and daughter, and highlighted inter-generational patterns. Although lacking

the dramatic punch of more professional productions, the young cast gave decent performances and the play was fuelled by a genuine sense of injustice about the situation of young people facing discrimination based on gender or race.

Elsewhere, issues of race were openly invoked by two stand-up comedians. Reginald D. Hunter’s Trophy Nigga was dominated by his experiences of living as a black comedian in the UK, and the politics of reclaiming and thereby disempowering the word ‘nigger’. Hunter regularly sold out a 700-seat space, thus occupying a unique role in confronting mainstream audiences with their own discrimination and prejudice, encouraging people to laugh at themselves, as well as questioning their beliefs.

More thought-provoking still was comic Paul Sinha, the self-proclaimed only ‘openly gay, ex-GP, British Asian’. His show’s title, Extreme Anti-White Vitriol, referred to a description of his act by BNP deputy leader Simon Darby during a radio discussion. By openly confronting his own preconceived ideas and stereotypes, Sinha invited the audience to do so too. His message - that we should talk to one other more - was hardly groundbreaking. But the show was well-argued, witty and intelligent, adding depth to an otherwise simplistic cry for liberal tolerance.

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How much is that woman in the window?

edinburgh fringe festivalselected reviews by rachel humphris

TheaTre // comeDY

festival-goers gather for a street performance


three months into the unchartered waters of the UK’s coalition government and the pace of reform shows no sign of letting up. At the time

of writing, we wait with bated breath for the outcomes of the spending review; not many are waiting with hopeful anticipation. Issues of equality circle the government’s decision-making with their pledge to ensure fairness throughout this process of making swingeing cuts appearing more and more threadbare. Equalities minister Theresa May and, more recently, Lib Dem leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg have openly admitted that the disadvantaged are most likely to be affected by the cuts. For black and minority ethnic communities this is bad news given their overrepresentation among the ranks of the poor.

The opposition to the cuts is being led by the Trade Union Congress (TUC), whose member unions are keen to highlight that the financial crisis was caused by bankers, while the consequences are to be visited on the least able to withstand the onslaught. Those who rely on public services, those on

lower salaries - for which, again, you can interpret a disproportionately large number of people from black and minority ethnic communities - are to be the hardest hit by an economic meltdown that they had little

opposing the cuts too vocally. Fearful of the damage that this may do to their ability to ensure that they are in a position to promote equality, even in what may appear to be infertile territory.

Too many questions remain unanswered about the Big Society and its relation to equality. Not to mention equality’s relationship to the more nebulous ‘fairness’ espoused by the government. In this edition of the Runnymede Bulletin, Shamus Khan and Casey Stockstill have highlighted some key worries with localism, an agenda that plays its part in the Big Society rhetoric (see page 12). Satisfactory answers are yet to be found to questions of democratic transparency, accountability, minimum guarantees, and capacity building so that all voices are heard, and in particular those of the marginalised who rely more heavily on public services.

I have been part of the discussions of the Commission on 2020 Public Services which published its final report in September 2010. The commission started its deliberations outside of this frenzied period of reform, and argued for a long-term settlement on public services. For a year and a half, some of the best public policy minds have come together for the Public Services Trust 2020 Commission and struggled to reach a consensus on these outstanding questions. Yet the Big Society opens for business imminently, ready or not.

I am heading to the Chicago this month to the largest race equality conference in the world, Facing Race (for more information use this link: bit.ly/facingracechicago). My short time in the US will give me an opportunitiy to see what the smaller government approach that seems to have inspired much of the UK coalition’s thinking actually delivers for racial equality. However reluctantly, I too am trying to engage.

involvement in triggering.

A bold move by the Fawcett Society to seek a judicial review of the budget on the grounds that it discriminates against women (they argue that 72 per cent of cuts will be met from women’s income as opposed to 28 per cent from men’s) remains to be answered. But it has bolstered opposition to the government’s analysis of both the need for cuts and the balance (or imbalance, depending on your view) struck between cuts and increased taxation. It is timely, then, that in this issue of the Runnymede Bulletin we have chosen to focus on black and minority ethnic women, who stand to suffer significantly from the direction of current government decisions.

What has been surprising in this last period has been the willingness of public policy organisations, civic society, and political pundits to seriously entertain the coalition government’s invitation to discuss fairness in this context, to join the current ‘Big Society’ shibboleth. Yet each discussion of Big Society among equality organisations seems to be debated through gritted teeth. Discussion is

often prefaced with a weary acceptance that resistance is futile, and therefore we should seek ways to make the best of this new agenda. The dilemma is clear for organisations that are keen not to paint themselves into a corner by

Let’s not forget the role of equality

DirecTor’s COLumnRunnymede director rob berkeley does his best to engage with the Big society rhetoric

Discussion of the Big society is often prefaced with a weary acceptance that resistance is futile, so we seek ways to make the best of this new agenda

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