Discrimination and Your Freedom
The right to live without fear of discrimination, and your freedom to live the life you choose are rights protected under the law. These are fundamental human and civil rights that should be respected by everyone in our society.
Life Without Discrimination
In an ideal world there would be no discrimination when it comes to issues such as colour, race, religion, age, gender, sexuality and disability. Unfortunately we do not live in an ideal world and the abuse of rights still exists in many countries around the world. There are many countries where the rights of citizens are abused by authorities every day. In Britain there are laws set down that guarantee the protection of certain rights and freedoms for every citizen. These laws are in place to make sure that abuse of rights can have serious legal consequences.Individual Rights
A number of laws have been passed in Parliament that guarantee certain rights and freedoms to every person in Britain. Britain also subscribes to the fundamental rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights. These rights and freedoms include:- Freedom to choose your own religious beliefs and views
- Freedom from torture
- The right to live a life free from discrimination
- The right to a fair trial and the right to vote
- The right to freedom of expression and to privacy
- The right to marriage
- The right to freedom from slavery and forced labour
The Fight for Freedom
The right to live without discrimination has been a long battle and this freedom was not given lightly by governments. African-Americans in the US had their freedom take from them centuries ago and it has only been just over 40 years since they regained their civil rights. The rights to equality in areas such as employment, education, housing and voting were all fought for over many years. The rights we now take for granted may have taken a lot longer if it were not for the actions of the Civil Rights Movement in America and Britain.Freedom and Discrimination
Although we live in a society where the protection of our rights is guaranteed by law this does not mean that discrimination does not occur. Simply because these laws are in place does not stop people abusing other people’s rights. Discrimination can and does occur every day in many different areas across the UK. Freedom from discrimination in the workplace is a guaranteed protection but the number of cases reported seems to be rising.Discrimination in Employment
Reports compiled by the Employment Tribunal offices show that cases of discrimination in the workplace increased by 15% in 2007. There were 238,546 employment tribunals heard in the period 2006 to 2007. Of that number there were around 90,000 cases of one type of discrimination or another. Simply having discrimination laws in place is not eradicating discrimination in Britain’s workplace. This is the number of reported cases of discrimination; there will no doubt be many more cases that are never reported.Standing up to Discrimination
Enforcing your rights is the first step towards stamping out discrimination. Many people simply suffer in silence when it comes to this type of abuse of rights. There are many ways to take the first step towards standing up to the discriminators. Talking to colleagues and friends and gaining their support is a good starting point. A discriminator in the workplace is abusing their powers of authority. The sooner they become aware that this type of abuse will not be tolerated the more equal the working environment will become.Anyone who abuses another person’s rights, such as discrimination in the workplace is effectively curtailing that person’s freedom. Everyone has the right to live their lives without fear of being discriminated against by others. It is only by standing up to discriminators that Britain will eventually become an equal and free society.
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I would like to share my story. I was 5 years of age, when some stangers broke into my house with crowbars. The buff men wore drake masks, they looked to be mid-30's. One of the masked figures held me down rub me vigourisly. The other the went over our stove and heated the crowbar up till it was red. The man returned and pulled off my pants and shoved the hot end up me. This has nothing to do with but i disaprove of disrimitation.
DrakeNeedsAGoodFisti - 23-Aug-17 @ 4:34 AM
Nick - Your Question:
Hello id like to share my story with you. I am 36 years old and a British African , and I live in a in Cheshire. Yes I got into trouble growing up getting into mischief and fights, and sadly a drug charge when I was 14 years old, but nothing bad, just minor stuff but nothing to serious. But its like my past has never left me behind, and still to this day it perceives me as a man today. I have always been single out, from my peers from the police, growing up as a kid. When ever there was trouble it seem like I was always the target, I was the one going to spend the night in the cells, then any of my counterparts. Where I live in Cheshire is a prominently white area, and a very small ethnic minority group in the town where I live.Now this starts with me leaving a friends house early in the morning where I was involved in a very serious car accident, where I lost control of my car and clip another car making me flip my car over. Please see below for the rest of this post as it's too long to include here. post
Our Response:
You should ask at Citizen's Advice to see if you can get some free legal representation. If you did not receive any medical treatment you may want to make a complaint to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (https://www.ipcc.gov.uk/)
CivilRightsMovement - 22-Oct-15 @ 11:08 AM
Hello id like to share my story with you. I am 36 years old and a British African , and I live in a in Cheshire. Yes I got into trouble growing up getting into mischief and fights, and sadly a drug charge when I was 14 years old, but nothing bad, just minor stuff but nothing to serious. But its like my past has never left me behind, and still to this day it perceives me as a man today. I have always been single out, from my peers from the police, growing up as a kid. When ever there was trouble it seem like I was always the target, I was the one going to spend the night in the cells, then any of my counterparts. Where I live in Cheshire is a prominently white area, and a very small ethnic minority group in the town where I live.Now this starts with me leaving a friends house early in the morning where I was involved in a very serious car accident, where I lost control of my car and clip another car making me flip my car over. After waking up upside down I manage to cruel out of the broken window. Now I know that the emergency services are called, which would be the police, and the ambulance services. As far as I know the people how live on the street were out, then the police turn up. The first people to show up was the police, and to which I never received any roadside treatment from any office nor did I even go to hospital. By this time I am daze and confused, and had lost all my sight and hearing. Then I remember being put into the back of the police van, at the time I didn't understand what was going on, Now I have just been involved in a serious accident and to which I did receive injuries as I later found out, Whiplash, MBI Concussion. The ordeal still was not over though, I still had to get taken to the police station which is a 20 mile drive, and breathalysed I think they thought I was under the influence but I wasn't. As I was in the police van that's when it was like my world around me was changing it was like I didn't have control of my body, I was so confused I still didn't have any vision my eyes were rolling around my head that's what it felt like, it just kept getting more intense the more I was moving, that's when I started to fearing for my life, that feeling I was going through was like being in a nightmare. Now I far as I know they have read me my rights I think, this is where it all gets blurrier, I was so concussed and all the things what was happening to me, I just must of pass out because I couldn't remember any else after that, the next time I woke up it was night time, the accident happen in the morning. I was locked up for 23;35 and within that time I had still not received any medical treatment what so ever. The following day a friend had rang my partner and said it was all over the internet, so the police had told the local news papers about me where I live what I am charge with the date I'm in court, and stated the I received no injuries, knowing fully well that I didn't receive any treatment so who ma
Nick - 21-Oct-15 @ 4:03 AM
@Gaza. If you feel the police have acted improperly you should make a complaint via the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
CivilRightsMovement - 27-Jan-15 @ 10:28 AM
At 7:05pm today (23/01/15) I received an un arranged visit from the police.
I am an ex-con released since June 2013.
I have not been in any problems since my release from custody for 7months. I was on Home Detention Curfew for 16 weeks without incident, and also without a visit from the police.
I was very troubled when I heard a constant bang on our door and an officer ( the sergeant) attempted to cover the spy hole with his finger. This sort of behaviour was very unnecessary as he had no warrant or legal cause to act in this way.
My wife and very young son were very scared.
My wife and son and myself live on private property with gated parking, and a video intercom system , plus cctv in place, but no-one pressed our buzzer to gain access.
I was asked a few questions and feel I was discriminated against and there was a blatant abuse of power. My neighbours heard the banging and now this insensitive visit has made things very awkward where I live.
Why couldn't they send a letter?
I am currently a working father and husband, with absolutely no intention of breaking the law. However I was visited at home by three police officers , but only one officer spoke during the whole interaction. This was a sergeant who proceeded to tell me that, I quote, "You are on our records and we are just here to tell you that we are watching you".
This was said in a very intimidating fashion and I explained that I had returned from work only 10 minutes before therefore they would have no work to do concerning me. I also volunteered a few details of the type of work I do.
As a reformed ex-con, now in employment ,working to support his family, i feel the last thing i need is intimidating police visits which can be translated into a form of harassment.
I was given no paperwork by the police and as I currently still have a probation officer, I am confused as to why they never contacted her if they had concerns, as obviously secrecy was not an issue for them, to visit me and tell me what they did.
My wife listened to the whole exchange also.
We would like no more visits from the police as they have no reason to come to my home in this way.We have cctv in our apartment block and I can obtain officers numbers if need be.
So a little help if you can
1. Was the visit illegal as I had broken no laws and they banged on my door in an otherwise intimidating fashion?
2. Who do I contact to lodge an official complaint?
3. What do i do if it happens again?
Please advise. Thanks in advance.
Gaza
Gaza - 23-Jan-15 @ 11:53 PM
