03 Sep 2021

Diversity Lens - Issue 92

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Sep 3

Diversity Lens - Issue 92

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With over half of the UK population now fully vaccinated, the likelihood of a return to lockdown is unlikely, and we are once again reconnecting in public places. However, our Story of the Week includes a personal reminder of the homophobic violence that occurred in society prior to the pandemic. Unfortunately post-lockdown interactions have brought back those motivated by hate and ignorance.

We have a duty to make social spaces safe and inviting for all of us. After all, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that connecting with each other was thoroughly missed.

STORY OF THE WEEK

"Spate of attacks across UK sparks fear among LGBTQ+ community" The Guardian

The amount of homophobic and transphobic attacks in England, Wales and Scotland has continuously risen since 2015, peaking at an average of 50 reports each day in the first quarter of last year. Recent hate crimes have proved no less severe. Two weeks ago 50 year old, Ranjith “Roy” Kankanamalage died from a head injury inflicted by a homophobic attacker in Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, east London. To make matters worse, according to the data from the LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall, four out of five of these incidents go unreported.

This is a sad and sobering reminder that LGBTQ+ people are still unsafe, regardless of the area that they live in.
'I’m out regularly in the gay district on a weekend, and it staggers me how many people come out with homophobic remarks' stated Lawrence Barton, the director of Birmingham Pride, who runs a number of venues there.

Although the media and general public appear to tolerate LGBTQIA+ people now more than ever before, these harrowing revelations are a stark reminder that we have yet to achieve full societal acceptance.

"I definitely don’t think people are aware that this is still going on in terms of hatred in speech, hatred in physical violence and murder."

Forward

IN OTHER NEWS...

National Disability Strategy: PM’s ‘down payment on building back fairer’ is just 29.5p
The strategy which promised “practical and lasting change” for the disabled community translates into just 29.5p in new funding for each disabled person. The strategy has been denounced widely as "smoke and mirrors", with much of the funding being taken from existing budgets, rather than a new investment.
Chief Exec of Inclusion London said the 'new' funding is just "cynical re-packaging of current policies".

Read time: 3.5 minutes

Black people more likely to be targets of prolonged Taser use, police watchdog finds
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reviewed 101 cases where stun guns were used from 2015-20 with concerning results. From these 101 cases in which there occurred continuous discharge of a Taser for more than 5 seconds, 80% of subjects were Black people and just 29% white people.
Furthermore, the IOPC determined that in almost a third of cases, there was a missed opportunity to de-escalate the situation.

Read time: 2 minutes

“Ultimately, policing has to change and be more responsive to community concern or risk losing legitimacy in the eyes of the public."

Autism: University of Cambridge launch UK's largest ever study
The University of Cambridge is to conduct a study with 10,000 autistic people and their families to investigate genetic and environmental factors affecting autism. There are still many unknowns about the disability that affects 1 in every 100 people in the UK. This study aims to understand circumstances of the disorder more thoroughly such as incidences of epilepsy or poor mental health outcomes.

Read time: 4.5 minute s

THIS WEEK IN D&I...

Naomi Osaka shared how she’s overcoming impostor syndrome. Here are more tips.
Osaka continues to prioritise her mental health openly. "Internally, I think I'm never good enough" she admits in a recent tweet. Osaka commits publicly to combating these feelings by celebrating the small wins in life.
The Lily talks to people who felt recognised by Osaka's admission - a world renowned tennis player sharing these insecurities can cause us to think: "I’m not crazy, this happens — even to one of the best tennis players of our time.’

Read time: 7.5 minute s

Are mental health days the wrong answer to the right questions?
Companies are right to offer a reprieve to employees "on the edge of burnout"; but should they be letting it get this far? It is reported that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45bn each year. It is in the interest of all parties to protect employee mental health before it reaches breaking point. There is a long way to go in normalising preventative measures such as mental health days, wellbeing breaks in your days and feeling able to set limits on email chains and calls. Jeremy Snape reflects.

Read time: 5 minutes

"An organisation that educates its managers and employees about positive habits and routines about proactive mental health won’t need to rely on emergency recovery days."