Tag Archives: British Isles & Western Europe

Race + Color + Ethnicity

UK News | Racial Minorities

Investigation finds London’s Metropolitan police force took no disciplinary action on more than 200 racial discrimination complaints over year
  • The Met received 245 complaints of racial discrimination by police officers between March 2014 and February 2015, with five resulting in managerial action and the rest being dismissed.
  • Complaints were often dismissed as “poor communication,” although five officers received three or more allegations of discrimination.
  • The police force is looking to address fraught relations with London’s ethnic minority communities as only 11% of its ranks come from minority backgrounds while 40% of London’s population does.

“[The Met is] shown to be effectively immune from any accountability. We need a truly independent body that carries the confidence of the communities affected by police abuses of power. The police cannot be trusted to investigate themselves.”

Read more:
“No racial discrimination complaints against Met police upheld” (The Guardian)
“Met chief admits institutional racism claims have ‘some justification’” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images, via the Guardian)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

U.K. Research | Ethnic Minorities

Sports Participation Among Minorities in Wales

Sports Wales recently conducted a study of Black, Asian, and ethnic minority participation in sports in Wales and found disproportionately low levels of engagement. The research found that ethnic minorities were less likely to participate as players or as volunteers, administrators, or spectators, causing concern because of the traditional conception of athletics as an inclusive cultural activity.

4.5%

Percentage of Wales’s population that is of a minority ethnic background

Lower incomes, limited time, limited mobility, limited facilities, racism, and language barriers

Reasons study cites for lower levels of participation

£3 million

Amount of funding earmarked for tackling inequality in sports (with £1.5 million specifically targeting racial and ethnic inequality)

Read more:
“Black and ethnic minorities face barriers to sport, report says“ (BBC)
“BAME communities in Wales face sporting barriers” (The Voice)
Calls 4 Action: Black and Minority Ethnic Pupils – what do we know? (Sports Wales)

Age, Gender, Ideology + Affiliation

Netherlands News | Women & Youth

European court rules brothel owners in Amsterdam must share language with sex workers
  • The European Court of Justice ruling sided with the city of Amsterdam, which blocked the application of a brothel owner to run a Red Light District window rental space because the owner could not communicate in the language of some of the workers.
  • The business owner had his business plan denied because he rented to Hungarian and Bulgarian immigrant workers who did not speak Dutch and whose languages the owner did not speak.
  • The court cited the safety of women, human trafficking vulnerability, the prevention of sex work by minors, and pimping deterrence as justifications.

Read more:
“Court: Amsterdam brothel owners must speak prostitutes’ language” (The NL Times)
“Double Dutch barred in Amsterdam brothels” (AFP, via Yahoo! News)

(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/LeDeuxAlpe, via The NL Times)

Nationality + Migration

France News | Refugees & Migrants

French riot police use tear gas to evacuate and dismantle Calais refugee camps
  • French police raided and dismantled camps housing more than 400 refugees and migrants in the port city, calling the camps “illegal settlements.”
  • While France has announced plans to build a permanent camp next year, those currently in the area–including many attempting to make their way to Britain–have set up makeshift camps for shelter.
  • BuzzFeed News has included video of the police launching tear gas at individuals and their tents.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

(Image Credit: Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images, via BuzzFeed News)

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Spain & Netherlands News | Black

Spain and the Netherlands look to phase out blackface Christmas traditions
  • Madrid authorities announced that they will cast an actual black person in the role of Balthazar this year rather than continue the tradition of blackening the face of a white person.
  • In The Hague, education officials announced that elementary schools will no longer engage in the “Black Pete” tradition, which paints Santa’s helpers in blackface.
  • While cities across Spain are increasingly abolishing holiday blackface, the Netherlands has seen staunch resistance, with a majority of its citizens rejecting the idea that Black Pete is a racist practice.

“This change is much more than just anecdotal. … Given the increasingly large community of colour in our city, it seems absurd that this role continues to be represented by a person with their face blackened.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Peter Dejong/AP, via The Guardian)

Gender, Religion + Belief

U.K. News | Muslims

London’s Islamophobia Uptick

Image Credit: YouTube, via BuzzFeed
Image Credit: YouTube, via BuzzFeed

With reported Islamophobic incidents in the city having increased by 70% over the last year, London’s Muslims share stories of the harassment they have faced at work, in school, on public transportation, and in many of the other areas of public life. From threats to name-calling to “jokes,” four Muslims share their stories of Islamophobic harassment with BuzzFeed News, including three women who share how the intersection of gender further compounds vulnerability.

Read the full feature at BuzzFeed News.

Nationality + Migration

France Feature | Migrant Youth

Video

Jump-starting the Future for Unaccompanied Migrant Minors in France

A specialized department of the refugee advocacy and services organization France Terre Asile, the Centre d’accueil et d’orientation pour les mineurs isolés étrangers (Reception and Orientation Center for Unaccompanied Foreign Minors) provides meals, lodging, and education for unaccompanied youth of foreign origin aged 14 to 18 to facilitate adjustment and integration into French society. Agence France-Presse profiles a few of the youth and the work being done at the center.

View the AFP video on YouTube (in French).

Nationality + Migration

U.K. News | Refugees

U.K. announces it will take in thousands of refugees
  • A spokesperson for the U.N. refugee office reported that Britain will be offering refuge for 4,000 Syrian refugees.
  • The announcement comes as PM David Cameron has come under fire for the his reticence to take in refugees.
  • The Syrians who arrive will be offered resettlement as millions pour out of the country torn apart by conflict driven by pro-Assad forces, rebel factions, the Islamic State, and the defense against IS.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Ideology + Affiliation, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

U.K. Feature | Radicals

Video

Radical in Britain

Contemporary radicalism manifests itself in a variety of ways, with each instance emerging from a unique intersection of race, class, gender, religion, and other dimensions of identity that create specific forms of vulnerability that lead to radical thought and action. BBC examines the diversity of radicalism in the U.K. context, featuring the stories of several who have been labeled (or who self-identify) as radicals, analyses of its causes, and discussions of the controversial methods the government uses to curtail its effects.

The Series:

The Proud Racist
The Man with No Passport
De-radicalizing Adam

Health + Ability

U.K. News | HIV+

London HIV clinic accidentally divulges names of nearly 800 patients
  • 56 Dean Street, one of London’s biggest HIV clinics, revealed 780 names and e-mail addresses through an e-mail newsletter, which directors said was the result of human error.
  • Patients indicated that they saw names of people on the list whose HIV status had been undisclosed to them previously, worrying them about the fallout.
  • The Information Commissioner’s Office, Britain’s data protection watchdog, announced it was investigating the breach.

“I am a bit paranoid that somehow the list might be shared or end up published on the internet somewhere. I know that is a bit unlikely but it still terrifies me. I am worried that if there is legal action [for breach of privacy] my anonymity will be further compromised as well.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust/Video grab, via the Guardian)

Nationality + Migration

France News | Americans & Britons

Three Americans and one Briton receive France’s highest honor for role in subduing train attacker
  • French President François Hollande awarded the four men the Legion d’Honneur at a reception at the Elysée Palace.
  • The men were a part of a group that subdued the gunman on a train bound for Paris with more than 550 passengers reported on board.
  • A French-American, who was shot and remains hospitalized, and an additional unnamed man also assisted and will receive their honors at a later date.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

(Image Credit: Pool New/Reuters, via BuzzFeed News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. Feature | Gay Asian Muslims

Gaysian and Proud

Image Credit: Borja Suarez/Reuters
Image Credit: Borja Suarez/Reuters

A new documentary featuring renowned British drag queen Asifa Lahore (Asif Quarashi) highlights struggles of Britain’s gay Asian and Muslim drag queen communities. Probing the complexities at the intersection of an at times violently opposed faith community and a gender and sexual minority community that often whitewashes its population, Muslim Drag Queens premieres today in celebration of Britain’s vibrant Gaysian community.

Read the full feature at the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

(Image Credit: Borja Suarez/Reuters)

Uncategorized

ClimateWatch: Europe

ClimateWatch periodically analyzes the security climates of the world’s regions, focusing on conditions and developments affecting the most vulnerable identity communities while highlighting meaningful political and social steps towards security and integration. This week’s European report summarizes developments in identity security from late July through mid-August.

Continue reading ClimateWatch: Europe →

Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. News & Research | LGBT

1 Comment
Report: 80% of largest U.K. companies lack trans-inclusive non-discrimination policies
  • LGBT network OUTstanding found that despite general statements of commitment to diversity, most FTSE 100 companies lack explicit policies on the books to protect trans employees from employment discrimination.
  • The report also found that just under half of the U.K.’s top companies lack specifically inclusive non-discrimination policies for LGB employees.
  • However, OUTstanding also reported that LGBT issues were the second-most discussed diversity topic, following gender inequality.

“From my own experience, I know that there are many enlightened CEOs who value diversity. In fact, 62% of our members say LGBT issues have been publicly discussed by their CEO. It’s vital that more businesses – including all those in the FTSE 100 – consider their attitude to LGBT inclusion as an asset worth reporting.”

Read the full story at HITC.

Nationality + Migration

U.K. News | Polish Immigrants

1 Comment
Polish immigrants in the U.K. launch #PolishBlood blood donation campaign to combat anti-immigrant sentiment
  • Andrzej Rygielski developed the idea as a productive protest against rising anti-immigrant activity in the U.K.
  • The protest is promoted as a positive demonstration in contrast to the planned workers’ strike next week.
  • More than 1,000 have pledged to donate blood on August 20, which the National Health Service says will begin helping to address the more than 200,000 donors who still need to be recruited this year.

“It seems that thousands of Poles and other people have joined the Polish blood campaign, not just in opposition to the strike but to show that Polish and migrant energy can be harnessed to achieve positive and extraordinary things – and that is what we should be aiming for. Not for division, not for hatred, not for inequality – but for inclusiveness, positivity and tolerance.”

Read the full story at the Independent.

(Image Credit: Getty Images, via The Independent)