Tonight the latest in the oeuvre of Ricky Gervais is aired on British television. Reaction to his latest work has to say the least been mixed.

Derek is about a care worker and celebrity autograph hunter called Derek. The protrayal of any character with a disability is never going to be easy – not least when it is designed to get laughs. Put that challenge into the hands of gervais and you might imagine that it becomes an uphill struggle.

Having not had the questionable privelige of a pre-screening I can only observe the comments of those who have. Intriguingly the Telegraph describes Derek as ‘about a simple soul working in a old people’s home’, and that it ‘is genuinely fond and amusing.’ The use of the word ‘simple’ is in itself potentially offensive!

Then the Metro says

‘ You might expect Gervais to run cynical riot in this setting but he’s in surprisingly sensitive form. It’s down to Karl Pilkington, Gervais’s long-suffering puppet in Sky1’s An Idiot Abroad, to nab the darkest lines as Derek’s best friend and landlord, Dougie.’

But then the Guardian is much more cautious, especially at the thought of a series being commissioned:

‘Gervais claims that in Derek he is satirising prejudice against the disabled. He said the same about Life’s Too Short, insisting that we laughed at Davis not because he was a dwarf but because he was “conniving, manipulative, pretentious” – and a dwarf… If Gervais were really concerned with the abuse the disabled suffer, there are many things he could do. Instead, he feeds bigots their lines.’

But the real evidence against Gervais’s satire is what he says when he is not being satirical, or speaking to journalists. Consider his infamous stand-up routine in 2010, where he talked about Susan Boyle. “Look at Susan Boyle,” he says, “if you can. I don’t think she’d be where she is today if she didn’t look like such a mong.”

I will watch the show with interest but perhaps more discomfort than anything.

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Sources: The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Metro.
What do you think – where is the line between humour and offence in disability?

Related reads:

The mong incident

A female version of Sir Alex or the taciturn Frenchman Arsene Wenger? The imagination is starting to run wild.

That is the prospect presented in a BBC documentary on sexism in football where former Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez says he believes there will be a female manager in the Premier League within the next decade.

Barnet manager Sanchez told the BBC: “Whatever is said at the top level, we’re in an entertainment business.

“Someone, somewhere will appoint a female manager,” he said in a programme to be broadcast on Wednesday.

West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady said: “[Sexism] is one of the hardest things to change in any organisation.”

“It is a man’s game, however in terms of what goes in and around the support of those players can it be more diverse and inclusive? Yes it can.”

As an equality organisation we look forward to the day when a woman is in the dugout of our national sport. We equally look forward to a real serious look at homophobia in football and this year especially to the issue of racism which has blighted teams like Liverpool an d Chelsea.

What do you think?

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Source: BBC Sport

‘Sexism in Football?’ is on BBC 1 on Wednesday, 4 April at 2245 BST

One of the major success stories of the oft criticised and much harangued Equality and Human Rights Commission has been its helpline. As a consultant working in the human rights and equality field I have often both myself used this service and referred individuals who we have trained and who have had particular issues to the service.

 It was therefore a matter of concern that the Government, in  a purely cost cutting measure, decided to put the contract for this service out to tender and to remove it from the impartial service of the Commission.

 It became a considerable issue of concern when I discovered through the Guardian newspaper the growing possibility that the controversial A4e agency are front runners in gaining that contract.

The Guardian reports that the Home Office is lining up A4e for another major government contract, despite the jobs agency being at the centre of a fraud inquiry, according to the investigative website Exaro.

 Ministers have made the firm – owned by David Cameron’s “family champion” Emma Harrison – the preferred bidder to take over the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) helpline to advise people of their rights in discrimination cases.

 A4e has been “preferred” for the contract over Sitel, which ran the disability helpline for the EHRC before it was taken in-house, and also over Citizens Advice and Vertex.

 The privatisation of the helpline was sought by the Home Office and the Government Equalities Office. It costs £2.1m a year to run, employs 85 staff in Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow, and handles 50,000 calls and 15,000 emails every year. Staff are trained to provide detailed advice on discrimination issues covering disability, gender, race and sexuality, and advise on mediation services.

 Despite government guarantees that existing staff can apply to keep their jobs, many will be laid off because they are disabled and will not be able to relocate easily from Cardiff and Glasgow.

Quoted in the Guardian , Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which opposes the privatisation, said: “Speculation about A4e’s involvement in plans to privatise the EHRC helpline have fuelled concerns about what is a totally unnecessary and damaging selloff.

 ”Instead of selling this vital lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, the government should be investing to ensure people get the help they need, particularly at a time when its wider spending cuts are threatening to make our society even more unequal.”

 Like many equality and diversity organisations Equal and Diverse has profound concerns about the tendering process and remain to be convinced that the service that will be offered will be as willing to challenge discrimination and support workers and the vulnerable as has been the case.
Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Source: The Guardian.

Well he is at it again – David Cameron is doing God – but then it is the week running up to Easter after all.

 The prime minister, who held an Easter reception in Downing Street, quoted from the Gospel of Luke as he spoke of “we”  Christians.

 ”This is the time when, as Christians, we remember the life, sacrifice and living legacy of Christ. The New Testament tells us so much about the character of Jesus; a man of incomparable compassion, generosity, grace, humility and love. These are the values that Jesus embraced, and I believe these are values people of any faith, or no faith, can also share in, and admire.

 ”It is values like these that make our country what it is – a place which is tolerant, generous and caring. A nation which has an established faith,  that together is most content when we are defined by what we are for, rather than defined by what we are against. In the book of Luke, we are told that Jesus said,; Do to others as you would have them do to you; – advice that when followed makes for a happier, and better society for everyone.”

He told the assembled guests that he welcomed a Christian “fightback”. He said: “I think there’s something of a fightback going on, and we should welcome that. The values of the Bible, the values of Christianity, are the values that we need.”

We have written before about Cameron and his divine statements . Co-incidentally the last time was at Christmas. Yet the use of faith to support politics, especially after having been harangued over the issue of equal marriage, is a debateable issue at best.

We re-print our earlier statements here.

It is always dangerous to walk in the footsteps of someone else’s faith so I shan’t, but some of Mr Cameron’s assumptions need addressing.

The first is his claim that we are a ‘Christian nation’. Ideas of Christendom have a dangerous list of antecedents including the Crusades to their name, so I assume that was not what he meant. Let’s listen to the homily:

“We are a Christian country and we should not be afraid to say so,” he said. “The Bible has helped to give Britain a set of values and morals which make Britain what it is today. Values and morals we should actively stand up and defend. The alternative of moral neutrality should not be an option. You can’t fight something with nothing. If we don’t stand for something, we can’t stand against anything.”

Historically there is no denying that the majority of British citizens claimed a religious allegiance to the Christian faith and evidenced that by their attendance at worship. But is it still the case? The most recent British Social Attitudes survey which we have written about on this blog shows that fewer and fewer of our fellow citizens, especially the young, describe themselves as Christian. It might be worth quoting the key figures here:

It might be worth noting some of the findings here:

• Half (50%) do not regard themselves as belonging to a particular religion,

• Nearly two thirds (64%) of those aged 18–24 do not belong to a religion,

• Only 28% of those aged 65 and above said they were not religious,

A nation shaped by the Christian narrative undoubtedly but a nation still in the mould of faith?

The second of Cameron’s assumptions is that the moral and value base of Christianity has shaped the nation. Again one cannot doubt the historical veracity of such a statement. But there is a dangerous assumption within it – i.e. that there is one theological interpretation of the Christian story which fits all. This theological naivety, what I call the Janet and John approach to faith, bedevils politicians not least Mrs. Thatcher who famously preached to the Church of Scotland that there was no such thing as ‘society’. There is not one interpretation of what the Christian faith means for modern practice and society but many narratives. There is not one moral compass by which to direct one’s existence but rather many within Christian theology and practice.

Cameron went on to add a remark apparently aimed at Dr Rowan Williams, who criticised the Government’s policies earlier this year, by saying that the Church has a right to comment on politics but “must keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country”.

Two things here – firstly, yes in our training  work at Equal and Diverse we continually have people saying the Church should keep out of politics – but this is to assume that belief, Christian or other, is only for the sanctuary and not society, is only for personal life and not the whole of one’s life. It’s like saying to an atheist you cannot be an atheist between the hours of 9 and 5 and we will ask you to do lots of things in your workplace antithetical to that atheism.

The second point is the assumption in Cameron’s analysis that the Church has to speak to the whole country – why? Surely if the Christian message is about anything it is an uncomfortable word for some of those who hear it? Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, (unlike the Thatcher Sermon on the Mound) spoke a harsh word to those who through their actions would seek to alienate the poor, homeless and hungry. That’s not a one size fits all Gospel but one which is critical of policies which oppress, marginalise and fail to treat the least with the best. It may be that in coming months Cameron will hear a Christian voice increasingly critical of political policies which diminish the least, not least the cancer shame of the Welfare Reform Bill.

So will the flirtation with faith last? I doubt it, because Mr Cameron will realise that faith is an uncomfortable ally when one is in politics. However ‘vague’ a Christian he might be – along with his sex life – he should keep to himself.

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Related reads:

Are we becoming less religious?

Should Christianity have a special status in modern Britain?

Tips on promoting religious equality.

A significant age discrimination and employment case has been heard and ruled upon at the Court of Appeal.

Michael Bailey (68), from Swan Road, Whittlesey, had his employment with R&R Plant Hire, of King’s Dyke, Whittlesey, terminated on January 20, 2009 – the day of his 65th birthday.

Mr Bailey was awarded £4,555 compensation last May after Judge Simon Richardson ruled that he was unfairly dismissed at an Employment Appeal Tribunal as Mr Bailey wished to continue working.

His former employers tried to overturn that verdict, but the Court of Appeal in London upheld the decision – and ordered the company to pay an additional £10,200 to Mr Bailey for legal costs built up defending the appeal.

The ruling could mean thousands of older workers across the country are able to stay in employment rather than being forced into retirement once they reach 65 years of age.

Christopher Brooks, policy adviser on employment and skills at Age UK, welcomed the Court of Appeal’s verdict.

Mr Brooks said: “Discrimination on the grounds of age is not only wrong it is also illegal.

“Age UK believes older workers should be allowed to choose when they retire, but in reality often face being shut out of the job market through age discrimination.

“As a result, employers must recognise the value of older workers and put in place measures to help people in later life keep and find jobs.

“For example, introducing flexible working is shown to benefit both parties by improving work-life balance for the employee and productivity for the employer.”

Equal and Diverse believe this is a positive step for age discrimination and encourages organisations to undertake adequate age discrimination training to ensure good practice and the retention of invaluable workers.

Source: Peterborough Evening News

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Related reads:

Government delays age legislation.

Age discrimination embedded in British society

Let’s welcome the end of the default retirement age.

It’s time to be positive about age.

Just over a week after Dame Tanni Grey Thompson wrote about and was then vilified for her comments about disability and public transport another case has hit the press. This time the first quadriplegic sailor to sail solo across the Atlantic has described his rage at being prevented from boarding an Isle of Wight train.

Geoff Holt said he was told by a guard his electric wheelchair was not allowed on board as it would damage the floor. Mr Holt, who was later allowed to board, claims the guard implied he was a liar, and cut his leg with a ramp.

The Stagecoach Group said an employee had been suspended and a senior manager had apologised to Mr Holt.

On his blog, Mr Holt, from Shedfield, Hampshire, wrote: “I can’t recall the last time that I was so angry and upset I was physically shaking, emotion choking my voice, a sense of genuine rage.

“That was until I took the train from Ryde Pier to Ryde Esplanade on Saturday 31st March.”

‘Red mist descending’

 Mr Holt, who completed his 2,700-mile (4,345km) journey in 2010, told how a guard, who identified himself only as “Guard 1003″ initially refused to let him board the 4:45pm train back to Ryde Esplanade.

In his blog, Mr Holt wrote: “Why? To quote Guard 1003, pointing at my wheelchair: ‘Those things aren’t allowed on these trains, they will damage the floors’.”

Mr Holt, goes on to describe a sickening incident of discrimination and bias. Dame Tanni is right – there are major problems of attiutude and bias against those with disabilities – and the Government’s assault upon the disabled has not helped address such negativity.

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Source: The BBC.

Another employment tribunal has heard claims from a Christian that his faith and belief were the object of discrimination against him

Dr David Drew, 64, told an employment tribunal that he was made to feel like a “religious maniac” after sending out the prayer by St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, to motivate his department.

He said he was subsequently disciplined and ordered to refrain from using religious references in professional communication. When he sought clarification from executives, he was told to accept the recommendation without questioning or to resign, he claimed.

The report into his behaviour even chastised him for sending a text message to a colleague, Rob Hodgkiss, reading “Have a peaceful Christmas”.

“While DD may regard such messages as benign RH perceived them as aggressive and unwelcome intrusions into his private time,” it said. Dr Drew claimed Mr Hodgkiss had simply replied, saying “likewise”. He said: “I believe this trivial example demonstrates that anything can become a matter of offence.”

The doctor said problems began when he voiced concerns about practices at Walsall Manor Hospital, Birmingham, in 2008. He said there were two occasions in which children had been sexually assaulted on the ward and one in which a child had died after a consultant let him go home. But he claimed that when he complained, he was promptly stripped of his role as clinical director.

A subsequent investigation was carried out into Dr Drew’s conduct after he complained about the behaviour of a “very rude nurse”, he said. And he was finally dismissed after he queried the order not to use religious language in professional communications “verbal or written”.

“The allegation that I have forced my religion onto other people, that I am some kind of religious maniac was made worse by the fact that they told me there was no need to understand what this is all about,” he told the Birmingham tribunal.

“If the trust wanted me to behave in a different way they should give me some explanation. Little did I know that this email would cause me so much difficulty and ultimately result in my dismissal.”

Dr Drew, a father of four who lives with his wife Janet, 61, in Sutton Coldfield, West Mids, said he was pushed to accept that he had behaved inappropriately and was even offered a “financial inducement” to go quietly.

He was first excluded in April 2009, after sending the prayer, and was eventually dismissed three days before Christmas in 2010. He lost an appeal last April.

Ian McKivett, Dr Drew’s representative from the British Medical Association, told the tribunal that his client had repeatedly asked the Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust for examples of alleged inappropriate religious references but that they could only point to the prayer.

He said: “There was a suggestion that he was being almost picky and pedantic by questioning the trust.”

Yet again another case where equality training might have helped all parties discover the appropriate place for religion and belief, both in practice and in performance management.

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Extract from www.telegraph.co.uk

The true extent of anti-disabled views has been expressed and vented at one of the most prominent disabled voices within British society.

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson says she has attracted a stream of anti-disability abuse after she spoke of having to crawl off a train in London.

The former Paralympian said she was often left without assistance at stations despite advance requests. A newspaper website reporting the story prompted a large number of offensive comments about the peer’s disability.

Lady Grey-Thompson, who was born with spina bifida, revealed she was recently left stranded at King’s Cross station in London at midnight after travelling from her home in north east England.

She said she had to shuffle onto the floor and push her wheelchair towards the door of the train.

But the Baroness told BBC Wales she was shocked by some of the abuse she attracted from people posting their views on a newspaper website which carried the story.

“A couple of hundred people said some fairly unpleasant things about me along the lines of ‘what gives her the right to speak, she should be at home, she shouldn’t be out at midnight, she should be better organised’, and what right did I think I had to travel on public transport.

“The most offensive ones were more generic, like maybe there should be a cattle truck at the back of the train for wheelchair users so they can all sit together.

Lady Grey-Thompson said she wasn’t worried as much for herself as for other disabled people who faced prejudice.

“I’ve got quite a thick skin but when you hear people talking like that in a very derogatory way about disabled people I find that quite worrying,” she said.

“There’s a lot of disabled people who wouldn’t be able to deal with it the way I’m able to deal with it.

Equal and Diverse has reported the daily hate that many thousands of people with disabilities have to endure. In our equality training we frequently come across instances where people will quite willingly and openly express views that disabled people are less than the rest of society.

There is an urgent need for some serious work, not least with the young, to address negative attitudes and discriminatory behaviour – all of which has not been helped by campaigns undertaken by the press and Government to present the disabled as feckless scroungers who deserve little and get too much.

Source: BBC Wales.

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Related reads:

Treating the disabled as a commodity.

I am spat on every day.

Despicable racism in Manchester

Another despicable racist attack has occurred in Britain. In this case an unnamed woman, 29, was walking with her baby in a pram when a man made a sexual and racist comment before throwing liquid at her back and, when she turned round, her chest.

The woman suffered burns to her chest and back and is in a stable condition, police said, adding that the baby was not injured in the attack.

‘This is an appalling attack on a lady who was walking with her very young baby,’ said Detective Constable Jim Harris from Salford CID.

‘Thankfully none of the corrosive liquid hit the baby or went on the victim’s face as the incident could have been a lot worse than it already is.’

Greater Manchester police (GMP) said the woman was pushing her pram in Broad Street, Pendleton, before being attacked as she walked into a subway leading to Salford Shopping Centre.

Releasing an e-fit of the suspect, police said the man was white, of stocky build, 5ft 10in to 6ft 2in tall, with very short, dark hair with a straight hair line and a bald patch at the back.

He has blue eyes, a dimple on his chin, a red mark like a burn on his bottom lip, peeling skin on his cheekbones and stubble.

He wore a long-sleeved dark grey jumper with a round neck, black tracksuit bottoms with a grey and white stripe down each leg and black Adidas trainers.

‘The offender needs to be caught and held responsible for his actions which have caused a nasty injury to the lady and much distress,’ DC Harris added.

Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/894236-e-fit-released-of-man-suspected-of-throwing-acid-at-woman-with-baby-in-racist-attack#ixzz1qIevGXAP
Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk
Source: The Metro

The number of people dying from liver disease in England is rising, according to the first ever national report on the statistics published today by the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network.

Deaths from liver disease: Implications for end of life care in England describes how there has been a 25% increase in liver disease deaths between 2001 (9,231 people) and 2009 (11,575 people). This is in contrast to other major causes of death, which have been declining.

More than 1 in 10 of deaths of people in their 40s are from liver disease. When measured as ‘years of life lost’, liver disease is therefore much more prominent.

The report highlights that 60% of deaths from liver disease occurred amongst men and 40% amongst women. The most common type of which is alcohol-related liver disease, which accounts for well over a third (37%) of all liver disease deaths.

Alcohol-related liver disease is also more common in the most deprived areas (44% of liver disease deaths) than the least deprived areas (28% of liver disease deaths).

Professor Martin Lombard, National Clinical Director for Liver Disease, urged people to consider the challenging and complex needs of those dying with this preventable disease.

Prof Lombard said:

“This report makes for stark reading about the needs of people dying with liver disease. Over 70% end up dying in hospital and this report is timely in helping us understand the challenges in managing end of life care for this group of people. The key drivers for increasing numbers of deaths from liver disease are all preventable, such as alcohol, obesity, hepatitis C and hepatitis B. We must focus our efforts and tackle this problem sooner rather than later.”

Is it time for England to develop a more robust strategy in dealing with alcohol misuse? Can lessons be learnt from Scotland and the minimum pricing debate?

Share with us your views.

Dr Donald Macaskill

www.equalanddiverse.co.uk

Related reads:

PM wants alcohol control.

Two day free of alcohol recommended

Will England adopt a minimum price for alcohol?