There is a feeling that there is no racism in Cornwall and the South West...
... because ’we don’t ’ave them sort ’ere - do we?’ In fact we do have allsorts here in Cornwall and the South West. Whilst the number of people from minority ethnic groups may be small there is a wide diversity of people here in Cornwall and the Region. What should be recognised is that a person from a visible ethnic minority is ten times as likely to face racial abuse and violence in Cornwall and Devon when compared with a similar person in London, Birmingham or Manchester. One big problem is the isolation that many ethnic minority people feel living here in Cornwall and Devon.
What should you do if you suffer from racism? Firstly, you should tell someone - don’t suffer in silence. All public bodies have a duty to combat racism, a legal duty that came into force on the 31st May 2002. If you are in a school or a college you should know about the school’s/college’s policy and how they will act if you bring the racist incident to their attention. If the incident takes place in the general community you should contact the police who have a special report form for all such incidents. The police Diversity Officer for your area should follow-up your complaint and discuss with you what action should be taken.
Secondly, you should know what to do if an incident were to take place. If you are not happy with how your complaint is dealt with there are complaints procedures you can use. If you are in a school then contact the Local Education Authority, if in a college use the complaints procedure. If you want help with this contact the local Council for Racial Equality, or support group, there details can be found on:
www.crec.org.uk/
If you are in employment your employer has a duty to protect you, if they don’t you can go directly to the police or to a solicitor. If you are a member of a union or professional association they should be able to help you.
Everybody must be clear that racism is unacceptable.
The Commission for Racial Equality also has a site, which you might find helpful:
www.cre.gov.uk
You can also contact:
Council for Racial Equality in Cornwall
PO BOX 89
TRURO
Cornwall
TR1 12D
Tel: 01637 852410
Written by a www.eefo.net user
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