Formerly the Equality and Diversity Forum, Equally Ours is a network of UK organisations committed to
equal opportunities,
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
, good community relations, respect for
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
and an end to
discrimination
Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...
based on age,
disability
Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...
, gender and
gender identity
Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...
, race, religion or belief, and
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
.
Members and observers include some
UK-wide organisations, some that operate across
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and some that operate in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
only. Although
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolled bill, enrolling, enactment of a bill, enacting, or promulgation, promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous Government, governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law i ...
on
equality and human rights is reserved, many areas of policy and legislation that have a significant effect on inequality, such as education and health, are devolved. Wherever possible, Equally Ours works and shares information with similar networks of equality and human rights
NGOs in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
History
The Forum was established by Sarah Spencer and Patrick Grattan in 2002 to promote dialogue and understanding across the separate equality ‘strands’, and to ensure that policy debate on proposals for discrimination legislation and a single equality body recognises the cross-cutting nature of equality issues.
In 2019 the Equality and Diversity Forum rebranded as Equally Ours. This was to unify its policy forum, research network and strategic communications programme under a single brand-name, and to create a public-facing brand for its long-term strategy stated as dealing with hate crime, "winning hearts and minds on human rights" and promoting equality and human rights after
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...
.
Structure
Equally Ours’ work benefits:
*''Members of the Forum'' – mainly charities working in different areas of equality and human rights
*''Observers of the Forum'' – organisations representing a wide range of interests who contribute to a better understanding of equality,
diversity and human rights
*''The wider public,'' including individuals experiencing discrimination directly and employees of organisations providing services and support to vulnerable and marginalised members of society
Objectives
*To promote equality and in particular the elimination of discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or any combination thereof;
*To promote Human Rights;
*To promote for the public benefit the efficiency and effectiveness of Voluntary Sector Providers working in the areas of age, disability, gender, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and Human Rights or any combination thereof;
*The advancement of conflict resolution or reconciliation between competing strands of equality and diversity.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Equally Ours Website
Political organisations based in the United Kingdom