Promoting social inclusion
August is usually a quiet time, when politics packs up for the summer, businesses run on reduced staffing and children take time to recharge before the next academic year.
However, this August was markedly different as we witnessed disturbing scenes of violence across the country. Violence that was instigated in response to horrific murders, fuelled by racism, intolerance and disinformation, leaving whole sections of our community living in distress and fear.
It is clear there was an aspect of racism to the riots. I am deeply conscious of my own white privilege and cannot begin to understand the impact these riots have had on people’s self confidence or feelings of safety. As a Director of Public Health, I am deeply concerned that our communities are in crisis, and the impact this is having on our health and wellbeing.
Like so many organisations, many of our members will have been personally, as well as professionally, affected by this month’s horrifying events. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to say to anyone in our public health family – and beyond – who might be feeling a sense of alienation, anxiety and even fear, that everyone in our workforce is valued, important, heard and understood.
Prejudice and discrimination of any sort, in any section of our society, has very real consequences for health. There is a wealth of evidence to show that people subjected to racial or ethnic discrimination experience higher rates of physical and mental health conditions. Not only do people and communities who are subject to discrimination have less favourable health outcomes, but they are also disadvantaged when it comes to accessing good education, jobs, housing and other key determinants of our health. This leads to a vicious cycle of inequity which results in people living more of their, usually, shorter lives in poor health.
Tackling racism, discrimination and their outcomes is one of Marmot’s eight principles to reducing health inequalities, and the Faculty of Public Health’s Anti-racism Framework sets out some clear commitments to guide anti-racism strategies. How though do we make these a reality so that our communities become more cohesive and less discriminatory?
First and foremost, there needs to be the political will to solve this hugely complex problem that is based in tackling individual attitudes and institutional bias. History has shown that action on racism, while rightly demanded by the public, can only succeed with political backing. There is no shortage of political will in the UK on this issue. Leaders of every party condemned the recent violence and opposition to the riots has been overwhelming among voters of all political parties.
This political will must be harnessed and a clearly researched, long-term, evidence-based strategy is needed, not just a short-term initiative. This is a deeply ingrained issue that has been embedded into certain sections of our society over hundreds of years. It would therefore be naïve to think that success can be achieved within the lifetime of one parliament. As such, any strategy needs to be cross-party and focus on the root causes and will need to take a long-term view. Similarly, it will need to consider what can be done to tackle the causes at every stage of the life course to make real, long-lasting, cross-generational change.
Tackling these root causes will need investment. Time and time again we see money being made available to provide a quick-fix solution to a problem. I’m not saying we should ignore dealing with the immediate aftermath of the violence – of course that must be financed. At the same time though, we need to see long-term, consistent funding for creating the solid building blocks for a healthier, more tolerant society. That means improving equity of access to, and/or delivery of maternity care, early years provision, education, employment, housing, healthy food and drink, active travel, leisure activities, health and social care… It is a very long list.
We then need to monitor and measure any changes that are made to really test whether the strategy is working. Passing a law on something or introducing a policy is just the beginning of the process and, if it become apparent that it isn’t working, we need to change course.
Meanwhile, everyone needs to understand their role – and I do mean everyone. A successful strategy to tackle racism needs to represent and reflect the voices and opinions of those people facing the discrimination. It also needs to be properly resourced – again, this isn’t just a question of a series of people working on short-term projects. Instead, long-term positions are needed, providing consistency and oversight, where people can build knowledge and expertise, can analyse whether measures are working, and can be held to account so that if something goes wrong, it isn’t overlooked or worse, compounded, but is seen, understood and learnt from.
That said, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. There is an army of partners in the voluntary and community sector who have existing insight, knowledge and skill in tackling these difficult issues. We saw during the pandemic how important community organisations are in helping connect and build trust between policy makers and communities and we should build on these relationships.
As well as knowing what does work, we know what doesn’t. We can’t rely on policy and procedures for everything, and there is no place for tokenism. What’s needed is a balanced approach, that takes into account tackling institutional racism through fairer policies and practices, whilst also tackling cultural assumptions and behaviours and building trust across all sections of our society.
There is much to be done and it won’t be easy. However, as the country recovers from the recent violence, it is important we have these conversations and acknowledge people’s pain and fear, as well as take the time to consider the many causes.
Racism was clearly a motivating factor, but so too was anti-immigration sentiment and the consequent lack of social inclusion communities up and down the country have been experiencing for decades. So too of course was the ever-pervasive spread of misinformation by social media – a force for good in many ways, but as demonstrated so horribly here, one we must learn to navigate safely.
So now, ADPH, along with all our members, will play our part in the effort to support communities, and promote inclusiveness, fairness and equity – values which are fundamental to a society which allows everyone to live healthier lives for longer.
Meanwhile, we will continue to condemn violence and disorder in the strongest possible terms, and of course, we will also continue to remember the victims and families of those who died or were injured in the devastating attack in Southport on 29th July.