Memorandum submitted by Young Equals
ABOUT YOUNG
EQUALS
1. Young Equals is a group of charities
and children who are campaigning to stop age discrimination.
2. The campaign group is coordinated by
the Children's Rights Alliance for England. Members of the steering
group include the British Youth Council, The Children's Society,
Families Need Fathers, National Children's Bureau, the National
Youth Agency, NCVYS, NSPCC, Save the Children UK, UK Youth, Youth
Access and YWCA England & Wales.
3. 11 MILLION, the Children's Commissioner
for England, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have
observer status.
SUMMARY
4. This evidence submission is relevant
to questions 25 and 26 in the letter of 2 June
2009 to the Solicitor General Vera Baird QC MP:
25. Why are children excluded from discrimination
on the grounds of age in the provision of services and the performance
of public functions?
26. Does the Government consider that
this may prevent children from enjoying full protection of the
rights set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child?
If not, why not?
5. Young Equals welcomes the Equality Bill
as an opportunity to tackle unfair treatment based on age and
calls on the Government to:
5.1 Remove the exclusion of under-18s from protection
from unlawful age discrimination by people who supply services
(including goods and facilities) or perform public functions
5.2 Remove the exclusion of schools and children's
homes from the age element of the public sector equality duty
5.3 Introduce a positive duty on public service
providers to make reasonable adjustments for babies and young
children travelling with parents and carers
AGE DISCRIMINATION
AGAINST CHILDREN
IS WIDESPREAD
6. In a Department for Children, Schools
and Families survey on discrimination, 43 per cent of under-18 year-olds
reported that they had been treated unfairly because of their
age. Three in 10 (29 per cent) of the under-11s felt
they had experienced age discrimination, and nearly two-thirds
of older teenagers (64 per cent) reported this. Unfair treatment
on the grounds of age was by far the single biggest example of
discrimination.1
7. Protection from discrimination is a fundamental
human right. Not a single human rights treaty includes a minimum
age requirement for protection from discrimination in the exercise
of rights. As recently as October 2008, the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child urged the UK Government to use the Equality
Bill to address negative age discrimination against children.2
8. The Young Equals report Making the
case3 highlights the systemic nature of age discrimination
against children4 in both public and private spheres, including
healthcare, child protection, access to justice, public leisure
facilities, shops and restaurants, and public transport. Please
refer to the report for further information: http://www.crae.org.uk/protecting/age-discrimination.html
CHILDREN SHOULD
BE PROTECTED
FROM UNLAWFUL
AGE DISCRIMINATION
9. Clause 26 of the Equality Bill excludes
under-18s from protection from age discrimination by people who
supply services (including goods and facilities) or perform public
functions.
10. Protecting children against unfair age
discrimination does not mean children have to be treated the same
as children of different ages or the same as adults and, in fact,
will often require that they are not treated the same.
11. Including children in the new age discrimination
protection would help prevent less favourable treatment occurring
in the first instance, by raising awareness of good practice and
creating a deterrent against unfair treatment. Where discrimination
did still occur, children would have a means of redress.
12. It is sometimes argued that protecting
children against age discrimination would make service providers
vulnerable to legal action and might discourage them from providing
valuable age-specific services. It is also argued that making
exceptions for age-specific services would be too cumbersome.
13. We believe such concerns can be overcome
by clear and robust legislation and guidance, and public awareness-raising
about the meaning of the new law. Existing anti-discrimination
legislation creates numerous exceptions in the context of the
provision of goods, facilities and services, including exceptions
permitting positive discrimination (or targeted services).5 Understanding
of these exceptions and ensuring they are properly applied is
promoted by clear and accessible guidance in codes of practice
and other non-statutory guidance. The position would be no different
in the context of age.
14. Different treatment would be allowed
where justifiable. This would include entrance to casinos and
pubs and cinema classification; age-appropriate health care screening
(such as hearing tests and vaccinations for infants); age-appropriate
child protection and safeguarding services; concessionary fares
on public transport; and differential pricing in access to leisure
facilities.
15. The Australian Age Discrimination Act
2004 outlaws age discrimination in a range of areas beyond
employment, including education, housing, goods, facilities and
services. Children are explicitly included in this protection.
The Act sets out general exemptions permitting positive discrimination
on the grounds of age where there is a particular need that is
justified and legitimate.6 Other parts of the Act set out
specific exemptions, for example, relating to youth wages.7
SCHOOLS AND
CHILDREN'S
HOMES SHOULD
BE INCLUDED
IN THE
AGE ELEMENT
OF THE
PUBLIC SECTOR
EQUALITY DUTY
16. Clause 143 of the Equality Bill
introduces a public sector equality duty to eliminate unlawful
discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good
relations. Schools (including any services they offer in addition
to education) and children's homes have been excluded from the
duty in relation to age for under-18s.
17. Whilst we welcome elements of the public
sector duty (including positive duties to improve participation
in public life, tackle prejudice and promote understanding in
relation to age), we are concerned that excluding children from
full age discrimination protection and excluding schools and children's
homes from the provisions on age will significantly weaken the
duty as a whole.
18. Schools and children's homes should
not be excluded from the age element of the public sector equality
duty. It is now widely accepted that inequalities are formed and
become entrenched in childhood. Schools and children's homes consequently
are uniquely placed to lead the public sector's drive towards
advancing equality of opportunity and fostering good relations
between people of all ages. Exempting these services from the
age element of the duty would send a strong negative message to
children about their status in society.
19. Schools in particular can contribute
greatly towards developing intergenerational projects that foster
greater tolerance, understanding and respect between old and young
people.8 Research carried out by CRAE found that children
believe that more needs to be done to develop respect between
generations. Children believed that tensions between generations
were in part caused by negative stereotypes about young people.9 Schools
would also benefit directly from improved relations between staff
and students.
20. The age element of the public sector
equality duty would have a direct impact on children living in
children's homes. Children in residential care can be moved, regardless
of whether it is in their best interests, for no other reason
than their age. This practice leads to gratuitous moves of children
in care and denial of opportunity for stability in their lives,
for living with their siblings whilst in care and for the chance
of a settled education. Good relations between staff and children
are also essential components in providing successful residential
care.
PUBLIC SERVICE
PROVIDERS SHOULD
MAKE REASONABLE
ADJUSTMENTS FOR
BABIES AND
YOUNG CHILDREN
TRAVELLING WITH
PARENTS AND
CARERS
21. There is currently a lack of safe and
comfortable seating for infants and young children and inadequate
space for prams on public transport. Adults travelling with young
children often experience problems getting on and off public transport
and feel that they and their child are frequently treated less
favourably than others. There are also difficulties with access
to, and use of, public buildings such as local authority leisure
centres and town halls, including a lack of family-friendly changing
facilities and toilets. (Please see Making the case for
further information).
22. The Equality Bill offers an excellent
opportunity to place a positive duty on public transport providers
to make reasonable adjustments to ensure the safety and comfort
of very young passengers. A similar duty should be placed on public
service providers to make reasonable adjustments to public buildings
in order to ensure access for families with babies and children
under the age of five. Protection against discrimination by association
should be included, for the benefit of parents and carers accompanying
children. We believe that these measures would gain widespread
public support and would be consistent with the Government's commitment
to family-friendly policies.
REFERENCES
1 Willow, C., Franklin, A. and Shaw, C. (2007)
Meeting the obligations of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child in England. Children and young people's messages to Government.
DCSF
2 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2008).
Concluding observations: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland (CRC/C/GBR/CO/4) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/AdvanceVersions/CRC.C.GBR.CO.4.pdf
3 CRAE (2009) Making the case: why children should
be protected from age discrimination and how it can be done. Proposals
for the Equality Bill. Young Equals http://www.crae.org.uk/assets/files/Making%20the%20Case.pdf
4 References to "children" relate to
children and young people under the age of 18.
5 For example, Race Relations Act 1976 Section
35.
6 Australian Age Discrimination Act 2004 Section
33.
7 Ibid. Section 39(2).
8 National Foundation for Educational Research
(2008). Intergenerational practice: a review of the literature.
Age Concern, accessed 10 March 2009,
www.ageconcernkingston.org/whatwedo_projects_intergenerational.htm
9 CRAE (2008). What do they know? Investigating
the human rights concerns of children and young people living
in England
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