36
ISSUES: Racial & Ethnic Discrimination
Chapter 2: Tackling racism
What to do about racist bullying
B
ritain is amulti-racial andmulti-
faith country and everyone has
the right to have their culture
and religion respected by others.
Nobody has the right to call your child
names or to treat them badly because
of their colour, race or religion. It's
illegal and it can be stopped. Racist
bullying is not just about the colour of
your skin, it can be about your ethnic
background or religion too. Racist
bullying is the only type of bullying
that schools must record.
What is racism?
Racism means you are subjected
to abuse and harassment because
of your race, colour or beliefs.
There is a difference between racial
discrimination and racism. Racial
discrimination means being treated
differently to someone else because of
your race, perhaps by being told you
cannot wear a turban if you are a Sikh,
a yarmulka if you are a Jewish boy or
hijaab if you are a Pakistani girl.
The complaints we've had include a
girl aged six being told by a classmate
that she cannot take the school mouse
home because he doesn't like people
with brown faces, to more serious
incidents involving teenage gangs and
weapons, one of which meant a boy
was too frightened to return to school.
These complaints have come from all
parts of the UK and are not confined to
any particular area.
These complaints have come from all
parts of the UK and are not confined to
any particular area.
What is racist bullying
In the 1999 MacPherson Report, racist
bullying was defined as “any incident
which is perceived to be racist by the
victim or any other person”. Find out
more about what anti-bullying policies
in schools should cover.
These incidents can include racist
abuse, physical threats or attacks,
wearing of provocative badges,
bringing racist comics or leaflets to
school, inciting others to behave in a
racist way, racist graffiti and refusing
to co-operate with others.
What schools have to do about
racist bullying
The Race Relations Act 1976 states that
schools and governing bodies have a
duty to ensure that students do not
face any form of racial discrimination,
including attacks and harassment.
Read more about anti-bullying policies
for schools.
Racism means you are subjected to
abuse and harassment because of
your race, colour or beliefs or ethnic
background. Bullying UK, part of
Family Lives, receives many complaints
about racist bullying. If you are being
bullied in this way you must tell your
parents and ask them to write to your
head teacher about it. Keep a diary of
who says and does what because that
will help the school to see where the
bullying is taking place.
Your parents need tomake a complaint
to the police if the school doesn’t act
to sort out racial bullying.
Making a complaint to the
police about racist bullying
You need to make a complaint to the
police if the school doesn’t sort out
racial bullying. Most police forces have
school liaison officers who should be
able to warn the bullies off. In serious
cases you could ask whether your local
force has a hate crime unit.
The police have been recording racial
incidents separately since 1988 and
figures have risen nearly every year
since then. This is partly due to an
increased willingness to become
involved but also because it is now
much easier to report racist incidents;
in some areas you can report them
online.
Schools need to know about tensions
in their local communities. This
information should be provided by
the local police. Disputes within the
community sometimes end up in
school. Schools must keep a record
book of the names of perpetrators
of racial problems and are expected
to work with the police and other
agencies including the youth service
and the wider community.
If you think your child has been
subjected to racial discrimination then
you can ask the Equality and Human
Rights Commission for advice on what
to do about it. People from every
background are covered by the Race
Relations Act, there has been a case
where an English couple complained
of their treatment when they moved to
Scotland. The Act applies to all schools
and colleges, whether or not they are
run by your local council or are private
schools. School governors and school
boards also have to be mindful of
the law which covers admission, how
they treat pupils and exclusion as well
as decisions on special educational
needs.
Racist bullying is an offence
If your child has been threatened or
attacked because of his/her race, then
you must contact the police. Parents
say that the police are generally very
helpful and this may be because they
are now much more aware of racist
issues themselves.
It is now a criminal offence under
the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to
racially harass or assault anyone and
the Public Order Act 1986 makes it an
offence to use threatening, abusive or
insulting language or behaviour to stir
up racial hatred. Racist leaflets are also
outlawed.
Since 2001, amendments to the
1976 Race Relations Act mean that
complaints of racial discrimination in
education can be brought straight
to the county courts (England, Wales
and Northern Ireland) or sheriff courts
(in Scotland) without having to be
referred first to the Secretary of State
for Education.
Ö
The above information is reprinted
with kind permission fromBullying
UK. Please visit
co.uk for further information.
© Bullying UK 2017
