Good Relations in Scotland Key findings from case study research Prepared for the Equality and Human Rights Commission November 2012 Contents (page) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 1. Introduction 10 1.1. Context 10 1.2. The Commission and the original brief 10 1.3. The approach to the research 12 1.4. Selecting and developing the case studies 13 2. A summary overview of the four case studies 15 2.1. Equality and Diversity in Secondary School Education (Respect 4 All) 15 2.2. Gypsy/Travellers in North East Scotland 16 2.3. Greater Glasgow & Clyde - Mental Health Anti-Stigma 18 2.4. The Scottish Prison Service 19 3. Learning from the four case studies 20 3.1. Some drivers for good relations work 20 3.2. Levels of understanding around good relations 23 3.3. Relationship to the equality and diversity agenda 25 3.4. Making it part of core organisational activity 26 3.5. Working in partnership with communities 28 3.6. Reflecting the wider world and organisational focus 30 3.7. Effective engagement 31 3.8. Achieving meaningful measurement of progress 32 4. Possible considerations for future good relations work 4.1. Widening the understanding, volume and reach of good relations 34 34 4.2. Recognising the potential for on-going sensitivity around good relations 35 4.3. Developing improved approaches to measurement 36 4.4. Identifying the gaps 37 1 Appendix: Good Relations Case Studies (page) Case Study 1 - Equality and Diversity in Secondary School 39 Education (Respect 4 All) Case Study 2 – Gypsy/Travellers in North East Scotland 56 Case Study 3 – Greater Glasgow & Clyde – Anti-Stigma 78 Partnership Case Study 4 – The Scottish Prison Service 92 Bibliography 111 2 Acknowledgements 3 We would like to thank all of the interviewees who have contributed to these case studies as well as those whose reports or papers have been referred to as background. 4 Executive Summary Within the Public Sector Equality Duty, public authorities must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to ‘foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not’. The Commission’s overall objective through this case study research is to provide support and practical examples of good practice to public authorities so that they can develop their expertise around good relations and be better placed to meet their obligations. Through the research, the Commission was particularly interested to find out what levels of awareness and expertise existed around good relations, what had prompted public authorities to undertake activity in this area and how outcomes had been identified and evaluated. The study was framed in the context of previous research conducted for the Commission in 2009/10 to define the concept of ‘good relations’. This produced four ‘domains’ of good relations: Attitudes (promote positive attitudes between or towards different people or groups) Personal security (improve individual’s sense of personal security) Interactions with others (support positive and diverse interactions between different individuals / groups) Participation and influence (encourage wide participation of different individuals and groups so that people can have their voices heard and can influence relevant decisions) From a ‘long-list’ of potential case studies, four were selected which provided a range of experience across different contexts and public authorities: 5 Respect 4 All – a local multi-agency approach to good relations in secondary education delivered using an expressive arts approach through two schools in Aberdeenshire The public sector response to a flashpoint in tensions between Gypsy/Travellers and the settled community in the North East in 2010 The work of the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Anti-Stigma Partnership in tackling the stigma of mental health, focusing on the path-finding Mosaics of Meaning project, which supported the largest settled ethnic minority communities in Scotland Aspects of good relations in the Scottish Prison Service: the strategic change in national objectives and illustrations of activities on the ground to fulfil the service-wide objective The full case studies are attached as Appendices to the report. Key Learning Taking the four case studies and other background reading into consideration, the over-arching report draws out a number of areas of learning: A number of drivers were identified for good relations activity, some proactive in seeking to improve relations but most reactive to specific issues. We also identified the concepts of ‘conflict’ and ‘contact’: the former being areas where competing rights collide, necessitating approaches to find new ways forward or arbitrate between opposing perspectives, and the latter referring to how increasing positive contact between different groups can enable new and more positive understandings to develop. 6 Levels of understanding around good relations vary widely. Often operational staff involved in good relations work feel they have to educate and encourage colleagues to see it as part of the wider function of the organisation. This indicates a need for more strategic leadership within public authorities around the legislative requirements. Linked to this, the relationship with the equality and diversity agenda is strong, but there are opportunities for good relations to be built into other areas, such as community regeneration and population health development. There was not much evidence of proactively setting out to create a different set of social relations within a population that is increasingly diverse. We found a few examples of organisations making good relations part of their core organisational activity. The case studies highlight the need for public authorities to consider the advantages that effective good relations work offer to whole populations, not simply to certain ‘minority’ groups. Working in partnership was a key element of much of the work we researched. We found that small budgets and local activities could mobilise community engagement and share responsibility for achieving objectives. Working with community and voluntary groups helped public authorities to benefit from a wider range of creative inputs, networks and know-how, all of which can add value to good relations work. It is clearly essential to be recognised as even-handed on issues and to improve relations. Some local good relations have significant political implications that can affect the ways they might be handled. 7 The case studies identified a variety of approaches that achieved effective engagement. Activity needs to have a ‘hook’ to make the topic interesting and relevant to its target audience. For example, storytelling and drama personalised and brought alive a subject which encouraged an emotional response. Volunteer-led peer networking and providing opportunities for personal interaction between groups with little contact to each other were also found to be effective. Measuring progress is challenging; most authorities had not set clear outcomes and were either not measuring progress or had retrospectively done some work to identify impact. It was generally understood, however, that it was important to show how activities related to the achievement of core organisational objectives. Considerations for future good relations work The report highlighted to the Commission and Study Steering Group some possible considerations for future good relations work: Widening the understanding, volume and reach of good relations - what can be done in the future so that good relations are: o Recognised as a core and inter-related requirement of the Equality Act o Seen as relevant to all public authorities o Reaching beyond the ‘equality and diversity’ agenda and embedded into all aspects of public sector activity o Pursued as a continuous process of engagement and not reactive to situations that arise o Built on effective and sustainable partnerships with groups having different characteristics and their advocates Recognising the potential for on-going sensitivity around good relations – the Commission might wish to consider: 8 o To what extent effective good relations work might require public authorities to challenge their own and others’ personal belief systems and how well-equipped they might be to undertake this. o The relative approaches that might be taken to shaping behaviours or to influencing the deeper-seated attitudes that might underpin those behaviours and the long term impact on good relations that each might bring. o How to more effectively engage public authorities in seeing this as part of the national performance framework so that the positive benefits can be more easily built into national and local political agendas and so reduce local political sensitivities. Developing improved approaches to measurement – recognising that, in the current policy environment, demonstrating impact is essential. The Commission may wish to give further consideration to the challenges of: o Supporting public authorities to articulate what they hope to achieve good relations activity before they then try to establish measures to assess effectiveness o How to effectively measure something that is often described as being about ‘what people feel’. Are local, national or defined population attitudes surveys perhaps relevant? o Raising awareness of the existing good relations measurement framework and making it more accessible for use within a public authority suite of indicators o Supporting public authorities to set outcome and progress measures that are relevant and appropriate to the activity being undertaken Identifying the Gaps - the Commission may wish to consider how they might support public authorities to : o Work more closely with Scottish Government to explore the interaction between National Outcomes and the public sector duty on good relations. 9 o Identify and support key opinion formers and positive advocates for protected characteristic groups or good relations more generally when those people might be outside the public authority structures. o Identify where within communities, or on particular issues, there are ‘tipping points’ into more positive (or negative) inter-group relations and how these can be more effectively accelerated or mitigated. o Explore ways that they can translate localised grassroots practices into robust procedures in a public authority environment when much work still relies on localised relationships and one to one interactions. 10 1. Introduction 1.1 The Context The Equality Act 2010 brought together new and existing equalities legislation to create a more coherent legislative framework covering nine protected characteristics. Section 149 of the Act introduces the General Public Sector Equality Duty which is intended to ensure the proactive advancement of equality. This Duty came into force in April 2011. Public authorities subject to it must, in the exercise of their functions, have “due regard” to the need to: Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. This third requirement to foster good relations is further specified in the Duty as requiring public authorities to have due regard, in particular, to the need to tackle prejudice and promote understanding between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Although these are three distinct elements, experience from previous and similar duties on race, disability and gender suggests that public authorities have found it easier to focus on the first (and sometimes the second) of these requirements – often to the exclusion of proactive work on the good relations element. 1.2 The Commission and the original brief In line with the legislation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) has a ‘good relations mandate’: 11 …to build mutual respect between groups based on understanding and valuing of diversity, and on shared respect for equality and human rights. As part of this mandate, they commissioned this research to help improve the implementation and impact of the new Public Sector Equality Duty in Scotland, with a specific focus on its good relations aspects. The Commission’s overall objective through this work is to provide support and practical examples of good practice to public authorities so that they can develop their own expertise around good relations and be better placed to meet the public sector equality duty. The brief was to use a case study approach to assess practices and activities undertaken by a number of public authorities from different areas as they seek to foster good relations. The case studies were expected to focus on identifying transferable examples of good practice with particular emphasis on how outcomes were defined and success measured. The case studies did not set out to evaluate the merits of particularly activity, simply to capture different examples of current practice and use these to develop some common themes and learning. The research project was required to deliver three specific outputs: A suite of four case studies illustrating different aspects of the topic across different public sector environments. An overarching report to provide the ‘context’ for the case studies and capture the learning and emerging implications. An oral presentation to the Commission’s good relations advisory group to stimulate discussion and future-thinking. 12 From this, the Commission was particularly interested to find out what levels of awareness and expertise existed around good relations, what had prompted public authorities to undertake activity in this area and how outcomes had been identified and evaluated. 1.3 The approach to the research From the outset, it was important to build from the research and analysis already undertaken by the Commission. Good relations are a concept that many find hard to pin down so it is important to maintain clear and consistent descriptions to help understanding. Research studies conducted for the Commission in 2009/10 led to the development of four ‘domains’ of good relations: Attitudes Personal security Interactions with others Participation and influence These domains provided a helpful framework using widely understandable terms. As we identified the most suitable examples to use as case studies and then followed up with research interviews, we were able to use these four areas of focus that had already been identified to ensure consistent language. As a result, the public authorities targeted were invited to talk about activities that they felt had: Promoted positive attitudes (between or towards different people or groups) Improved individual’s sense of personal security Supported positive and diverse interactions (between different individuals / groups) Encouraged wide participation of different individuals and groups so that people could have their voices heard and influence relevant decisions 13 Despite basing the research around the four ‘domains’ of good relations already identified by the Commission through other research, it quickly became clear that many public authorities do not ‘label’ their work as good relations, even though it might, to an outside observer, fulfil that function. We were aware from the outset that initiatives that might be undertaken as part of community development, youth engagement, health improvement, community safety and even social work (amongst other areas of public authority activity) could impact upon any or all of the four domains of good relations. 1.4 Selecting and developing the case studies Our recognition that work fulfilling the good relations objectives of tackling prejudice and promoting understanding between different groups might not be badged as good relations, raised a challenge for the way we approached the case study selection. At the outset, we had hoped to be able to establish a broad contextual map of good relations activity across three key public authority areas - police, health boards and local authorities - through an initial online survey. However, our early work suggested this might not deliver the expected responses. Instead, we focused on identifying and exploring known ‘contacts’ and following up on information leads. As such, our ‘long list’ of potential case studies was actually derived from desk research and documentary analysis in identified areas followed up by seven scoping discussions with identified contacts. This ‘long list’ was then assessed against a set of agreed weighted criteria to produce an agreed set of four case studies. Fieldwork for each case study consisted of an average of four telephone or face to face interviews and one group meeting. This was then combined with documentary analysis and further desk research to develop the individual studies and the shared learning from these. The research questionnaire and the subsequent case studies were developed around six key areas: 14 A description of the activity Identification of the need – Why do it? Consideration of the expected outcomes Measurement approaches Key achievements and successes Transferability Wider understanding of good relations as a result In all instances, participation in the case study research was voluntary, with the research being clearly positioned as a way to capture examples of emerging / good practice and wider learning around implementation of good relations activity, rather than as a process of critical evaluation. 15 2. A summary overview of the four case studies Short summaries of each of the case studies and some key findings relating to each are presented here. The case studies in full are appended to this report. 2.1 Respect 4 All Respect 4 All is a local multi-agency approach to good relations in secondary education delivered using an expressive arts approach through two schools in Aberdeenshire. The particular approach of the Respect 4 All project appealed to the participating schools as it provided pupils not only with the opportunity to learn from experts and meet ‘real people’ representing different protected characteristics, but also to express their feelings creatively. The case study demonstrates how secondary schools are able to undertake good relations work with pupils. Of central importance to the project is the ‘translation’ of learning into active and creative expression, thereby enabling emotional learning and maturing to develop at an individual level. At the organisational level, the initiative offers inspiration and learning for integration into the curriculum particularly by supporting the objectives of the Curriculum for Excellence agenda. Key findings: There is a continuous need for organisations and statutory bodies to gain experience and understanding of how to work around the protected characteristics 16 The project addresses good relations at an important time of young peoples’ lives and encourages openness and interest in good relations matters. Relevant observations from participating individuals included the belief that the project seemed to have influenced the positive development of attitudes, emotional growth and maturity as well as facilitating increased interaction with others leading to an increased feeling of personal security and confidence The Respect 4 All project represents an interdisciplinary learning tool that can support teachers, who may, at times, be less familiar with the specific topics relating to the various characteristics groups of the Equalities Act, to fulfil their schools’ duties in view of their legal obligations The importance of the external delivery of the Respect 4 All project was highlighted by all interviewees, so that pupils “get it” Particularly with good relations work, good organisation and project coordination are essential Formal measurement was difficult given the approach and timeframe. At times immediate impacts were assessed, but no longer-term measurement was undertaken. However, the interviewed stakeholders thought that the project had led to some level of reduction in pupil friction, although due to the short-term nature of the project, this was difficult to substantiate. 2.2 Gypsy / Travellers in North East Scotland This case study considers the public sector response to a flashpoint in tensions between Gypsy/Travellers and the settled community in the North East in 2010. Although there had been longstanding concerns, and indeed some steps taken by public authorities to address issues, the heightened tensions generated a momentum that has led to greater inter-community dialogue, and new approaches to fostering good relations. 17 While some fundamental challenges remain, particularly with respect to adequate site provision and prejudice, the case study highlights the progress that has been made in building bridges, improving attitudes and increasing participation and influence of the Gypsy/Traveller community. Key findings: Inter-agency working is most effective when there is: input and buy-in at strategic and policy making levels as well as at an operational level; sustained structures for regular meetings; and an outcome-focused action plan. Sustained partnership working has provided regular and structured opportunities for project development, consistency of approach and shared resources / learning. Clearly, where strategic buy-in has not been as strong, it is more difficult to achieve sustainable change at an operational level. Policy development and action needs to take a holistic approach, which considers the views and standpoints of all stakeholders. Good practice was found in Grampian Police, who had: o developed new procedures that were underpinned by their responsibility to foster good relations, in full consultation with stakeholders o conducted a comprehensive programme of training to disseminate the new procedures from senior level to front-line staff Formal forums are not necessarily best suited to on-going dialogue between communities. In this instance, a special dialogue meeting brought together a variety of stakeholders to talk openly, facilitated by conflict resolution experts. Ongoing dialogue is facilitated by outreach workers. Support services have used both dedicated Council workers and third sector support workers to build a relationship of trust, create connections to services and enable a two-way engagement with service providers. 18 Effective good relations must take account of all perspectives on an issue and be seen as ‘even-handed’ in its dealings with interested parties. Without this sense of ‘fairness’, attitudes can harden and positions can become more exaggerated and extreme. 2.3 Mental Health Anti-Stigma This case study reviews the work of the Greater Glasgow and Clyde AntiStigma Partnership in tackling the stigma of mental health. It focused on the path-finding Mosaics of Meaning project, which supported the largest settled ethnic minority communities in Scotland (Pakistani, Chinese, African and Caribbean) to address mental health stigma through a participatory research and action approach. Mosaics developed an intervention model which has since been successfully adopted to address mental health stigma in other groups. Key findings: Good relations start with listening. Grass roots engagement at the outset is essential to develop an understanding of concerns, issues and barriers and to begin the process of developing appropriate responses. Intervention models need to be developed by, not for, communities and success depends on achieving a sense among participants of being able to influence decisions. The value of innovative approaches to partnership. The power imbalances of traditional NHS commissioning models were reduced by small scale funding of community groups. While the public sector played an important role in facilitating the process, the development of activities was strongly embedded in a community-led approach, which keeps the initiatives more ‘real’ and personal, and therefore more effective. Personalising the issues has real value in drawing out the ‘human dimension’. Emotional (rather than purely ‘intellectual’) responses were drawn out through storytelling and arts. 19 2.4 The Scottish Prison Service This case study looks at two aspects of good relations in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). Firstly, it considers how the decision to make a strategic change in national objectives within the business plan both reflects and supports local understanding and implementation of good relations activity. The SPS business plan previously required prisons to ‘arrange at least two non UK based multi-cultural events’. This was changed to ‘arrange at least two establishment events or other activities to foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and others who do not share it’. Secondly, it illustrates some of the types of actual activity being undertaken at an operational level in individual prisons to fulfil this service-wide objective. Some of the key findings from this study include: Good relations are seen as very much part of the equality and diversity agenda and not always recognised by staff outwith this specialism as being just as much about the effective and smooth operational running of a prison environment The opportunity to develop a wider understanding of good relations. Much of the work in prisons is currently focused on race and some is a variant on previous targets around ‘multi-cultural events’ Particularly within a confined prison context, identities and inter-group relationships are multi-layered and can change under different stimulus Evidence (e.g. on prisoner identity, effectiveness of activity, the nature of the good relations opportunities and challenges) is key to making the case and assessing progress but access to this and measurement of it remains difficult 20 Partnerships with external and/or voluntary sector agencies are considered very important in raising and addressing issues. This is because both prisoners and prison staff may not have had previous experience of, or exposure to, some of the issues affecting different groups Different environments (such as prisons) can have distinct cultural norms which create good relations challenges beyond those experienced elsewhere. This illustrates the point that good relations issues and solutions can be heavily dependent on individual and local situations. Even within different prisons, the challenges and opportunities were not identical, nor were the ways that these were addressed. 3. Learning from the four case studies 3.1 Some drivers for good relations work The activities that have been captured through the case studies have arisen in the context of a range of drivers. Some were proactive initiatives to improve service delivery, and some were reactive to specific events. These drivers included: An understanding that existing mainstream activities (mental health anti-stigma initiatives) had not taken sufficient recognition of all sections of society and needed to be adapted to meet identified specific needs In the case of the Respect 4 All project, the key drivers were the external impetus from funding and commitment from specialist equalities organisations (Multi-ethnic Aberdeen Ltd (MeAL)) 21 A need to address and react to existing problems (for example, bullying in schools, Gypsy/Traveller and settled community conflict, police records of harassment cases). From that need comes an interest from within the organisation to find long-term, workable solutions Policy/legislative requirements. Good relations activities can be driven by a sense of legislative compliance rather than through a broader understanding that it is a normal part of the organisation meeting its own goals and properly serving its service users and stakeholders. This may be because public authorities find it hard to ‘translate’ the legislative language of the Duty and equalities organisations into the language they use to describe their organisational objectives A sense that populations being served (for example, prisons) were becoming more obviously diverse and therefore different activity needed to be undertaken to reflect this increase Most of these case studies were driven by the need to respond to a specific problem. As the case of the Gypsy/Travellers highlighted, concerted action was taken in 2010 to respond to ‘bad relations’ between sections of the community. However, since that high point of tension has diminished, it has been more difficult to get traction to achieve policy making that could be seen as driven by a positive vision of new possibilities. Breaking through to a more proactive engagement with the good relations agenda relies on more strategic, high level input from within public authorities. This longer-term strategic vision can be harder to achieve when there is not the compelling pressure of a problem to fix and when public authorities are faced with a range of competing priorities and budget constraints. 22 The question that arises from this is whether good relations will just be seen as an approach to reactively addressing tensions or conflict between groups, rather than a more positive tool for developing positive communities. However, the example of the Mosaics of Meaning project illustrates a more proactive approach in fostering good relations. The project developed innovative approaches to tackle mental health in ethnic minority populations and to take a starting point from the gathering of a deeper level of understanding of beliefs about mental health at the grassroots level. The action research highlighted the plurality of beliefs and cultural influences within different ethnic minority groups, therefore the responses to the issues need to be developed in partnership with local communities. These last two examples illustrate how both concepts of ‘conflict’ and concepts of ‘contact’ can drive the changing state of relations between different groups: On one side the idea of ‘conflict’ can suggest that there are some areas of society where competing rights simply collide - creating points of tension and poor relations. Such ‘conflicts’ may be inevitable and unavoidable and may occur where there is frequent contact between groups. Good relations approaches can help find new ways forward and/or arbitrate fairly between opposing perspectives. On the other side an absence of positive relations between groups might be down to a lack of meaningful ‘contact’. In these instances increasing positive contact between different groups can allow new and positive understandings to develop. The concepts of ‘conflict’ and ‘contact’ are of course not mutually exclusive but do highlight the complexities of human interactions on both an individual and (particularly) group basis. 23 3.2 Levels of understanding around good relations As was highlighted at the outset of this research, there are still significant differences in the levels of understanding and confidence that public authorities have around the concept of good relations. This may partly be down to the issues of language discussed earlier and may also be linked to the levels of awareness and / or expertise that public authorities have when interacting with different groups in society, particularly if faced with social tension or exclusion. Even within the case studies, this ranges from those who feel this type of activity is (and always has been) a natural and intrinsic part of their service delivery and practice to those who see it as more of an external ‘compliance issue’ required by equalities legislation. Some common learning follows: While staff who are directly involved in delivering good relations work are passionate and can see direct benefit from it, they commonly express a sense that they still have to educate and encourage other colleagues to engage, and to see it as part of a wider function of the organisation, i.e. the awareness that fostering good relations is actually a legislative requirement of public authorities. o In these cases, there will clearly be a need to educate both leaders and operational staff within public authorities more fully as to the implications of this duty for their wider policy-making and operational activities. Levels of understanding and knowledge of people with ‘protected characteristics’ seems to be very low in some cases, which can represent a barrier to taking proactive initiative. For example, in the ‘Respect 4 All’ project, awareness of transgender characteristics among stakeholders was extremely low – the knowledge of how to address this topic only entered the school domain as a result of external input. In the Gypsy/Traveller case, some elected representatives benefited from information about the legal status of Gypsy/Travellers and their obligations to observe existing law. 24 The implementation of good relations is helped by the strong national community engagement agendai – which, by virtue of its focus on community cohesion and safety, in effect incorporates the four domains of good relations. Community engagement is a strong driver in the area of community cohesion (which is generally accepted to include attitudes, security, interactions with others and participation/influence). Much of the activity we researched came more from a community engagement perspective than a distinct ‘fostering good relations’ focus. The parallels and common ground with other community focused strategies should be recognised in seeking to promote the ‘good relations’ obligations and opportunities. Points of Reflection While there is a broad (sometimes inherent) understanding of the four domains of good relations, there was no evidence that activities had been driven by the Commission’s domains of good relations and its associated measurement framework. This suggests that more work could still be done to make both the existing legislation and its practical meaning clearer in its relevance to the day to day activity of a public authority. There is still a strong sense that good relations are mainly being addressed when the visibility of diversity amongst the users or stakeholders of the public services increases. If the diversity is not visible or the population is perceived to be homogeneous, good relations is seen to be less pressing. There is only limited understanding that good relations should be implemented as an on-going process of community engagement and development as opposed to a single defined product that can be delivered as ‘an initiative’. 25 3.3 Relationship to the equality and diversity agenda From the case studies, many participants saw good relations as very much part of the ‘equality and diversity agenda’, with the compliance driver coming from the public sector Duty at section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. Leading on from this, the following general points emerged from the case studies: Good relations work often still seems to sit with the ‘equalities’ agenda and those who have specific roles relating to that. Although there are clear opportunities for good relations to be built into other areas of work, it is rarely seen as part of more mainstream activities such as employability initiatives, population health development, youth support services or community regeneration. There were examples from the case studies where public authorities saw good relations as being mainly about advocacy and/or direct representation of different perspectives and experiences. This is a useful starting point in increasing positive contact between groups where there has been limited interaction, but does not necessarily work in situations of more entrenched conflict. It also can still feel as though it is ‘fixing problems’ by bringing in excluded ‘minorities’ rather than more proactively setting out to create a different set of social relations within a population that is increasingly diverse. A key purpose within many case studies was to raise awareness and understanding in respect of a particular protected characteristic. This was often cited as being critical where populations had little contact and people came from traditional and ‘non-diverse’ backgrounds. However, while awareness is without doubt an important first step to improved inter-group relations, it is only a very basic starting point, particularly if no follow-up or ongoing activity is being pursued. 26 Points of Reflection Despite its relationship to the 2010 Act, less work has been done on good relations in respect of newer protected characteristics than had carried over from the earlier good relations requirements of the former Race Relations Amendment Act and the Disability Equality Duty. It should be noted that perceptions expressed around the ‘equality and diversity agenda’ were also sometimes narrow and often more about eliminating discrimination than genuinely promoting a more equal and inclusive environment. While focusing on the parts of the Equality Act around eliminating unlawful discrimination or advancing equality of opportunity, some public authorities seem less aware of the impact their actions may have on good relations. External perceptions of ‘special or more favourable treatment’ can inadvertently hinder progress on good relations. For example, there was a perception among some of the settled community, fuelled by media coverage, that Gypsy/Travellers were above the law or ‘getting away with it’. This emerged from several of the case studies where it was clear that public authorities were more successful when they recognised the complexity of the ‘big picture’ and properly considered the links between the different parts of the general duty as well as simply its good relations dimension. 3.4 Making it part of core organisational activity Where we saw most sustainable and effective good relations activity through the case studies, it was increasingly embedded in what the organisation did as a norm rather than being part of a special initiative (e.g. Grampian Police Procedures on Unauthorised Encampments). Particularly in a time of financial constraint in the public sector, the following will be increasingly relevant to effective development of good relations work: 27 Good relations is clearly directly related to a public authority’s positioning and purpose and the way that it might contribute to the attainment of several of the National Outcomes including; o to ‘achieve a strong, fair and inclusive national identity’ o to ‘have strong, resilient and supportive communities where people take responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others o to ‘take pride in a strong, fair and inclusive national identity’ o to ‘live our lives safe from crime, disorder or danger’ Government and other Public Authorities need to be able to see that tangible benefits can come from effective good relations work when it is tied into existing priorities and agendas rather than creating additionality. Good relations work should be seen as part of the mainstream business of Public Authorities, making it more likely that sustainable action and improvements will occur. As discussed earlier there may be issues of language and understanding around the concept of good relations as opposed to other more social or community development initiatives that are preventing this happening The most sustainable and effective interventions are likely to be easily aligned internally with the public body’s own organisational imperatives and the national framework within which it operates Points of Reflection Increasingly public authorities should consider how the delivery of their normal day to day business might be done in a way that: o builds positive attitudes and tackles prejudice between groups o recognises everyone’s desire to feel personally secure o encourages meaningful contact between people who may have had little interaction 28 o enables inclusive and properly informed policy and decisionmaking where those affected by decisions are able to have their views considered The current climate of financial austerity adds greater weight to the case for good relations being an integral part of what public authorities do, and not simply an ‘add-on’ that risks getting lost when resources are tight. Our case studies highlight the need for public authorities to consider the advantages that effective good relations work offers to whole populations and not simply to certain ‘minority’ groups, along with the social costs (both financial and human) of getting it wrong. 3.5 Working in partnership with communities While the Public Sector Equality Duty requires individual public authorities to foster good relations, the implementation of this requires the involvement and cooperation of a wide range of stakeholders. All of the case studies showed clear examples of partnership working in the delivery of their good relations activities. This combined work directly with affected communities, with voluntary sector intermediary organisations or with other public authorities that had a shared interest in the agenda. Our findings showed that: There was a real sense that a key value of good relations work lies in the fact that it enables direct contact between diverse groups that would be unlikely to happen otherwise. 29 A lack of ‘connectedness’ or absence of ‘psycho-social proximity’ appeared to be a factor that sustained negative attitudes between certain groups in some places. This was suggested in respect of circumstances where the groups concerned were physically very separate from each other as well as in relation to groups that had physical proximity but few opportunities for meaningful contact. There were fewer examples from the case studies of the relationship between ‘contact’ and ‘conflict’. The Gypsy/Traveller example illustrated how it was the very points of ‘contact’ (i.e. unauthorised encampments) that was causing high levels of ‘conflict’ and tension between settled and travelling populations. Increased contact was clearly not going to make this any better. All agreed that genuine engagement and power transfer between those involved is important. However, if initiatives to engage and share power are perceived to be tokenistic or patronising, they can do more harm than good and can further set back relations through mistrust or a sense of betrayal. Using small budgets and local activities to mobilise community engagement can ensure grass roots momentum and can deliver more from small levels of investment than could be achieved through the standard public commissioning models. This was clearly demonstrated in the Mosaics case study, where the NHS developed a model that empowered community groups to share responsibility and contribute in-kind costs. Working in partnership also opens up opportunities for external providers to contribute ideas, expertise and know-how in subject knowledge relating to protected characteristics, and in engagement techniques. All four case studies show that this can lead to added value, increased creativity and innovation in addressing the task of fostering good relations. 30 Points of Reflection Partnership working can also bring greater long-term effects as other organisations continue to pursue activities and maintain networks. Public authority partners need to be clear on what is driving their involvement and ensure alignment of objectives and approaches if joint good relations activities are to be successful. 3.6 Reflecting the wider world and organisational focus It was clear from all of the case studies that good relations work does not exist in a vacuum and also goes well beyond what people perceive to be the remit of equality and diversity. The case studies suggested that: Where there are known problems around good relations, public authorities need the confidence, skills and willingness to address direct prejudice early. Some work is perceived to have been on-going with little positive impact for many years with a sense that there has been unwillingness to address the root issue directly. Often where there are perceived to be good relations ‘problems’, there are very evident political sensitivities around either at a national or local level. Examples given included the issues of homophobia/transphobia vs. positive LGBT messages in schools, and identifying long term land for use by Gypsy/Travellers as opposed to developing new policies on unauthorised encampments. Again, if activity is to be meaningful, these political dimensions must be recognised and addressed, otherwise interventions risk being ineffective or seen as pursuing a particular agenda. 31 Good, well thought through and well-targeted communication messages are key. Many participants recognised that there were very different levels of confidence and competence in developing and delivering such messages. There is still a real fear of ‘getting it wrong’ or ‘saying the wrong thing’ and finding yourself exposed in the media on some issues of high sensitivity and public scrutiny. Points of Reflection It is clearly essential to be recognised as even-handed on issues so that improved relations between groups are built up for mutual benefit without a sense of imposition or loss in any direction. Some local good relations issues can have significant national political implications that can affect the ways they might be handled and the confidence of those working on them. 3.7 Effective engagement The case studies highlighted a variety of approaches in reaching out to target groups and engaging communities to take an interest in good relations. Here, we observed that, unless an initiative is issue driven (i.e. based on identified occurrences of conflict or tension), activity needs to have a ‘hook’ (resonate and be relevant) to make the topic interesting and relevant to its target audience (in the context of this identified need for greater awareness and understanding mentioned earlier). We identified some effective engagement techniques: Creative inputs such as drama, art, film and storytelling personalise and bring alive a subject to internalise the meaning of good relations, and stimulate emotional response. For example, with the Mosaics project, arts events were shown to engage people emotionally as well 32 as intellectually, influencing beliefs and attitudes and creating a greater willingness to seek help and engage people with mental health problems. The use of volunteers who are known to peers to encourage participation in opinion forming and decision-making (Gypsy/Travellers). Encouraging personal interaction between people with protected characteristics and other people, for example, through the Gypsy Traveller Dialogue Day and in Respect 4 All talks/presentations to school students. This can break down barriers and improve understanding at a personal level. 3.8 Achieving meaningful measurement of progress The case studies broadly reflected a common view that people find it easier to describe poor relations between groups or individuals than they do to set positive outcome measures and indicators of achievement for good relations. Case study participants felt strongly that qualitative measures are as valuable as quantitative ones in assessing progress towards good relations, but even these are difficult to develop in a consistent and methodical way. There was often a sense that good relations work was undertaken in an attempt to ‘fix’ known problems than as a proactive way to promote a more inclusive and harmonious environment. For some, the ‘threat’ of further deterioration in inter-group relations had been needed to galvanise action, and for others there was a sense that this was just about creating the type of society we can all live in. All participants highlighted the meaningful measurement of good relations outcomes as a real challenge. They suggested it either made it difficult to justify activity in a ‘world of evidence-based policy’ or conversely risked stifling the essence of what was being achieved through inappropriate or clumsy measures. We found: 33 Little work was done by any of the case study participants in setting clear good relations outcomes as a precursor to developing their practical activity. It was far more likely that activity would emerge and often be well underway when attempts to measure impact were made rather than such measurement being planned in from the outset Where outcomes had been identified, participants recognised that it was important to show how they related to the organisation’s core purpose (and as a consequence the existing national performance framework) so that they were not just seen as a ‘bolt-on’ There are issues of critical mass around work that has been small scale and one-off (e.g. Respect 4 All). There was some recognition from participants that for group attitudes to shift long term, one-off interventions are unlikely to deliver sustainable impact At the same time, participants acknowledged that neither communities nor public authorities necessarily have the resources to ‘scale-up’. For some this had then prompted internal reflection on whether their existing approaches (largely add-ons to the day-to-day work of the organisation) were appropriate or whether they needed to make it more a part of how they operated generally. One public authority participant has actually reframed its national targets to reflect this learning (Prisons) and another has re-worked its whole approach to a relevant area of policy (Grampian Police regarding its approach to unauthorised encampments) Points for Reflection There is a clear opportunity to further demonstrate the relationship between the good relations element of the public sector duty and a number of the Scottish Government’s National Outcomes as listed earlier. This would allow national indicators to be considered which could help ensure that public policy development and spending decisions taken within the context of the National Outcomes framework increasingly embed good relations considerations. 34 4. Possible considerations for future good relations work Direct learning and observations from the four case studies have already been covered earlier in this report. For an interim presentation of these research findings, the Commission’s advisory group on good relations requested that the researchers shared their personal views on the wider implications of the work they had undertaken and possible drivers for future activity. The following section covers a range of these broader insights, along with some questions that have arisen for the consultants in undertaking the totality of this activity. We recognise that some of these come from an understanding of the topic that goes beyond the source material and offer them here for the consideration of the Commission and its Good Relations Advisory group as they further develop their thinking in this area. 4.1 Widening the understanding, volume and reach of good relations We have already recognised from the case studies that the term ‘good relations’ is not necessarily used by practitioners to describe the activity that they are undertaking. There is clearly not yet a shared use of language or terminology around this issue. From the outset of this work, even widening our scope to consider activities that were not ‘badged’ as good relations, we found it hard to identify a wide range of concrete examples of public authority activity in this arena. Our subsequent desk research and telephone interviews did not lead us to a wealth of other examples, and issues of resource and sustainability were sometimes mentioned as reasons for work stopping or not being developed. A number of questions arise from this when considering what future work might be done to further develop the public sector’s understanding of good relations. Questions pertain to what can be done in the future so that: 35 There is wider recognition of the integral relationship and interdependencies between the three core requirements of the Equality Act (namely - eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, foster good relations) Good relations work is seen as more relevant to all public authorities Good relations reaches more consistently beyond the ‘equality and diversity’ agenda and is seen as part of all aspects of the public sector’s core activity Good relations is more widely understood to be about a continuous process of engagement and proactive change and not about initiatives or reactive solutions Public authorities build effective and sustainable partnerships with groups having different characteristics and with advocates for particular characteristics. Ideally such relationships should build awareness and trust as well as transfer learning. In the longer term this should mean the development of a wider confidence to discuss different issues of identity and relationship and not an over reliance on individuals reflecting those protected characteristics who have to act as advocates Good relations activity is increasingly seen as a proactive opportunity to build positive and evolving social relationships, as well as a way of specifically addressing identified tensions 4.2 Recognising the potential for on-going sensitivity around good relations The case studies reflected a mixture of reactive and proactive approaches to good relations work amongst different population groups. Going beyond those individual examples, it is self-evident that inter-group relations on the broad scale are also about individual interactions. In approaching this work, there were some suggestions that good relations might be seen by some public authorities as more personal than other 36 aspects of their work in which the challenges are more easily described as structural. In moving forward the Commission might wish to consider: To what extent effective good relations work might require public authorities to challenge their own and others’ personal belief systems and how confident and well-equipped they might be to undertake this The relative approaches that might be taken in shaping behaviours, or to influencing the deeper-seated attitudes that might underpin those behaviours and the long term impact on good relations that each might bring How to more effectively engage public authorities in seeing this as part of the national performance framework so that the positive benefits can be more easily built into national and local political agendas and so reduce local political sensitivities 4.3 Developing improved approaches to measurement How good relations is measured has been a recurrent theme throughout this work, from the emphasis on evidencing measurement structures in the Commission’s original brief, to the frustrations and aspirations expressed by case study participants around how they do or might currently measure their own progress. Our observation is that, in an evidence-based policy arena at a time of diminishing financial resource, meaningful measurement of impact is essential. We are also, however, aware that real change on many of these issues is hard to measure, particularly over the short term. While the Commission has developed an extensive measurement framework for good relations, we did not see this informing the limited areas of activity that we considered through this study. The Commission may wish to give further consideration to the very obvious challenges of: 37 Supporting public authorities to articulate what they hope to achieve through good relations activity before they then try and establish measures to assess effectiveness How to effectively measure something that is often described as being about what people feel. Are local, national or defined population attitudes surveys perhaps relevant? Raising awareness of the existing good relations measurement framework and making it more accessible for use within a public authority suite of indicators Supporting public authorities to set outcome and progress measures that are relevant and appropriate to the activity being undertaken. This might include: o Better valuing qualitative outcomes when there is a perception from some in public authorities that they operate in a ‘numbers culture’ o How to ensure rigour and consistency of qualitative measures o How to align their good relations outcomes and measures more effectively within their overall organisational purpose and operational plan 4.4 Identifying the gaps As highlighted earlier, for a variety of reasons (some of which may be linked to methodology), this project uncovered fewer examples of existing practice in this area in Scottish public authorities than might have been expected, given they are subject to a legal duty to proactively foster good relations. Some notable examples of activity encountered in the desk research phase were in fact driven through the third sector, and in moving forwards the Commission may wish to consider how they might work with public authorities: To work more closely with Scottish Government to explore: 38 o The interaction between the National Outcomes and the public sector duty on good relations o Areas such as community safety where there is a natural relationship with good relations To identify and support key opinion formers and positive advocates for protected characteristic groups or good relations more generally, when those people might be outwith the formal public authority structures To identify where within communities or on particular issues there are ‘tipping points’ into more positive (or negative) inter-group relations and how these can be more effectively accelerated or mitigated To explore ways that they can translate positive but localised grassroots practices into robust procedures in a public authority environment, when much work still relies on often quite localised relationships and one-to-one interactions 39 Appendix: Good Relations Case Studies Case Study 1: Equality and Diversity in Secondary School Education (Respect 4 All) 40 Acknowledgements In preparing this case study, we would like to thank David Atherton from Aberdeenshire County Council, Marc Evans from Peterhead Academy and Gareth Oldham from Mintlaw Academy for their time and contributions to this study. Further, I am grateful to James Morton from the Scottish Transgender Alliance for signposting us to the Respect 4 All project. 41 1. Introduction to good relations activity in secondary school education 1.1 Context Secondary school education has addressed equality and diversity issues for many years in the context of providing equality of access, tackling disadvantage and underachievement, and promoting equality of opportunity. Personal and Social Education, Moral and Religious Studies, Sex and Sexual Health Education, and Health and Wellbeing are prominent subjects which are usually well integrated into the school curriculum. In addition, schools are continuously working on the development of relationships with their local community to address local issues and develop a welcoming approach to, and good understanding of, diversity in our society. However, over and above the requirement of eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity, the Equalities Act 2010 requires public sector bodies such as secondary schools to be pro-active in fostering good relations between people who share a protective characteristic and those who do not. This legal requirement goes beyond the tackling of discrimination and accessibility issues. In addition, the Equalities Act has increased the number of ‘protected characteristics’ groups to cover age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and/or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. It is thought that many schools still struggle to conceptualise the requirement of fostering good relations comprehensively, and that it is still seen as a challenge to address the whole range of ‘protected characteristics’ groups. This indicates that schools might fall short at times in implementing the Equalities Act in its entirety. 42 The following initiative provides an example of how secondary schools are able to foster good relations and fulfil the requirements of the Equalities Act 2010 effectively. The example should also be useful to understand the effect of these activities on the four domains which are integral to good relations work, including attitudes, personal security, interaction with others, and participation and influence. Over and above, the case study shows how the endeavours of fostering good relations meets most effectively with the criteria for implementing a wide range of objectives outlined in the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) agenda. 1.2 The Respect 4 All project Funded by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Scottish Government and the Robertson Trust, Multi-ethnic Aberdeen Limited (MeAL) – a voluntary sector organisation promoting cultural diversity and tolerance – was commissioned to address hate crime issues in Aberdeenshire in such a way that the protected characteristics of the equality legislation were tackled effectively. Based on the fact that many crimes in Scotland are perpetrated by young people, the Respect 4 All project was designed to work with schools so that equality and good relations issues were addressed early on. A preventative and pro-active approach was chosen to achieve a positive and lasting impact on future behaviour and attitudes of the young people involved. The project was also geared to support young people of differing ‘protected characteristics’ in interacting with each other by improving their understanding of, and sensitivities towards each others’ concerns. The Respect 4 All project was delivered by Multi-ethnic Aberdeen Ltd (lead agency), in partnership with a number of organisations. The partnership included an appropriate range of organisations demonstrating an integrated approach to tackling the issues. 43 The following organisations included Ideas in Partnership Ltd, Millennium Child Entertainment, Grampian Police, Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeenshire Disability Action Ltd, Tenants First Housing Cooperative, Grampian Housing Association and the Terrence Higgins Trust. This Aberdeenshire pilot project was undertaken in 2009, lasting around seven weeks and involving eighty S2 pupils (four second year classes) at the Mintlaw Academy. The project was then repeated with the complete intake of S1 pupils at the Peterhead Academy in 2010. The Respect 4 All project aimed to: Improve understanding Promote good relations between pupils Have pupils reflect on how to get on well with other people Encourage respect for other people Treat people fairly The key ambitions of the project were to raise awareness and knowledge of the protected characteristics: sexual orientation (lesbian, gay, bisexual), disability, age, gender and transgender, race, religion and faith. The project process followed a number of key steps, which could provide a useful template for similar initiatives in future. A series of extra-curriculum workshops facilitated learning in each of the areas. The workshops were delivered by external professionals with a relevant background in respect of each of the issues. Following the period of learning, the project entered into its creative phase whereby a number of artists were employed to work directly with the participants to create artistic and creative performances. This helped pupils to express the acquired knowledge and internalise the understanding of the different equalities areas through artistic means (dance, film, music, rap and visual arts). The Respect 4 All project concluded with a celebratory event presenting the performances to a wider audience, including other pupils, teachers, parents and the wider community. 44 The Respect 4 All project is widely considered by those interviewed as a very successful and enjoyable learning experience. Of central importance to the project is the ‘translation’ of learning into active and creative expression, thereby enabling emotional learning and maturing to develop. The engagement with artists and with people having particular protected characteristics enabled the participating young people not only to internalise the more theoretical learning from the workshops, but also to come in touch with ‘real’ people. This experience has the potential to make profound impressions on participating individuals with the effect of changing attitudes and behaviours fundamentally. The combination of learning and performance around equality and good relations issues was felt to be a powerful approach and a very effective tool, making good relations topics fun to learn and accept. 2. Identifying the issues The Respect 4 All project was commissioned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission at a time when the Equalities Act 2010 was still in its drafting stage. The key drivers for initiating the project were to encourage third sector organisations, such as MeAL, to widen their scope from predominantly focusing on one or two equality issues, for example actions against racism, towards addressing the wider spectrum of good relations issues and protected characteristics groups. Furthermore, there was an appreciation that good relations issues ought to be addressed best via a partnership approach involving the public and the third sector, and drawing on the distinct areas of expertise and influence of both. 45 Finally, there was consensus amongst the key participating organisations that the use of external and independent delivery agents (i.e. not school teachers) was key in ‘making the message heard’ to an audience of young school pupils. The project made good relations topics ‘cool’ and gave them a status to be connected with. MeAL, the lead partner of the project, invited schools from areas in Aberdeenshire where police reports showed an above average occurrence of reported hate crimes and harassment cases. Each of the approached schools was keen to participate in the project as it fitted well with their existing work on equalities and helped to address a number of pertinent issues the schools faced at the time. This included issues relating to behaviour (within and outwith the schools) around the areas of respect, cultural and lifestyle difference, tolerance, awareness and understanding. The particular approach of the Respect 4 All project appealed to the schools as it provided pupils not only with the opportunity to learn from experts and meet ‘real people’ presenting different protected characteristics, but also to express their feelings creatively. The interviewed individuals thought that, for many pupils, this was the first time that they had an opportunity to work closely with an artist, representing a huge image boost to the topic of good relations. The observations also suggested that, for other pupils, it was the first time in their lives that they actually met somebody gay or from an ethnic minority background. The key issues and needs which the Respect 4 All project sought to address can be summarised as follows: The need for organisations and statutory bodies to gain experience and know-how in how to work around the protected characteristics of the equality legislation in place at the time 46 The need for a new and creative approach in teaching good relations effectively to young people, an approach which engages them meaningfully and fosters dialogue and exchange of experiences The need to reach out to young people at an important time of their development to encourage openness and interest in good relations matters, thereby influencing the positive development of attitudes, emotional growth and maturity as well as facilitating increased interaction with others leading to an increased feeling of personal security and confidence 3. Strategic linkage to national objectives The Respect 4 All project was initiated before the Good Relations Measurement Framework came into place, and the key aims at the time were to expand work involving the new and wider range of protected characteristic groups (rather than relating directly to the Framework). However, with hindsight a strong linkage can be established between the projects’ rationale and outcomes on the one hand, and the principles of the Equalities Act and the four domains of the Good Relations Measurement Framework on the other. With regard to the four domains (in bold below), the project was specifically targeted to shape and change attitudes amongst young people. Terms such as, ‘respect’ (as represented in the project title itself) and ‘valuing diversity’ were ‘key’ to the entire initiative. Observations from teachers and artists showed that the project impacted on individual young people and their emotional and physical sense of personal security (increased confidence, feeling comfortable with oneself, and ability to be oneself). 47 The project was further specifically designed to allow young people to interact with others and facilitate dialogue and collaboration with a diverse range of people leading to greater understanding on how to interact with each other. With the performance event at the end of the Respect 4 All project, the fourth domain of the good relations Measurement Framework ‘participation’ was addressed, whereby the learning of the initiative was presented to a wider audience of stakeholders and community members. This demonstrates that the project could have reported against Measurement Framework indicators, if that had requested at the time. Furthermore, the Respect 4 All project and its outcomes meet a wide range of CfE curriculum areas and objectives which relate well to the four domains of the Good Relations Measurement Framework, as the following table demonstrates: Alignment of CfE Aims with the Four Domains of the Good Relations Measurement Framework Health and Wellbeing Four Domains Develop self-awareness, self-worth and respect for others Attitudes Meet challenges, manage change and build Interaction with relationships others Experience personal achievement and build my resilience and confidence Attitudes Understand and develop my physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing and social skills Personal security Learn about where to find help and resources to inform choices Personal security Assess and manage risk and understand the impact of risk-taking behaviour Attitudes 48 Acknowledge diversity and understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge discrimination. Attitudes Religious and Moral studies Explore and establish values such as wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity and engage in the development of and reflection upon my own moral values Attitudes Develop beliefs, attitudes, values and practices through reflection, discovery and critical evaluation Personal security Develop the skills of reflection, discernment, critical thinking and deciding how to act when making moral decisions Attitudes Make a positive difference to the world by putting my Interaction with beliefs and values into action others Social studies Develop the understanding of values, beliefs and cultures of others Attitudes Develop the understanding of the principles of democracy and citizenship through experience of critical and independent thinking Attitudes Literacy and English Interaction with Communicate, collaborate and build relationships others Reflect on and explain literacy and thinking skills, using feedback to improve and sensitively provide useful feedback for others Attitudes Explore the richness and diversity of language, how it can affect people, and the wide range of ways in which one can be creative Attitudes 49 The Respect 4 All project represents an interdisciplinary learning tool that can support teachers who are, at times, less familiar with the specific topics relating to the various characteristics groups of the Equalities Act to fulfil their schools’ duties in view of their legal obligations. For example, in the case of sexual orientation and trans-gender issues, many teachers do not feel that they have sufficient relevant skills, confidence or knowledge to teach the subject effectively. The Respect 4 All project can deliver this expertise via external specialist organisations and through the creative skills of the involved artists, ‘translating’ the expertise in equalities into lived experience. The project approach of combining equalities with artistic expertise has proven to be highly effective and successful. 4. Expected outcomes and key achievements The project partners expected the following outcomes from the Respect 4 All project: Increased awareness and understanding of different protected characteristics Increased sensitivity and appreciation of what it might mean and feel like to be isolated and excluded as a result of a personal characteristic Increased levels of respect and tolerance towards others Increased openness and interest in exploring different life experiences and perceptions as well as an ability to share experiences and personal feelings with others A reduction in aggressive and discriminating behaviour and attitude Increased levels of self-esteem, confidence and personal sense of security for pupils affected by different equality issues Changing attitudes and behaviours to become more responsible citizens Based on the interview findings with participating organisations, the project has successfully achieved the expected outcomes in all areas. 50 Although no longer-term evaluation or tracking of impacts has been undertaken, the impact on pupils was measured via an evaluation tool developed by MeAL, assessing knowledge levels in the equalities areas (race, faith, disability, sexual orientation, gender / transgender and age) before and after the project. 51 Pupils registered an increase in knowledge around all equalities areas which were addressed by the project. Specifically, pupils assessed their knowledge relating to ‘age’ as ‘I know quite a bit about it’ before the project, however the impact measured after the project showed the smallest increase as a result of the project activity. In contrast, pupils’ knowledge around ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘transgender’ was reported as ‘I have heard about it’ before the project activity started, but these topics experienced the largest increase in positive awareness registered after the project. In addition, ‘sexual orientation’ was one of the strongest areas where pupils identified further interest in learning more in future. A number of individual observations were reported by the interviewees demonstrating the extent of impact on individual pupils. These included the following: The beginning shyness and discomfort of many pupils in talking about issues such as sexual orientation lifted through the course of the project and enabled pupils to talk much more openly and freely about related topics after completion of the project. The realisation that people they initially perceived as ‘normal’ then reveal themselves as belonging to a protected characteristics group has changed awareness levels amongst pupils considerably. This was most vividly demonstrated when a member of the police force participating in the Respect 4 All project confidently identified himself as gay to the pupils. The learning workshops and the opportunity to express equalities issues via drama and dance has helped significantly to increase confidence levels, self-esteem and personal security amongst pupils as could be seen by the performance of a boy (described by peers and staff as ‘feminine’) who gained considerable support from other pupils and appreciation by the audience for his performance. This, it was thought, would have been an unlikely reaction before the project. 52 One of the artists involved in both Respect 4 All projects provided this observation: ‘During the Respect project was when I first met this young person. He was very loud and interrupted every session. From the start he said "am not performing" in which I said that's okay. During the street poetry session he interrupted his group constantly and I had to remove him to the side so the group can continue. ‘The following week he walked in the class saying "am not doing anything" in which he got no response from any of the other students including me. He stayed back that day and apologised and asked if he could take part. I told him we would have to ask the group first. The following week the group accepted his apologies and allowed him back in the group and helped him get started. He later wrote "Respect means treating others the way you want to be treated, never ill treat but respect’. 5. 5.1 Lessons learned Emphasis on creativity and art The increased use of artists, dancers and musicians during the second run of the project with the Peterhead Academy in 2010 emphasised the effectiveness of using creativity and art as a ‘high impact’ tool for relating equality issues to young people. The participating schools felt that the chance to work directly with artists made a considerable difference in impacting positively on pupils, and in changing their perceptions and emotional maturity in grasping the impact of social exclusion and isolation. The suggestion was made to include writing and journalism as additional creative art forms in future projects. 53 The final performance event provided an ideal platform to disseminate the achievements and key messages of the project to a wider audience. 5.2 Organisation and project coordination As in many partnership and multi-agency projects, it is crucially important that roles and responsibilities of each participant organisation are made clear and are agreed from the outset. This is of particular importance in projects which operate across different work environments, i.e. the relatively restricted school curriculum with its day-to-day time scheduling, versus the much more unrestricted work approach of artists. Good communication, careful project planning and coordination are important aspects to be pursued diligently throughout the project and across the participating project partners, to prevent disappointment and misunderstandings in timing and workshop provision. Ideally, the involvement of an identified project co-ordinator at senior level should be ensured from the outset. 5.3 Measuring and attributing project impact The study findings from interviews with representatives of the organisations involved in the Respect 4 All project clearly show that the project was successful in achieving impacts amongst the participating individuals at a personal level. It was also felt that the project impacted on improvements in general behaviour and levels of respect amongst pupils. In terms of largescale impact and significant change, however, it is thought the project was of too small a scale and short in duration. Respect, tolerance and the promotion of diversity and equality issues are integral aspects of any school curriculum. It is therefore difficult to assess the precise attribution levels of the impact which has been made by the Respect 4 All project. 54 The short term nature of the project (between 7 and 9 weeks) and the limited amount of pupils involved further limit the likelihood that significant impact has been made, or at least this is very difficult to assess due to attribution issues in light of many other ongoing initiatives (including personal and social education classes) and events influencing attitudes and behaviours. However, it is the perception of the participating organisations that areas of friction amongst some groups of pupils have reduced as a result of the project, and that a considerable number of individual pupils have benefited greatly from their engagement with the Respect 4 All activities. Despite the additional work commitments which the project required, the staff of the participant organisations would welcome the continuous delivery of the initiative should new funds be made available. The Respect 4 All project was recommended throughout as a successful, enjoyable and effective initiative, as a Deputy Head Teacher stated: ‘An approach which works’. 6. Implications for developing good relations work further There is a strong desire from teachers and policymakers to integrate good relation topics, increased tolerance, understanding and respect further into the school curriculum. To integrate and maintain the continuous development of good relations work in schools, the provision of interdisciplinary learning packs and resources for teachers would be welcomed. Although the Respect 4 All project has been very successful, it has been a short term intervention and only targeted at one year level in each school. It was thought that the project might be more powerful if resources could be made available to reach all pupils at each school or at least all S1 or S2 pupils every year. 55 The importance of the external delivery of the Respect 4 All project was highlighted by all interviewees. Because of their external status, schoolindependent delivery agents and artists have proven to be much more effective in getting pupils to ‘hear the equalities message’ in the sense that an unusual delivery of teaching has the potential of making better and longer lasting impressions. In rural areas where multi-ethnicity and visible diversity is much less common in the population, there is a real need to facilitate the encounter with ‘real life’ representatives of different protected characteristics in order to break down barriers of negative perception and prejudice. It was the wish of each interviewed project participant organisation to continue with the Respect 4 All project if funding could be made available. 56 Case Study 2: Gypsy/Travellers in North East Scotland 57 Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the support of Sandra Bruce of Aberdeen City Council, for a useful introductory interview and provision of supporting information and for facilitating access to a meeting of the Gypsy/Traveller Inter-Agency Group. Also thanks to Jim Hume of Grampian Police, David Cooper of Aberdeenshire Council, Amanda Farquhar of Aberdeen City Council, Dave Black of Grampian Regional Equality Council and Lynne Tammi of Article 12 for further information and discussion. 58 1. Introduction 1.1 Context Gypsy/Traveller is an overarching term which includes those who identify themselves as Travellers, Gypsies or Roma, and may be of Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh or European origin. It is the term used in the 2011 Census and is the one that is used consistently in this case study reflecting the diverse origins of the Gypsy/Travellers with whom it is involved. The Scottish Government recognises that Gypsy/Travellers are a distinct ethnic group and amongst the most disenfranchised and discriminated against communities in Scotland. There has been longstanding concern over the treatment of Gypsy/Travellers in Scotland. In 2001 the Equal Opportunities Committee of the then Scottish Executive published its first report, an Inquiry into Gypsy Travellers and Public Sector Policies. Many of the Committee’s 37 recommendations focussed on a number of changes and initiatives to be put in place in order to improve education and health provision, whilst others covered issues of equalities and anti-discrimination. In 2005 a follow up report raised concerns over continued lack of progress. In May 2009, social research company Craigforth, commissioned by the three Grampian Local Authorities, published the report, ‘An Accommodation Needs Assessment of Gypsies/Travellers in Grampian’. The report initiated an inter-agency action plan covering the whole of the Grampian area. The Craigforth report has played an important role in encouraging and focussing inter-agency work in Grampian and has also shaped the relevant work of each individual Local Authority. 59 1.2 Exacerbation of an ongoing issue The lack of adequate site provision, particularly in the North-East of Scotland, has often been cited as the cause of increased tensions between Gypsy/Travellers and the settled community. Although there had been previous problems with tensions between Gypsy/Travellers and the settled community, the summer of 2010 saw increased tensions reach dangerous levels in some circumstances. Several incidents took place between local youths and Gypsy/Travellers on Unauthorised Encampments. The location of some Unauthorised Encampments appeared to be the source of discontent within sections of the settled community and the media. 2. Identifying the issues to be addressed 2.1 The Craigforth Reportii and Action Plan It should be noted that the situation that arose in 2010 did not come as a complete surprise to the region, and that local agencies had already been working together to understand the issues and come up with solutions. In January 2008, Craigforth was commissioned by Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray Local Authorities to carry out an ‘Accommodation Needs Assessment of Gypsies/Travellers’ in the Grampian area. The research was carried out in a number of phases, but essentially took the form of a household survey interview of Gypsy/Travellers living in different types of accommodation, including Council sites, unauthorised encampments, houses and private sites. The research identified the Gypsy/Traveller population, characteristics, travelling patterns, employment etc, use of accommodation and needs, and also looked at quality of life issues such as discrimination and harassment. An Action Plan followed the publication of the report, which set out recommendations for accommodation as well as for improving relations between the Gypsy/Traveller populations and settled communities. 60 This has been constantly updated and refreshed by the Gypsy/Traveller Inter-Agency Group, which comprises officers from Local Authorities, Police, NHS and Grampian Regional Equality Council (GREC), and meets on a bimonthly basis to discuss and plan actions. 2.2 Renewed and intense pressure to act In 2010, following the incidents in the Grampian area, pressures built in the public arena for public authorities to deal with the situation. Specifically: A petition was lodged with the Scottish Government Public Petitions Committee seeking a review of existing national and local policies relating to unauthorised encampmentsiii Public figures, including local councillors, were suggesting the Police take a robust stance and ‘move them on’, essentially asking Police to act unlawfully. This gave rise to public hostility over perceived lack of action by Grampian Police to address the settled communities’ concerns The situation was worsened by significant media attention which had negative impacts on attempts by Local Authorities to create ‘authorised’ sites, which were regarded as the sustainable solution to the problem 2.3 Working Party provided new impetus In November 2010, as a result of the heightened tension and the public petition, the Scottish Government Minister for Housing and Communities, Alex Neil, convened the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Gypsy/Traveller Working Party comprising individuals and representatives of key organisations that have a role or responsibility to work with Gypsy/Travellers, with the remit: ‘to improve community relations by ensuring that issues relating to unauthorised Gypsy/Traveller encampments in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire experienced during 2010 are resolved and / or mitigated to the extent that incidents are significantly reduced.’ 61 The Working Party identified a number of key issues and factors that needed to be considered and addressed: ● Reduction in encampment options over time and lack of official provision in the area ● Increased availability of seasonal and year-round employment options ● Increased numbers of Gypsy/Travellers (including from outside Scotland) being attracted into the area ● Changes in traditional farming methods and lifestyles and previous broad acceptance of short term encampments of Gypsy/Travellers ● Increased housing developments sometimes affecting encampment options ● Increased knowledge and awareness of human rights and related obligations placed on public agencies ● Increased obligations on Local Authorities when considering potential locations for permanent camping and temporary halting sites The working group then devised an Action Planiv of short-term and longerterm actions to achieve lasting improvement, including measures to improve community liaison and mediation arrangements, enhance current site provision and capacity, and improve communications between key public authorities, i.e. Councils and Police Services. The Working Party was dissolved during the ‘purdah’ period prior to the Scottish elections in 2011. However, some key positive outcomes from the process include the constructive dialogue and agreement that took place between senior strategic representatives of key organisations, and some concrete progress towards stated objectives, e.g. new procedures for early communication with Gypsy/Travellers and communication and sharing of information between bodies regarding unauthorised encampments . 62 It can also be argued that the overriding objective of the Working Group has been met – incidents have indeed significantly reduced. However, the fundamental objective of improving site provision remains an ongoing issue. In March 2012, Scottish Government officials met with key officers from Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Grampian Police to discuss the progress of the Action Plan and specifically the ongoing issues with respect to site provision. The continuing problem in creating new sites was highlighted by the recent example near Stonehaven of a private landowner who withdrew his planning application for the creation of a small transit site in the face of public opposition. Scottish Government is interested to explore with local partners measures that can be taken to overcome the existing barriers to meeting the site provision objectives. 2.4 Building consensus on the issues and the responses required Predating the formation of the Working Group, in September 2010 Grampian Joint Police Board supported a proposed summit event to bring together key agencies to explore issues and identify solutions to improve relations between Gypsy/Travellers and the settled community. In January 2011, Grampian Regional Equality Council (GREC) was asked to organise the event. A steering group, comprising council officers from the three Local Authorities, Grampian Police, GREC and the clerk to Grampian Joint Police Board, was set up to plan the event. Efforts were also made to include Gypsy/Traveller representation, and GREC recruited a volunteer (from the Travelling community) who helped to encourage Gypsy/Traveller attendance, and helped to shape the structure of the day to make it more appealing to the Gypsy/Traveller community. The Grampian Gypsy/Traveller CrossCommunity Dialogue Dayv was held in Inverurie in April 2011, with almost 70 delegates attending including around 20 Gypsy/Travellers. 63 From the outset, the overarching aim was to improve relations within the Grampian area, with a new approach focussing on participation and dialogue, ‘to facilitate a process allowing multiple stakeholders to contribute to a dialogue that enhances cross-community relations’. This was reinforced by the Scottish Government Working Group and Grampian Joint Policy Board. Specific objectives were identified: To encourage better community relations To improve awareness of the needs of the respective communities To discuss obstacles to alternative provision for Gypsy/Travellers To increase understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the respective agencies To increase understanding of the Working Group Strategy and what it might mean for the area Discussion groups covered 10 topics, including education, sites and facilities, policing, equalities, media and health, and each came up with suggestions for resolving issues and moving forward. At the end of the day, a number of pledges were made by public authorities to take forward issues that had been discussed, to improve relations. Participants’ feedback was generally positive, with comments including ‘good to meet some Gypsy/Traveller families’, ‘excellent to be able to get my views across’ and ‘long journeys begin with small steps’. Participants also voiced a need for ongoing dialogue and questions about future plans and progress. Many of the issues have already been incorporated into the Inter-agency Action Plan and Working Party Strategy. The Dialogue Day can be seen in terms of refocusing energies on the content of such strategies, and allowing for the type of multi-stakeholder dialogue that has often been missing from previous attempts to address the relevant issues. 64 2.5 Grampian Police reviewed its procedures Responding to the situation in 2010, Grampian Police reviewed its procedure for Gypsy/Traveller unauthorised encampments to help in meeting its obligations in promoting good relations between different groups in society. This sought to address the concerns raised by members of the wider settled community, whilst maintaining the rights and protection afforded to the Gypsy/Traveller community as an ethnic minority group. According to the Full Equality Impact Assessmentvi that was conducted for the new Procedure: ‘In meeting our duties to promote good relations, ... we must adopt a stance of balancing of interests, planning ahead and developing our procedures and practices in such a manner that they are not seen to favour any one community over another. Previous evidence has consistently highlighted that the Gypsy/Traveller community is one of the most vilified [....] conversely, the settled community often feel that their voices are not being heard... A positive contribution by the Force to address the needs and concerns of all communities can only help lead to an improved relationship between those communities and increased understanding and confidence in the role of the Force.’ The Police used consultation with a wide range of stakeholders including Local Authorities, Community Councils and elected representatives, using organisations such as Article 12, GREC and Building Bridges to liaise with the Gypsy/Travellers, to inform the creation of the procedure. 65 3. Outcomes and achievements 3.1 Impact of Scottish Government intervention While the Scottish Government Working Group was a short-term measure, and dialogue has not continued through this forum, it has been recognised by the Inter-Agency Working Group as having been useful in terms of confirming the policy response, garnering support from senior management within the public agencies to take action and generating good publicity. The accompanying funding that the Scottish Government provided to improve site provision1 was seen as crucial to many of the subsequent achievements – improving provision is the foundation of promoting good relations, as without addressing this fundamental source of tension, there would be little chance of making headway with other community building activities. It may be that further Scottish Government intervention is required to assist with the achievement of site objectives, and indeed there have been some renewed discussions recently between Scottish Government and regional public authorities around the next steps that need to be taken. 3.2 Continuing barriers to achieving site provision objectives Some of the Scottish Government funding has been used in Aberdeen City to improve the site at Clinterty, refurbishing and improving amenities in the permanent site and creating four new transit plots. While these are positive steps that improve the quality of life for Gypsy/Travellers and reduce unauthorised encampments, there remains a shortfall in provision in the North East region as a whole, which means that at peak points in the season, unauthorised encampments will continue to occur. In 2010/11 a total of £1m of funding for Gypsy/Traveller sites was rolled up into the local government settlements. 1 66 However, the lack of statutory requirement for site provision means that Local Authorities and private landowners, taking proposals through normal planning channels, have difficulties achieving their objectives. Aberdeenshire has conducted a review of land in its ownership that could be considered potentially viable for site provision; i.e. near to main road links and close to amenities. Having identified no suitable land under these parameters, it may extend the review to other parts of the Council area. In the meantime, it has been seeking to support the provision of sites on land under private ownership. There have been applications by private landowners and by Gypsy/Travellers with headline agreement to buy land themselves. However, each attempt has failed, either because of public objections or non-conformity with planning policy (e.g. green belt). Delivering on site provision objectives is a key ongoing issue in 2012. The search is continuing in Aberdeenshire for suitable land (widening the Council land search, discussions with Housing Associations) but there remain fundamental issues with the existing planning authority, local political will, and ongoing public objection. The Scottish Government funding remains on the table, reserved for the provision of sites. However, it would appear that further steps need to be taken to break the deadlock that currently exists with respect to sites. Although the Scottish Government, under the terms of the Concordat, cannot be prescriptive or over-ride Councils’ authority, there is a need for some greater push to help Councils to make decisions that enable them to meet the requirement to provide for Gypsy/Travellers needs. 67 3.3 Refreshed Gypsy/Traveller Unauthorised Encampments Procedure In 2011, Grampian Police refreshed its Procedure relating to unauthorised encampments, to clearly specify the role of Grampian Police in the management of these encampments for the benefit of Officers and the general public. While the underlying approach is consistent with previous procedures, the processes for dealing with encampments are now firmly based on interaction and dialogue, both with the Gypsy/Traveller and settled communities. Greater emphasis is placed on media engagement as well as on linkages with Local Authorities to share information on encampments. New internal guidance was also produced for Grampian Police, and this was rolled out in a series of briefing sessions, for managers, frontline and control room staff. The new Procedure has worked well. Critically, it encourages communication between Local Policing Teams, settled communities, Gypsy/Traveller communities and key partner agencies to inform decision making and considerations in respect of unauthorised encampments. This allows views to be taken into consideration when issues arise around the establishment of an unauthorised encampment. It also aims to reduce negative stereotyping of the Gypsy/Traveller community as a whole. National ACPOS guidance has been rewritten to reflect the Grampian Police procedure, with the materials and Frequently Asked Questions adopted and adapted in other areas. 3.4 Progress in improving attitudes to Gypsy/Travellers Negative press coverage has been seen as a key challenge in improving general relations between Gypsy/Traveller populations and the settled communities. 68 The Inter-Agency Group has an ongoing commitment to work together to counter racist media coverage, provide consistent responses to press enquiries about Gypsy/Travellers and encampments and coordinate legal action where necessary. A noticeable toning down of press coverage has been observed since the flash point of 2010, which has been attributed to the development of media strategies and consistent pressure from all sides, as well as increased understanding generated through, for example, the Dialogue Day. The public agencies and partners have also taken some actions of their own in the area of public relations, with Aberdeen City Council producing a Myth Buster poster campaign in schools and production of a DVD ‘Faur Ye Bin & Faur Ye Gaun?’. There was negative media reaction to the poster campaign which was seen as being too one sided, resulting in the posters being withdrawn from Aberdeenshire schools. However it was commended by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and adapted for use within the police. Taking learning from that, the DVD does take a more balanced view in acknowledging the issues and tensions on the part of both Gypsy/Travellers and settled communities. Each school in the area is using the DVD as part of the Curriculum for Excellence. Future avenues are being explored include: Peer education: Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Councils are working with Article 12 (a young person led network that works to promote young people's participation and information rights as set out in international human rights charters) to develop an education project based at the Clinterty site, to carry out an awareness raising service in schools, and to organise a conference in 2012 that will bring together young people from Gypsy/Traveller and settled communities for dialogue 69 Scottish Churches Racial Justice Group (Action of Churches Together in Scotland) is currently considering new approaches to promote good relations with Gypsy/Travellers. The Inter-Agency Group has entered initial dialogue with ACTS, recognising the role that churches can play in embedding constructive community relations. 3.5 Progress in building participation and influence The Dialogue Day is regarded as having been a very constructive event that brought increased understanding and enabled all the relevant stakeholders to communicate constructively and tackle issues that have been on-going for some time. Some other workshops have been held to bring communities together and have had similar positive results. The more difficult nut to crack is how to embed this type of dialogue that ensures that Gypsy/Travellers are able to have ‘participation and influence’ on a more systematic basis so that a balance and sustainable ‘voice’ is heard throughout the national policy dialogue. It was desired that there should be Gypsy/Traveller representation at the Inter-Agency Group and community bodies. However, despite efforts to achieve this, travelling patterns as well as the heterogeneity of the Gypsy/Traveller population, make it difficult to find individual(s) that can commit the time and/or represent the diversity of people affected. It was suggested by Article 12 that, given their ongoing contact with Gypsy/Travellers even when they are not based in the region, it would be of benefit to allow them a seat at the table for strategic discussions. Article 12 played this role to good effect in the Scottish Government Working Party. Although formal representation by Gypsy/Travellers on standing forums has not been achieved, some workable solutions have been adopted at operational level: 70 The GREC Gypsy/Traveller Liaison Worker (GTLW) (Aberdeenshire) and Aberdeen City Council Liaison Officer regularly take soundings from people in encampments regarding new policy development. For example, in conjunction with council officers in environmental health, housing and planning, one such consultation has involved asking Gypsy/Travellers staying in unauthorised encampments about potential short stay sites (i.e. their location and possible facilities). GREC also gathered 80 responses to feed into the Local Housing Strategy. Part of the advantage of GREC is the use of volunteers – very effective work has been done with the help of a member of the Gypsy/Traveller community which significantly helped in breaking down barriers and reaching people that normally could not be reached The re-vitalisation of the community centre on Clinterty Traveller site is intended to form the basis for developing and addressing many issues, for example public health promotion and further education, as well as providing increased possibilities for community engagement. GREC’s Gypsy/Traveller Liaison Worker is currently recruiting a small team of volunteers to help take forward the project at Clinterty. The community centre also offers significant opportunities for engagement work and the possibility of setting up a residents group that may be willing to engage with the wider public by sending representatives to public meetings In addition, initiatives have been undertaken in the areas of education and health to improve understanding of needs and correspondingly, the provision of services, to Gypsy/Travellers. Education Aberdeenshire is working together with GREC to improve education provision for Gypsy/Travellers. There is a written procedure for education-related 71 communications before and after the GREC GLTW makes an encampment visit. It has recently been agreed that the GTLW should be the Named Person (relating to the Scottish Government’s Getting it Right for Every Child and Young Person) for Gypsy/Traveller children staying on unauthorised encampments. A meeting was recently held at Clinterty Community Centre with residents as well as the GREC GTLW, Aberdeen City Council’s Gypsy/Traveller Liaison Officer, Article 12, NHS (Aberdeen City) public health staff and education officials from Aberdeenshire Council. The meeting centred around asking residents what they would like to see happen with the community centre on the site. Residents expressed an interest in seeing some kind of secondary education provided for older children (parents on the site tend not to want their children to attend secondary school, for a variety of reasons). Those agencies present will continue to work together (and with the residents on the site), to see what can be developed. Article 12 has also been trialling a workshop session in a Secondary School and its Primary feeders in Aberdeenshire in an area close to a Gypsy/Traveller site. The primary session takes the form of a story-telling workshop where children compose short stories around a picture of Gypsy/Travellers. This then lends itself to question and answer sessions, enabling children to get a better understanding of Gypsy/Travellers’ real culture and to think about how they are viewed in society. The secondary session takes the form of a conflict resolution workshop model, designed so that young Gypsy/Travellers can easily follow the process of delivery. As well as being delivered to classes, it has also been delivered to Kemnay Academy’s pupil council, so that the pupil council can set up a ‘buddy scheme’ for Gypsy/Travellers in the feeder primary schools with the aim of encouraging them to take up secondary education in the knowledge that they will have a ‘buddy’ from the settled community who understands their culture. 72 Article 12 would like to roll this model out across the region to be incorporated into Curriculum for Excellence (Personal and Social Education). However, approaches to a number of schools based near Gypsy/Traveller sites have not received any response. This indicates the need for greater strategic level involvement from the Local Authority to support the fostering of good relations in the educational sphere. Health Much in the same way as with education, the GREC GTLW has agreed a written procedure for the encampment visits with the public health teams in NHS Grampian. The main aim is to link up the GTLW role with that of health visitors. Health visitors are promoting the use of Handheld Health Records to enable more consistency of care from different providers. The GTLW also informs local Health Visitor teams when the family moves on, enabling relevant issues to be passed on to the next provider. A small working group has been set up with a public health coordinator from Aberdeenshire North (with a remit for Gypsy/Travellers in Aberdeenshire), a member of NHS Aberdeenshire Alcohol and Drugs Partnership, and the GTLW. Initially this group discussed ways in which a more positive approach could be taken to engage Gypsy/Travellers with wider health issues (such as preventative health). An initial pilot event was organised (with the assistance of a member of the Travelling community) and this took place in late summer 2011. The team worked with a member of Community Learning and Development who provided a van (equipped for community engagement) for the event at the Greenbanks Site in Banff. Various methods of engagement were used – for example, a Wii Fit for the children to use and a healthy barbeque – and some health officials were present who spoke to Gypsy/Travellers about health issues such as healthy eating. Some health checks were also undertaken. 73 The success of this informal approach led to the planning of a 3-month health engagement project in 2012. This involved similar partners working together and taking the project to unauthorised encampments around Aberdeenshire on a weekly basis over the period. It is hoped that another partner will be recruited in order to include some engagement around photography and film. This will enable improved engagement with families (especially children) and is also a way of documenting the project that will allow insights of the community to be shared with the wider community, therefore serve as a means of opening dialogue and breaking down barriers. In addition, Article 12, in response to an expressed need, will be delivering a programme on mental health and wellbeing with women from the Clinterty site. Following evaluation, this will also be used as a model for rolling out across Scotland. It’s an important development, as the issue of isolation and its impact on Gypsy/Traveller women’s mental health is raised frequently by members of the community. 4. Lessons learned from this experience Clearly, there has been significant progress in promoting ‘good relations’ with respect to Gypsy/Travellers in the North East since the incidents in 2010. Underpinning the progress has been the partnership working across the region and the establishment of procedures that reflect ‘good relations’ principles. This is not to deny that challenges remain - the lack of statutory requirement for site provision means that Local Authorities and private landowners face an uphill battle in achieving their objectives to provide new sites. 74 4.1 Challenging prejudicial views and beliefs When the flashpoint arose in 2010, it exposed, in the reactions of members of the public, elected members and press alike, issues of prejudice and lack of understanding of the law, of Gypsy/Traveller rights and of their basic needs. It was recognised that these views need to be challenged directly, in order to achieve a more balanced platform for making progress on the issues that had arisen with respect to unauthorised encampments. Initiatives such as the Dialogue Day, the media strategy and the public awareness raising DVD, as well as direct challenges in public meetings to people using inappropriate language, have been necessary to mitigate against some strong voices that were creating barriers to good relations in the North East. 4.2 Communication is key A strong theme throughout this case study has been the range of dialogue and promotion of an inclusive approach to achieving sustainable good relations between the settled and Gypsy/Traveller communities. In preparing its new Procedures, Grampian Police conducted a full consultation with Councillors, MSPs, businesses, settled communities and Gypsy/Traveller groups, enabling all to feed in. Every response to the consultation was followed up personally. The Procedure itself has a strong emphasis on ensuring early dialogue with Gypsy/Travellers and settled communities when unauthorised encampments take place. The challenge now is to maintain forums for ongoing dialogue – one off events can be catalytic, but ongoing dialogue is more successful through liaison and relationship building. 75 The use of both dedicated public sector officers and third party resources (GREC) to liaise with Gypsy/Travellers has enabled the establishment of relationships of trust, improved Gypsy/Traveller connections with services and enabled sustained two-way engagement with service providers. This ongoing contact is in turn leading to the establishment of improved procedures and services that recognise and respond the particular circumstances of Gypsy/Travellers. Article 12 is also keen to provide an ongoing strategic level input on behalf of Gypsy/Travellers, in much the same way that it successfully contributed to the Scottish Government Working Party. It seems well placed to take on this role, ensuring a continuity of representation from an important stakeholder group. 4.3 Addressing the source of tension This case study flags up the need to address sources of discontent to make headway on other good relations objectives. In this case, the provision of adequate sites is key to reducing tensions in a sustainable way. However, Local Authorities are having difficulty meeting their objectives to increase site provision, as proposal after proposal meets objections through the planning process. While relations are much improved since 2010, it need only take another major incident involving Gypsy/Travellers to re-ignite the tension. If statutory requirement is not an option, then this necessitates more intensified dialogue and political will within the community to overcome barriers to getting applications through the planning system. It is a harder route, but achievement would demonstrate a genuine culture change. Further intervention from Scottish Government may assist in providing momentum in this area. 76 5. Implications for developing good relations work further 5.1 Requirement for high level intervention The events of 2010 did not come as a surprise. There has been longstanding awareness of the challenges, particularly in relation to adequate site provision and entrenched prejudice. At official level, interagency working had been pursued long before the flashpoint of 2010, and the Scottish Government Working Party provided new momentum to address the key issues. However, there was, and remains, a lack of political impetus to resolve site provision issues and provide strategic level backing to mainstream some of the good relations work that has been undertaken at pilot level in the fields of education and health. In terms of sites, at each turn the current planning law is shown to be inadequate in achieving positive outcomes for site applications, in the face of public opposition. As site provision is a fundamental pre-requisite for sustaining good relations, there remains a need for additional political weight, at local and potentially national levels, to break the deadlock that is preventing progress. 5.2 Establishing procedures based on good relations principles We have highlighted the work of Grampian Police in reviewing and revising its Procedures for Unauthorised Encampments. This showed good practice in entering a genuine dialogue with all interested parties during the review/development phase, in basing the Procedure on the provision of appropriate communication within communities, and information sharing with other agencies. Again, Grampian Police can be shown as a good model for embedding guidance and training across the Force to ensure a consistent approach region-wide. 77 In addition, new procedures for partnership working with GREC have been established with education and health teams so that there is a consistent process for liaison and follow up with Gypsy/Travellers to ensure their needs are better met. These procedures should help to ensure that there is a consistency of approach in the long term. 5.3 Better results through partnership working Throughout the case study we have highlighted areas of progress that have been made through partnership working. Part of the value of the Scottish Government Working Group has been in bringing together strategic level representation to agree on key areas requiring attention. At the operational level, the Inter-Agency Group has passion and commitment for improving relations, but this is not necessarily mirrored in other parts of the organisations, and part of their efforts are taking steps to educate and encourage colleagues to share objectives and support activities. Inter-agency working has been critical for ensuring a consistency of approach, sharing good practice, and sharing resources. The participation of groups like GREC and Article 12 in partnership working can be invaluable, as they often provide a ‘bridge’ to statutory organisations, being perceived as more approachable. Both GREC and Article 12 have been successful in recruiting Gypsy/Traveller volunteers to act as voices for their interests, to increase understanding of their culture, and in gathering wider responses to help shape policy development. 78 Case Study 3: Greater Glasgow & Clyde Anti-Stigma Partnership 79 Acknowledgements In preparing this case study we are grateful for the support of Greg Usrey, Nuzhat Mirza and Lee Knifton of Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS. We have also benefited from a rich source of documentary evidence and materials published online (www.mosaicsofmeaning.info) which has substantially informed this case study. 80 1. Introduction to Good Relations Activity in Mental Health 1.1 Context According to Scottish Government researchvii, just over one in four (28%) people will experience a mental health problem at some point in their lives. Those who suffer from mental health problems and mental illness are likely to experience discrimination and social exclusion because of stigma. The stigma of mental ill-health has been called ‘one of the last great taboos’. People with mental health problems often report that the reactions of family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues and employers are harder to deal with the illness itself. Stigma can range from being ignored and excluded to verbal and physical harassment and abuse. 81% of people with lived experience of mental ill-health told ‘see me’ (Scotland’s national campaign to end the stigma and discrimination of mental ill-health) that they had experienced stigma. 1.2 The Anti-Stigma Partnership Established in 2005, the Anti-Stigma Partnership is core funded by Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS (GGCASP) and brings together over 100 local, regional and national organisations into a community of practice and learning. Since its formation, the initial activity, which started as an attempt to better reflect ethnic minority needs in addressing the stigma of mental health problems, has led to a panoply of activity focusing on different target groups and using a multitude of channels to engage tens of thousands of people. 1.1 Mosaics of Meaning: focus of this case study The full breadth of activity of the GGCASP is too great to condense into a short case study. We have therefore selected a groundbreaking and innovative project that focused on mental health issues in ethnic minority communities, Mosaics of Meaning, which provides good illustration of the key principles, activities and learning that has been achieved. 81 The initial concept of Mosaics of Meaning was generated by Nuzhat Mirza (equalities team) and Lee Knifton (mental health team) of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2005. They, together with a wider steering group comprising representatives from NHS Health Scotland, Glasgow Association of Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, Voices of Experience (VOX), ‘see me’ and East Glasgow Community Health and Care Partnership, provided the drive and leadership for the five year programme. 2. Identifying the issues 2.1 Aims and Objectives The aim of Mosaics was to support the largest settled ethnic minority communities in Scotland (Pakistani, Chinese, African and Caribbean) to address mental health stigma through a participatory research and action approach. The key principles underpinning the project were that: project partnership should help communities to address stigma, not dictate the answers dialogue would be a two way process: the community research would highlight to practitioners the specific challenges faced by ethnic minority people in relation to mental health and in return mental health practitioners would take the opportunity to increase community organisations’ understanding of mental health issues building capacity in local organisations was a key objective the key to building capacity is building relationships These principles could be widely applied in fostering good relations in any context. 2.2 Building the Evidence Stage 1 of the Mosaics programme involved two main research methods: 82 Action research: The Steering Group developed an outline proposal and took to community organisations, focusing on main ethnic minority communities, suggesting they get training and support and materials and use their communication channels with the communities to engage them in the research process. Initially, seven ethnic minority community organisations signed up for the action research, whereby local leaders and workers were trained to enable them to facilitate focus groups to investigate mental health and stigma in their communities. Ten focus groups were held during 2006 and findings of each were written up and synthesised for each ethnic minority group and by theme. Validation sessions were held involving all the participating community projects, giving them the opportunity to shape the recommendations. A conference was then held to develop the proposed model of intervention more fully. The findings were shared with focus group participants and disseminated widely though events, publications, partner websites and organisational meetings. A literature review was undertaken to research published evidence on attitudes towards mental health in Pakistani, Indian, Chinese and African and Caribbean communities and cultures, both in the UK and elsewhere in the world. Notably, this was the first time that many of the national partners and community organisations had worked together to undertake action research into mental health. It was important to reflect on the process in order to learn and reflect these lessons in future. A short report was produced to this effect. The research produced a number of useful findings that informed the action stage of the programme: A key cause of mental health problems was seen as social circumstances, which included deprivation and isolation, as well as cultural conflicts, migration and racism Beliefs about the causes of mental health problems varied, but could be described as cultural, religious, social or medical 83 All communities described the impact of stigma as profound. Ethnic minority mental health sufferers sometimes faced dual stigmas of racial discrimination and social disadvantage in addition to mental health – strategies for mental health improvement need to address both aspects of stigma concurrently There was wide perception of collective stigma, affecting whole families, frequently connected to culture and community and extended family structures Ethnic minority people frequently delay seeking medical help, either because they anticipate stigma and are pessimistic about recovery or because they do not see the problem as a medical health issue. It is common to approach faith leaders first, based on beliefs about the cause of the problem. Other barriers include language, concerns about confidentiality and perception of cultural insensitivity within services Scotland’s existing national anti-stigma campaign had not reached Glasgow’s ethnic minority communities. Concerns about ‘see me’ included: o people from ethnic minority backgrounds were not seen in campaign materials o complex and subtle language is only useful if English is a first language o no use of press, radio and television outlets popular with ethnic minority communities o the term ‘see me’ is individualistic. Mental health initiatives targeting ethnic minority communities need to reflect the beliefs about mental health held within those communities. The mix of beliefs held in ethnic minority communities demands a wide-ranging set of responses, all of which need to be designed in partnership with communities and led by them These findings were consistent across ethnic minority groups, although younger participants were generally more positive than older generations. Participants outlined a range of ideas and solutions, including the use of appropriate imagery, role models and media. 84 2.3 Model of engagement with communities Based on the findings of Stage 1, the Steering Group produced a full Action Plan to take forward various strands of activity that emerged. Stage 2 comprised a range of projects developed and delivered through partnerships with local community leaders and workers: Community Conversation: workshops on mental health awareness, exploring ideas about mental health and stigma Storytelling: enabling ethnic minority users of mental health services to share personal experiences of stigma Arts and Film: using cultural engagement to explore mental health issues Faith Leaders: involving consultations with religious leaders in Glasgow ethnic minority communities and a national conference Social Marketing: a focused programme of social marketing to address mental health stigma with ethnic minority communities 3. Outcomes and key achievements 3.1 Partnership Strong long-term partnerships have been a key feature and success of the Mosaics model. This remained a key organising principle as the project developed - between 2005 and 2010 some 40 organisations have supported and engaged with the project. The community organisations have had a lead voice in the creation and shaping of the various strands of activity that followed the action research. ‘Building partnerships was critical – we couldn’t have relied on the core partners to achieve our objectives. In developing our network we were able to build on previous relationships, which helped a lot. But partnerships are not always easy, we encountered suspicion about our motives at times; the community conversations helped to build understanding and dialogue and sometimes the initially reluctant participants ended up having very good conversations.’ Nuzhat Mirza, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (during project based within the Equality& Diversity Team) 85 3.2 Findings, materials and models are open source and being adopted Everything produced by the Anti-Stigma projects is open source and available freely online for other groups and areas to use. Key sites include: www.mosaicsofmeaning.info http://library.nhsggc.org.uk/mediaAssets/Mental%20Health%20Partnership/An ti%20Stigma%20Catalogue%202009.pdf http://www.seemescotland.org/getinvolved/takeaction/linkstotoolkit/resources/c ase-studies/developing-anti-stigma-strategy 3.3 http://www.mhfestival.com/ Research and evaluation Various strands of activity have been evaluated, with reports published and disseminated widely. Community conversationviii: Variation between ethnic minority populations indicates that intervention models need to be developed by, not for communities. Post-workshop responses showed significant change in attitudes - people were better informed, more willing to open up about problems, felt less isolated and more optimistic about recovery. ‘The community conversations experience strongly suggests that community approaches to tackling stigma are more valuable than top-down public education, and could form the basis of national initiatives’. Storytellingix: Storytelling was found to be therapeutic and empowering for the people who told their stories. The published book has been used as an educational, awareness raising, engagement or professional practice enhancing tool. The stories were viewed as useful for supporting people to gain a more thorough insight and understanding of the mental health needs of ethnic minority people, especially for staff that have less knowledge or experience of working with people from ethnic minority backgrounds. 86 Arts and Film: Evaluations of the festival's reach and impact show that festival events attract people from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds as well as from ethnic minority communities themselves. Festival events have helped audiences to appreciate the social stresses on ethnic minority communities and their potential impact on mental health. Events in different languages, and which draw upon traditional art forms and cross-cultural art, are particularly attractive. 3.4 Imitation, the best form of flattery In the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area alone, Mosaics has spawned a number of other anti-stigma initiatives targeting other groups. Each has a programme team involving statutory and voluntary organisations, and has built capacity in community organisations to undertake action research and implement engagement activities. These initiatives include: Sanctuary: action research to identify patterns of stigma and discrimination experienced by asylum seekers and refugees, and to implement a peer education programme, using workshops along the ‘community conversations’ model, and devising a programme of staff training to address knowledge gaps among key service providers on the particular mental health needs of this group. A ‘storytelling’ film was also produced. There’s More to Me: a project examining the mental health issues of lesbian, gay and bisexual LGB people. Nine discussion groups led by trained researchers identified attitudes and beliefs towards mental health and access to mental health services. The research produced a number of recommendations for improvements to health services. Peer Support in Later Life: developed a depression awareness course led by older people in local communities, and involved a needs assessment with 60 people, peer led workshops on depression delivered to later life groups across East Glasgow, and a later life drama group, Evergreen, which has performed for community groups and at the Mental Health Arts and Film Festival. The work of the group has also informed the redesign of later life service delivery. 87 ‘As a research and intervention model, the Mosaics approach works because it builds capacity and allows communities to decide both what and how questions should be asked. The Mosaics experience shows that people open up when talking to their peers. The model also provides encouragement as community researchers know there will be a programme of action that communities can be involved with’. Neil Quinn, Mental Health Improvement Lead, East Glasgow CHCP and Chair of the Anti-Stigma Partnership 3.5 Wider achievements of the Anti-Stigma Partnership Although we have focused here on the Mosaics project as a flagstone initiative of the Anti-Stigma Partnership, it is worth highlighting the much broader range of activity and achievements, which link and contribute directly to the four domains of good relations: The development of a mental health curriculum pack for secondary schools, providing four lessons for each year group (S1-S6) within the personal and social education programme, which has been rolled out to all schools within Glasgow city and gained interest nationally. Pre-and post evaluations demonstrated positive learning outcomes in relation to peer support, reductions in stigmatising beliefs about social distance, blame, fear and recovery. The pack can help schools to implement Curriculum for Excellence with respect to health and wellbeing outcomes. It has been adopted nationally. The development of an anti-stigma workplace training pack and training partnership, with delivery to over 1000 key front line workers from housing, benefits, money advice, employment providers and British Telecom, as well as mentoring of new trainers and production of a ‘training for trainers pack’ to broaden the delivery base. The development of anti-stigma training for practitioners and the production of an anti-stigma DVD for future practitioners. 88 4. Lessons learned 4.1 Good relations start with listening A key strength of the Mosaics model was that it enabled the development of innovative approaches to tackle mental health in ethnic minority populations and to take a starting point from fresh understanding of beliefs about mental health at the grassroots level. The action research highlighted the plurality of beliefs and cultural influences within different ethnic minority groups, therefore the responses to the issues need to be developed in partnership with local communities. 4.2 The nature of partnership working is key The ‘hands on’ approach and inclusion of community organisations not directly connected to mental health issues within the action research process has been shown to be an effective way to bring mental health stigma into open discussion, to challenge perceptions and to change attitudes. The project initiators were highly conscious of the power differential between large organisations like the NHS and community groups. The Mosaics project was a deliberate attempt to avoid the standard commissioning approach to develop new interventions, rather to take a far more collaborative approach that genuinely used the views and experiences of people on the ground to shape the activities. One aspect of this approach was to reduce the impact of funding on the power differential. This was deliberately not funded with a large budget from the top, rather, with small pots of NHS cash (this amounted to only around £10,000 per year), and community groups were each asked to make a contribution, usually in kind, towards the process. Without the active participation of the community groups, engagement with the wider community to the extent that happened would not have been possible. Lee Knifton, one of the lead actors in the project stated: ‘The ethos of community participation and reaching a collective way forward would simply not have been possible to pursue in a commissioning model. The approach taken was more challenging in many ways, we had to be intensely involved in the process and be open to failure, but over time we have been able to develop something that is truly participative and capacity building.’ 89 4.3 Personalising issues can help to illustrate, inform and stimulate an emotional response Through the ‘Storytelling’ project, personal stories have been demonstrated to be useful for increasing awareness and understanding of the cultural aspects of mental health problems amongst a range of service providers across Scotland. Storytelling is also a powerful medium for highlighting to people (who lack a perspective on the role of culture on mental health problems) the negative impact stigma can have on ethnic minority peoples’ lives. Similarly, arts events were shown to engage people emotionally as well as intellectually, influencing beliefs and attitudes and creating a greater willingness to seek help and engage people with mental health problems. 5. Implications for developing good relations work further The Mosaics of Meaning model has already been successfully adopted by projects focused on the mental health needs of other groups, including asylum seekers and refugees (Sanctuary Programme), lesbian, gay and bisexual people (There’s More to Me) and people in later life (Later Life Peer Support Project). We can clearly see how this work relates to the Commission’s ‘good relations’ themes, as illustrated below. 5.1 Changing attitudes All of this work has been motivated by a desire to change attitudes to people suffering from mental health problems – it is an anti-stigma campaign. In terms of reaching the general public, the work of the mental health arts and film festival is indicative of the challenges in achieving universally positive results. Researchx found a positive impact on the relationship between arts and mental health. Events increased positive attitudes, including positive representations of people’s contributions, capabilities and potential to recover. However, they did not decrease negative attitudes. Intended behaviour change was modest and on one occasion, a film event actually increased the audience’s perception of the danger of mental illness. 90 Similarly, community conversations had a positive impact on changing attitudes. According to researchxi: ‘The increased recognition that mental health problems are common, alongside a willingness to tell someone, is arguably a reduction in secrecy and shame. This is accompanied by a reduction in desire for social distance, with an increased willingness to talk to someone and allow someone to marry into the family, an area of particular concern in the literature. The reduction in blame and increased recovery optimism suggests that a community conversation model has the potential to engage communities and promote a culture of greater openness and acceptance towards mental health issues’. Looking at this in light of the public sector equality duty, the public sector has helped to provide platforms for challenging and changing attitudes, but importantly, the creation of these opportunities has been strongly embedded in a community-led approach, which keeps the initiatives more ‘real’ and personal, and therefore more effective. 5.2 Embedding interaction with others The ‘community conversations’ and ‘faith leaders’ strands in particular, as well as all the action research that established the operating model for Mosaics, was predicated on establishing forums for interaction with community groups to get them to engage with the issue of mental health, to be challenged on pre-conceived notions, and to ‘be part of the solution’ – bringing forward their resources to improve attitudes and behaviours in their communities. This proved the close relationship between interaction and increased levels of understanding of mental health issues, and from this towards more positive behaviours. 5.3 Achieving participation and influence The model was built on achieving a sense among participants of being able to influence decisions. 91 The deliberately low budget and mobilisation of community resources helped to address the imbalance of power between large and community organisations. The ‘storytelling’ strand gave mental health sufferers a real voice and was empowering for individuals (the act of opening up enabled the storytellers to feel inspired and empowered to promote the anti-stigma message themselves within their own community), as well as of educational value, especially for staff that have less knowledge or experience of working with people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The ‘storytelling’ work has informed the development of a set of educational tools, promoting equality through awareness raising and staff training. 92 Case study 4 - The Scottish Prison Service 93 Acknowledgements In preparing this case study, I am grateful to Priscilla Marongwe and all members of the SPS Equality and Diversity Managers group chaired by Dan Gunn for their engagement, support and kind welcome. I would also like to recognise the individual contributions of David Gatherum, Lisa Purdie, Susan McKechnie, Morag Stirling, Lisa Hogg, Seamus Kealey and Emma Liddle for taking the time to tell me about the specific initiatives that they are or have been involved in within HM Prison Perth, HM Prison Addiewell, HM Prisons Barlinnie / Greenock and HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont. 94 1. Introduction to good relations activity in Scottish prisons 1.1 Context The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) vision for correctional excellence 2011 recognises the need to: ‘work with offenders to make Scotland a safer place [through] the programmes we deliver and the work we do in preparing prisoners for life on the outside. We aim to ensure that the prisoners we deal with are less likely to re-offend’. SPS equality and diversity managers across the individual prisons and the Prisons Directorate’s central equality and diversity business team, recognise that good prison ethos and positive relationships among staff and prisoners are core contributors to the achievement of this vision. At an operational level, positive relationships are seen to help maintain order and safety, reduce the likelihood of incidents that can escalate, ensure wider engagement / integration of prisoners and create a prison environment in which staff can do their jobs well and prisoners are more likely to achieve meaningful rehabilitation outcomes. This shared understanding is formalised in the Standards used in the inspection of prisons in Scotland issued by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons (2010) which states: ‘The ethos and culture of the prison are important features of the rehabilitative environment. A culture that diffuses violence, aims to deal whenever possible with disputes by mediation and with disciplinary actions by problem solving, will be an environment that promotes in prisoners an understanding and reflective approach to life’s difficulties’. 95 1.2 Relationship to equality and diversity? - A shift in focus Although equality and diversity managers within the SPS demonstrate understanding of the Equality Act 2010 and the duties it places on prison managers and staff, there has, to date, been less emphasis on its good relations provisions than on its requirements to eliminate discrimination and to promote equality of opportunity. Indeed, the widespread acceptance of the importance of positive prison relationships as drivers of the SPS vision that has already been outlined, does not seem to have naturally translated into the specific concept of good relations as described in the Act. This is changing with the launch of the Prisons Directorate business plan for 2011/12. Within the equality and diversity section, a clear new target was set for all prisons to: ‘Arrange at least two establishment events or other activities to foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and others who do not share it’ This target replaced the previous annual requirement which was based only on an interpretation of earlier race equality duties, which was to “arrange at least two nonUK based multi-cultural events”. The change demonstrates clear leadership and has the potential to bring about a major shift in thinking at local levels around equality and good relations and the contribution each makes in achieving the prison service’s overall objectives. 1.3 Reasons for the change A number of factors are mentioned that at different levels have contributed to this change: The prison and prison staff population is becoming more diverse so that it is no longer understood as being just about the (still relatively small number of) ethnic minority prisoners being ‘different from the majority population’. o There is greater awareness of what was previously ‘invisible’ diversity relating to factors such as sexual orientation or experience of mental illhealth o The age profile of prisoner populations is changing with more older prisoners 96 o There are also changing trends in the prison populations of ‘foreign national’ and ethnic minority prisoners themselves. While a previous organisation focus on ‘multi-cultural events’ may have been intended to promote equality through allowing different prisoner groups to celebrate relevant cultural occasions they may actually also inadvertently reinforce separatism and stereotypes and undermine closer relationships between different groups. o Anecdotal examples of this from SPS staff reflect separate research conducted by Coretta Phillips in English prisons for the Economic and Social research Council (ESRC) in 2011xii. This identified that ‘some white prisoners resented race equality policies and events - seeing these as offering preferential treatment to minority ethnic prisoners’. Legislation now covers many more protected characteristics and there is an explicit duty to foster good relations between people who share these and people who do not. The relationship between the over-arching strategy of the SPS and localised delivery initiatives in prisons is changing. The focus on a de-centralised structure seeks to ensure the transfer of good practice and consistent prisoner experience. Commitment to this approach came through strongly from the work of the equality and diversity managers group and individual staff in prisons. The external inspection process has raised a number of issues related to prisoner interactions and community tensions such as this example from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons annual report in July 2011: ‘Violence within prisons remains a concern which I will be looking at more closely this coming year. Is this due to overcrowding? [……] or is this due to the prisoner 'mix' and the tensions in communities being reflected in prison?’ 1.4 Specific local examples of good relations activity Against this wider strategic context, the case study uses three different initiatives from three distinct environments to illustrate the recent SPS approach to good relations. A short introductory description of each follows and further reference is made under each of the sections of this case study: 97 HM Young Offenders Institution Polmont – Walk like a Warrior This programme has been running for just over a year. It explores male identity and how men in Scotland today interact effectively with the world around them. It is targeted at prisoners who are under-18 through a joint partnership with Caledonia Youth and Barnardos. It is deliberately linked to an equality and diversity programme which explores how the individual identities and actions of participants interact with those of others and what that means in terms of their attitudes, their personal safety and their place in society. Five youth workers work with small groups of participants combining learning and leisure in an ‘out of classroom’ environment that is specifically intended to influence the wider group culture. HMP Addiewell – Understanding and addressing hate crime This is an initiative which has been set up jointly with Lothian and Borders police in the last 18 months to recognise and address hate crime with Sodexho employees who work at one of Scotland’s privately run prisons. There are 7-8 training sessions that use tutorials and experiential learning to cover topics from awareness of protected characteristics through to prejudice and stereotyping. The programme aims to raise awareness of what constitutes hate crime, explore what personal attitudes and behaviours drive it and provide practical approaches to dealing with it effectively. It is linked directly to a third party reporting scheme with the police that has been established in the prison. HMP Perth – Muslim awareness This activity has been run over the last year and engages mainly white Scottish prisoners and prison staff in awareness-raising and myth-busting sessions about Islam. It is run separately by an external partner for three different prisoner groups – untried, convicted and vulnerable. The woman who facilitates the sessions provides a structured but informal forum for discussion and is considered to be particularly effective in appropriately and sensitively challenging participants’ attitudes and stereotypes. This work was developed in recognition of the fact that the prison population comes from a largely rural area where many people have had little if any interaction with Muslims. 98 A further area of specific work was highlighted for consideration and followed up as an addition to the examples described above. This work is being undertaken with prisoners in a large city jail who experience mental health problems, learning impairments or addiction issues. The work focuses on providing additional support and alternative activities to these high dependency prisoners, many of whom have significant behavioural issues, within a defined (and separate) hall of the jail. The work is lead through health delivery services and aims to improve the mental and physical well-being of these prisoners as well as provide meaningful daytime activity for those prisoners whose circumstances mean they are unable to work alongside the mainstream prisoner population. Although suggested as an example of good relations work, further consideration suggested this was not how it was seen by those involved in its set-up and that it was driven more by the equality considerations of providing appropriate support to a defined group with particular needs. To some extent, the separate nature of this particular service had actually inadvertently attracted a certain level of stigma amongst the prisoner population that runs contrary to good relations considerations. Some prisoners who it had been felt might benefit from the additional support the environment offered, had declined being transferred to this hall and were quoted as saying things to the effect of ‘I’m not going in there’. Staff, however, were highly motivated to work in this area believing it offered positive opportunities to engage proactively and beneficially with individual prisoners whose circumstances made them more vulnerable in a jail environment. 2. Identifying the issues to address From the research undertaken, it appears that good relations activity in the SPS is being shaped by three distinct drivers at different levels. National strategy and outcomes frameworks are defining direction. A changing operational environment is highlighting service-wide areas of policy or political focus. Local prisons are identifying particular issues of relevance to their prisoner or staff populations. Any of these three levels could be the starting point for good relations activity but it appears that the best and most relevant work reflects all three. 99 2.1 Aligning with national objectives and existing outcomes A key influence in identifying the most relevant issues to address through good relations activity and getting senior buy-in for it, is a high level alignment with the existing framework of national objectives and outcomes within which the SPS operates. Case study participants refer to good relations work having to further the overall aims of the Scottish Prison Service. Relevant aims include maintaining good order, caring for prisoners with humanity and encouraging prisoners to take opportunities which will reduce the likelihood they re-offend and help to reintegrate them back into their community. People also mention the Scottish Government’s nine National Offender Outcomes which are developed from evidence that certain factors reduce the chance of an individual re-offending. Those working on good relations initiatives with prisoner groups referred to at least 6 of these outcomes in relation to their initiatives. Effective good relations activity for prisoners was felt to have a positive impact on: Improving participants’ physical and mental well-being Increasing participants’ employability prospects Maintaining or improving relationships with families, peers and community Being able to access and sustain suitable accommodation Being able to live independently if they choose Improving the attitudes or behaviour which lead to offending and developing a greater acceptance of responsibility in managing behaviour and understanding of the impact of offending on victims and families This ability to look at the national offender outcomes through a lens of good relations illustrated that people delivering this type of work could easily match the national performance measures of their particular area of work (in this case prisons) against the four drivers of good relations (namely attitudes, personal security, interactions and participation / influence). 2.2 Recognising changing environments and demographics The equality and diversity managers group provided many local examples to illustrate the increasing diversity of the prisoner population. 100 These included specific issues relating to prisoners reflecting all of the protected characteristics, although the longer legacy of the good relations requirements from the Race Relations Amendment Act coupled with the previous objective around multicultural events meant that much of the discussion was still around issues of race. Participants acknowledged that the demographic diversity in Scottish prisons is still less than in prisons in some other parts of the UK, but equally recognised that it will only continue to increase. There was also an increasing understanding of the implications of non-visible difference on good relations. However in discussing the opportunities and challenges of effectively meeting the new national good relations target within the SPS, they also widely agreed with a statement from a group member that: ‘In the main, prisoners as a population are inherently socially conservative often with little prior experience of diverse interactions or environments’. There are also significant data challenges for managers with not all data relating to prisoners’ personal characteristics either collected or widely / consistently accessible. Additional information relating to a prisoner’s crime may also have a direct bearing on good relations (for example offences aggravated by hate) but such information may not be consistently recorded on the individual prisoner record. This means prison managers and staff may not have a full picture of the relevant issues. If unaddressed, the changing demographics and data challenges clearly offer the potential for problems not only in ordinary daily interactions within prisons but in respect of specific operational tasks. Specific examples given included: Risk assessments for cell sharing A rise in complaints about perceived unfairness in differentiated treatments The potential for openly gay prisoners to have to be housed in accommodation designated for ‘vulnerable’ inmates to avoid homophobia Policy conflicts between existing fire or health and safety regulations and use of certain reasonable adjustment aids for disabled prisoners Greater self-segregation between different groups as they grow in numbers Tensions over priority use of the limited number of accessible cells for disabled people 101 Dissatisfaction arising from educational or leisure provision failing to meet the needs / expectations of an increasingly diverse prison population with some groups feeling they miss out. All of these are clearly urgent and important issues to address and without actions could lead to serious consequences. These provide very effective illustrations of the types of practical challenges that could be addressed through effective good relations initiatives. 2.3 Responding to local needs - drivers for example initiatives Most prison equality and diversity managers were able to quickly identify areas where there was room for improvement in relations between different groups. Even if there were no actual points of tension, there were examples that showed lack of interaction or integration between existing groups or open expression of negative attitudes in respect of people who were not (openly) represented in their local prison population. Each of the specific examples used to illustrate the national approach in this case study was developed on the basis of identified local need. However this need was not always easily evidenced or quantified and the momentum for the activity was sometimes reliant on key individuals with a strong belief: HM YOI Polmont – Walk like a Warrior Many of the young men in Polmont have been convicted for violent offending behaviour that is closely linked to their own sense of identity and lack of personal skill in finding alternatives to aggression. They can be influenced by ‘gang culture’ and ‘turf wars’ and lack confidence in developing a positive and secure sense of self. Attitudes around gender, group identity and violence were seen to be closely linked. Working early on these issues with the under18 group was identified as being a proactive way to develop coping skills with a target group at early risk of continued violent offending. Further evidence came in the Chief Inspector of Prisons annual report 2010/11, where it was stated: 102 ‘the foremost aim must be to reform and rehabilitate and so reduce the risks of re-offending. This is particularly important for Young Offenders. Most worryingly young offenders reinforce the view that parts of Scotland encourage a culture of violence, a culture that also suffers from the added scourge of religious bigotry’. HMP Addiewell – Understanding and addressing hate crime When HMP Addiewell opened, early meetings between the prison, the police and local residents highlighted an increased fear of hate crime. A number of prison staff were subject to racist incidents and in March 2011 The Chief Inspector of Prisons publicly expressed concern about the level of assaults on staff at the prison. The Director was keen to establish a clear understanding among everyone in the prison that hate crime is a criminal offence whether it takes place in a prison or other environment. They also wanted to provide the staff with specific support in recognising and addressing hate crime and challenging the prejudiced attitudes that motivate it. HMP Perth – Muslim awareness Although there had been no particular anti-Muslim incidents at HMP Perth, there had also been very few Muslim prisoners there. Staff had been impressed at seeing the programme in action at HMP Castle Huntly and felt there was an opportunity to be proactive in creating greater awareness around Islam rather than simply reacting whenever a problem might occur. Although there was no evidence of need or specific objectives for this programme at the outset, there was a strong local belief that, particularly in more rural environments, you have to take the initiative in order to build positive understanding of issues that aren’t part of the everyday experience. 103 3. 3.1 Expected outcomes and key achievements The national challenge Having established a new national target within the Prisons directorate business plan, success for SPS now lies in continuing to develop practice around the good relations agenda in local prison operating practices and in the educational and leisure pursuits offered and followed by prisoners. This is recognised as including the development of skills for future employment and sustainable accommodation arrangements, as well as the social and community skills needed for prisoners to reintegrate within civil society. To achieve that, there will also be a need to raise awareness of good relations issues among prisoners and take structured steps to increase their ease with diversity. This might include understanding the impact a failure to deal with these issues may have had on their past lives, and the opportunities and challenges these issues raise for them, within the prison, and in their relationships with their wider community both before and after release. Currently there is an emerging understanding of what success might broadly look like with regard to good relations, and an increased sharing of specific practice in this area among members of the equality and diversity managers group that can be reflected nationally through the prison directorate’s equality and diversity business partner. As more prisons start to meet the new target of two good relations activities per year, there will be a growing bank of knowledge and skills in the service and a far greater capacity to set and meet further clear good relations outcomes in the future. However, beyond ensuring that the activity happens, little work has yet been done on how this target might be measured nor how it translates beyond the realm of equality and diversity into the wider operational imperatives of the local prison environment. Similarly, on a national level, more consideration might need to be given as the work evolves into how achievement of this specific and quantitative national target translates effectively into the broader achievement of good relations seen through measureable improvements in the attitudes, safety, interactions and engagement of prison populations. 104 3.2 Local experiences from example initiatives The three local good relations initiatives are all still at early stages and from the outset had differing levels of clarity around the specific outcomes they expected to deliver and how (or even whether) these would be measured: HM YOI Polmont – Walk like a Warrior Despite a clear shared vision of what this programme could achieve, at the beginning the programme provider and the prison found it difficult to define a realistic set of outcome measures that balanced qualitative against quantitative criteria of success. Caledonia Youth and Barnardos work on outcomes driven by the Scottish Government’s national strategy ‘Getting it right for every child’. The young offenders institution has a focus on improving the core skills and life skills of those in custody. Working together they have developed an initial measurement framework with criteria for success that assesses programme participants’ progress against a range of measures including social and emotional literacy, confidence, dealing with authority, adaptability, reliability, problem solving, teamwork, assertiveness and taking responsibility. Results from this programme then tie in to their learning assessments in other areas such as health and wellbeing or citizenship, relationships and personal development. As the programme develops, those involved are working together to establish a more tailored measurement structure. In spite of some of the specific measurement challenges, the programme is felt by all involved to be addressing a very real problem in a positive way and having direct benefit from the young men who are reviewing it favourably. Although still early on the journey, there appear to be some very clear benefits and useful learning that could be shared elsewhere within the prison service and more widely. 105 HMP Addiewell – Understanding and addressing hate crime Few specific measures were set for this activity at the outset with the main focus being on making it happen and getting people to participate. Attendance has been good with 100 new staff and all existing staff participating, and it has proved a helpful route to addressing recruitment and performance challenges in a few specific instances. Following their participation, staff are expressing more confidence in challenging inappropriate behaviour both from colleagues and prisoners, and the third party reporting system has been effectively used. People are more aware of where their own attitudes might be inappropriate or offensive and individuals who had previously been subject to abuse are reporting improved interactions and a greater sense of workplace security. The programme has now been extended to social work and health employees operating within HMP Addiewell to ensure a consistent culture and ethos is reflected across the prison. HMP Perth – Muslim awareness No specific objectives were set for this activity at the beginning although in general terms it was intended to raise issues of integration and difference. Prisoners who have participated in the sessions were engaged and appeared willing to reconsider some of their own attitudes. Many of them spoke about it to others who weren’t there which is seen as a positive in the prison environment. Having felt that the sessions on Islam worked well, staff are now exploring the possibility of developing or commissioning further sessions around sexual orientation to enable a similar awareness-raising and educational experience. 4. Lessons learned from the Scottish prison service 4.1 Need to develop wider understanding of good relations Having created a national target specifically addressing good relations, further work is now needed to build a shared understanding of what good relations actually looks like within a prison environment – both in terms of individual and small group interactions as well as part of a ‘whole jail ethos’. 106 At present the driving force is coming from equality and diversity leads who are themselves still developing their expertise in this particular area of the Equality Act. Those people who were already delivery specific good relations work said one of their main tasks was still ‘getting other staff colleagues on board and getting them to understand the value and purpose of the work so that what was learnt and discussed in one place [such as a group activity] was then reflected in the rest of their jail day’. 4.2 Identities and group relationships are complex Particularly in a prison environment where the very fact of incarceration means that individuals do not have personal control over many aspects of their lives, issues of self-identity can become even more acute. The research referred to earlier by Coretta Phillips for the ESRC found that ‘identities played a key role in preserving a sense of self, ontological security [ontology=the nature of being or existence], and social cohesion among prisoners’. It went on to say specifically in relation to young adults that ‘regardless of ethnicity, local identities were predominant. Value was placed on neighbourhood, often leading to aggressive defence of territory. Local allegiances provided a sense of self and belonging beyond the prison’. Such views were also very evident in relation to the Scottish experience from participants in this research. Participants made it clear that where promoting good relations entails exploring attitudes (to self and others), looking at the way people interact and how safe or confident they feel in doing that and ensuring that everyone’s voice is valued and heard, this has to be approached with some expertise and sensitivity to get the desired results in a prison context. 107 4.3 Evidence is key but measurement can be difficult In order to properly assess the impact of good relations activity on groups and individuals with different protected characteristics, there is a clear need for data across those characteristics. This does not always exist and when it does it is not always easy for managers to access or disaggregate at a local level. There was also recognition internally and from external partners that SPS has traditionally tended to be interested in ‘numbers only’ in terms of its measurement approach. This does not lend itself easily to assessing the impact of the more subtle changes in ethos, culture or behaviour that good relations activity seeks to bring about. ‘I sense with this target, the governors want to see high profile big events justified by numbers of ‘bums on seats’ in the gym however I think we’re all less clear on how such events will make a difference to good relations outcomes’. 4.4 Specific benefits and challenges of good relations in prisons Prison as a closed environment can have its own culture and norms that are either a concentration of what is found in wider society or unique to the prison context. This can make good relations work particularly relevant but it can also create situations that fall outside wider society’s general understanding of positive interactions. A 2011report from the Prison Reform Trust states that: “good relations is an area with particular resonance for prisons. Victimisation, bullying and harassment are more likely in an environment where autonomy has been removed and people are deprived of liberty and personal resources”. However two extreme examples of the prison environment’s unique challenges arose during the research. One came in references to being ‘jail gay’ - where prisoners have same sex relations due to their incarcerated situation but maintain (or even accentuate) their hetero-normative and homophobic attitudes as a result. In the worst examples this extended to rape and coercion. 108 The other reflected the harsh reality that some prisoners are extremely violent criminals and respondents discussed having to carry out ‘enemy-checks’ before group work sessions to ensure they wouldn’t be dealing with attempted murder instead of good relations. These are clearly not the same good relations challenges that have to be addressed in other environments. 5. Implications for developing good relations work further The Scottish Prison Service has taken clear leadership in setting a national target for work on good relations and is now developing and sharing the experience, evidence and measurement structures to enable them to deliver consistently against that in a wide variety of different contexts. In his annual report 2011, Scotland’s Chief Inspector of Prisons stated: ‘One of the ways to improve its reputation is for the SPS to improve the way it passes on 'good practice'. I make specific efforts to highlight such practice in all of my reports, yet rarely do I see similar efforts to include such practice where it is relevant and would be helpful. I urge that 'good practice' is communicated much more effectively than currently’. This research clearly shows that there is emerging good practice around good relations in SPS that merits sharing and celebrating both internally and externally. There are also some transferable lessons that can help other public sector bodies develop their good relations work, whether they are working in similar or different environments. 5.1 Take good relations beyond the ‘equality and diversity’ label Although the term good relations is codified in the general equality duty of the Equality Act 2010, research with the SPS showed that the principles of good relations were already an inherent (although unacknowledged) part of that organisation’s overall vision and key outcome measures. There were also numerous examples as listed earlier that showed where core operational activities contained a strong good relations element. 109 One of the key opportunities is to develop a wider understanding of good relations beyond equality and diversity staff and demonstrate how it can be better integrated into everything a public body undertakes. Re-framing the SPS objectives outlined in the first section of this case study within a good relations context might be a helpful way to ‘bridge the gap’ between what the organisation sees as its primary purpose and the part that good relations plays in this. 5.2 Building effective partnerships Work that is specifically looking at changing attitudes and interactions between different groups in society so that all can feel that their voice is heard and their position is secure, is best done in partnership with those who can bring relevant insight and appropriate expertise. It also needs to reach all of those who work in a particular environment to ensure a consistent message. Sometimes all of this can be done within an organisation, but the Scottish Prison Service has also been particularly effective in developing both local and national partnerships to achieve the best results. There is clearly a positive working relationship with Capability Scotland at a national level which brings specific expertise to access assessments as well as more policy driven issues that could impact on good relations. Local examples demonstrate partnerships with organisations as diverse as Caledonia Youth, Barnardos, Lothian and Borders police, NHS health services, social work and a variety of community organisations relevant to individual prisons. 5.3 Understanding and measuring the difference you want to make It was clear from the research with the SPS that the development and measurement of clear outcomes for activities that they were undertaking differed widely. This was due to diverse opinions on the quality and value of existing measurement systems as well as challenges that people had encountered in quantifying the impact of good relations activity that was widely felt to be more driven by qualitative measures and subtle, human scale indicators. ‘We all know when it’s working well but that’s not easy to translate into numbers’. 110 Whatever approach was used, it is clear that having the core data and evidence enhances the ability of the people involved to properly target their activity and to see its effect. 111 Bibliography National Standards for Community Engagement, Scottish Government Craigforth Consultancy and Research (2008) Accommodation Needs Assessment of Gypsy/Travellers in Grampian iii Scottish Government Guidelines for Managing Unauthorised Camping by Gypsies/Travellers in Scotland; ACPOS Operational Guidance for the Management of Gypsy/Traveller Unauthorised Encampments iv Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire Gypsy/Traveller Issues Working Party (2011) Good Relations between Settled Communities and Gypsies/Travellers, A Strategy v GREC/Grampian Police (2011) Grampian Gypsy/Traveller CrossCommunity Dialogue Day Report vi Grampian Police (2011) Full Equality Impact Assessment, Gypsy/Travellers Unauthorised Encampments Force Procedure vii Scottish Government Social Research (2006) Well? What Do You Think? i ii viii Quinn N and Knifton L (2009) Addressing Stigma and Discrimination through community conversation. In P Bywaters, E McLeod and L Napier, Social Work and Global Health Inequalities: Policy and Practice developments. Bristol: Policy Press. ix McNeil, L (2010). An evaluation of the use of storytelling and narratives as a mental health improvement approach with Black and minority ethnic communities in Scotland x Quinn N, Shulman A et al (2010) The impact of a national mental health arts and film festival on stigma and recovery xi Knifton, N, Gervais et al (2009) Community conversation: addressing mental health stigma with ethnic minority communities xii Phillips Coretta (2011), : Ethnicity, identity, and community cohesion in prison (Chapter in Identity, ethnic diversity and community cohesion Eds. Wetherell, Berkeley, Lafleche) 112 The Equality and Human Rights Commission aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people, and promote and protect human rights. You can find out more or get in touch with us via our website : www.equalityhumanrights.com The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commission. The Commission is publishing the report as a contribution to discussion and debate. 113