Jargon Buster

Adverse Incident
An Adverse Impact (or A Differential Impact) - means that some people are worse off or suffer more because of an action or a policy - it does not have the same affect on everyone

Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement
An agreement reached in 1998 by the Governments of the UK and Ireland and by most political parties in Northern Ireland. It was designed to resolve key differences between the people of Northern Ireland and to enable both traditions to share responsibility in government. It deals with constitutional arrangements and with many issues concerning equality and human rights.

Diversity
(i) Diversity is a term used to describe the recognition that everyone is different and that the differences should be respected, recognised and valued. It means recognising people as they are, rather than expecting them to conform to a stereotype.

(ii) This is about the recognition and valuing of difference in its broadest sense. It is about creating a culture and practices that respect, value and harness difference for the benefit of the organisation and the individual, including patients.

Due regard
Means to make an effort

Equality
(i) In its most basic terms means treating everyone fairly.

(ii) is not just about treating everyone the same, but making sure that no-one suffers or is disadvantaged when it comes to getting what they need.

(iii) Equality is about creating a fairer society – one in which everyone can participate and has the opportunity to fulfil their potential.

Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)
(i) the organisation in charge of equality in Northern Ireland.

(ii) Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is an independent public body established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The Commission's general duties include:

On 1 October 1999 the commission took over the functions previously exercised by the Commission for Racial Equality for Northern Ireland, the Equal Opportunities Commission for Northern Ireland, the Fair Employment Commission and the Northern Ireland Disability Council. www.equalityni.org.

Equality Groups or Equality Dimensions
(i) These terms are inter changeable and mean the same thing, although the term “equality dimensions” is more accurate and the preferred term. Quite simply this refers to the 9 equality dimensions listed in section 75 of the NI Act 1998:

Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
This is a form of assessment to find out how a policy is discriminating against a group of people, and to identify how to mitigate against these factors.

Equality of opportunity
Means making sure that everyone has the same chance to gain.

Equality scheme
An equality scheme sets out how each government department proposes to fulfill its section 75 duties.

Good relations duty
(i) Section 75 of the NI Act 1998 states that public authorities must “… must have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between people of different religious belief, political opinion and racial group”. This is the Good relations duty.

(ii) The growth of relations and structures for Northern Ireland that acknowledge the religious, political and racial context of this society, and that seek to promote respect, equity and trust, and embrace diversity in all its forms.

Impact assessment
Is a judgment about how an action or a policy affects people

Implementation
Means putting things into place - making it happen.

Mainstreaming equality
Mainstreaming equality can be defined as the integration of equality of opportunity, principles, strategies and practices into the every day work of policy makers.  

Multiple identity
This is a term often used in the equality arena to indicate that as people we are not classified by just one feature, but a number of features. We are either men or women, but we may also have a religion, or a political opinion, we have an ethnic identity, we may have a disability and we have a sexual orientation.

New Targeting Social Need (TSN)
This is the name for a government policy which aims to reduce levels of disadvantage and poverty by directing resources and efforts towards those individuals, groups and areas objectively defined as being in greatest need. While the initiative is particularly focused on combating the problems of unemployment and on increasing employability, it also seeks to address inequalities in areas such as health, education and housing. Following a review of the New TSN policy, consultation has taken place on the way forward including proposals for an anti-poverty strategy. Decisions are expected before the end of 2005.

Policy
(i) a policy is the formal and informal decisions a public authority makes in relation to carrying out its functions.

(ii) means a written record of what kinds of things you are going to do and how you are going to do them.

Public body
Means government departments like the Department of Education and organisations such as the Police, Health & Social Services Trusts, Education and Library Boards District Councils, sports Council, Housing Executive and the General Consumer Council.

Region wide EQIA programme
A key feature of the Department’s Equality Scheme is a commitment by the Department to carry out impact assessments over a 5 year period on all its current and proposed policies which significantly impact on the promotion of equality of opportunity and the promotion of good relations within the terms of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 . New and existing policies are therefore routinely screened for equality implications and if appropriate are added to the Region-wide Equality Impact Assessment Programme.

Screening
(i) means that the public body will look carefully at a policy to see whether it might unfairly treat or affect some people more than others.

(ii) Screening is an initial assessment of a policy during its development which identifies whether the policy will have any adverse impact on any group of people. This stage occurs before an EQIA and will indicate whether there is a need for an EQIA which is a more in-depth investigation of the adverse impacts

Screened in
The DHSSPS uses the term “screened in” to indicate that evidence has shown that the proposed policy will, or it is likely to have, an adverse impact on a section of society, and should be subject to an EQIA.  

Screened out
The DHSSPS uses the term “screened out” to mean that , following a preliminary examination and consultation exercise, no significant impact on equality of opportunity or potential adverse impact has been identified and the policy will not be therefore subjected to an equality impact assessment.

Section 75
(i) means the bit of the law that is about equality

(ii) Section 75 refers to a section of a piece of legislation which requires all government departments to consider the equality implications of what they do, and particularly to ensure that it does not discriminate unfairly against particular dimensions of people. An extract of section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 is below:

75. – (1) A public authority shall in carrying out its functions relating to Northern Ireland have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity-

(a) between persons of different religious belief, political opinion, racial group, age, marital status or sexual orientation;

(b) between men and women generally;

(c) between persons with a disability and persons without;

and

(d) between persons with dependants and persons without.

(2) Without prejudice to its obligations under subsection (1), a public authority shall in carrying out its functions relating to Northern Ireland have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group.

Statutory equality duty
(i) what the state or government says must happen in relation to equality

(ii) A requirement under legislation to consider equality in the development and delivery of services, arising from the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Human Rights

Commissioner for Children and Young People
The Commissioner for Children and Young People will act as a completely impartial and influential champion for children outside Government.

European Convention on Human Rights
This international treaty, drawn up in 1950, protects people against violations of their rights by governments. It describes the rights and freedoms everyone should have, such as the right to life, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and an effective education. It forbids torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the death penalty, slavery and forced labour. These rights are now enforceable directly in the courts of Northern Ireland through the Human Rights Act 1998.

Human Rights
There are many definitions of human rights. Two are included here.

(1) Human rights are those basic standards without which people cannot live in dignity. To violate someone’s human rights is to treat that person as though she or he were not a human being. To advocate human rights is to demand that the human dignity of all people be respected.

(2) Human rights are rights which belong to everyone simply by virtue of being human.

Human Rights Commission (HRC)
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is a body set up in 1999 as a result of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. It has a number of powers and duties. These include: advising government on whether it is meeting human rights standards, raising awareness of human rights through human rights education, advising people on taking cases to court, consulting and advising on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland and publishing research.

Human Rights Act
The Human Rights Act 1998 brings most of the European Convention on Human Rights into local law. All laws, policies and actions of public bodies should meet the standards of the Human Rights Act. Local courts can consider if a person’s human rights under the European Convention have been breached.

International human rights standards
These are principles and standards, agreed among nations, on how to increase respect for human dignity. They are found in a wide variety of human rights documents. These documents ensure that all laws and actions of governments will live up to the agreed standards.

Proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland
The Belfast Agreement specified that the NIHRC should consult and advise the Secretary for State for Northern Ireland on the rights to be included in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The Commission has carried out an extensive consultation on the rights to be included in the proposed Bill of Rights.

United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child is an important international agreement signed up to by most countries. It promises that children’s rights will be respected. It guarantees key rights such as the right to survive and develop, the child’s right to a voice, non-discrimination and the best interests of the child. At present it is aspirational rather than directly enforceable in the courts, but it is increasing in influence.