EDI Terminology

Definition
There are 9 characteristics that are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
These are: age, gender reassignment, being married or in a civil partnership, being pregnant or on maternity leave, disability, race – including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

How this affects me.
Everyone has protected characteristics and so everyone can experience discrimination. However, it is important to be mindful that certain individuals and groups experience more discrimination than others. You may not be aware of the discrimination that they experience.
Everyone is protected from discrimination at work, in education, as a consumer, using public services, buying/renting property and as members or guests of a private club or association.
You will be protected from discrimination through association and if you have complained about discrimination or supported another person’s claim.

Definition
Any crime can be prosecuted as a hate crime if the offender has demonstrated hostility or been motivated by hostility based on: race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
The term hostility means ill-will, spite, contempt, prejudice, unfriendliness, antagonism, resentment and dislike.
You can find out more information here

How this affects me.
Hate crimes reinforce prejudice and patterns of discrimination against certain groups.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger call 999.
If it is not an emergency, there are various ways you can report a hate crime including calling the police on 101 or filling in an online form https://www.report-it.org.uk/

Find a third-party organization that will help you report the hate crime.

Definition
Our brains make quick judgements and assessments of people and situations without us realizing it.
These quick judgements and assessments are influenced by our background, cultural environment and personal experiences.
Due their unconscious nature, we aren’t even aware that we hold these views and opinions and so we unaware of their full impact and the implications they have on our interactions, decisions and lives.
Unconscious bias impacts recruitment, salary and the amount of development that is invested in individuals. 

How this affects me.
Unconscious bias will impact on how we relate to others, unknowingly. This does not make someone a bad person, simply unaware.
By exploring our biases we remove the unconscious nature of them and prevent ourselves from acting from a place of stereotyping and prejudice.
The more individuals that take responsibility to explore their unconscious biases the less likely we are to encounter stereotyping and prejudice.

 Take an unconscious bias test designed by Harvard.

Definition
A non-legal term that describes brief, everyday interactions that send disparaging messages to someone who belongs to a minoritised group. Microaggressions are subtle and insidious often leaving the victim feeling frustrated and confused and often the perpetrator is oblivious to the offense and damage they have caused.
Do not let ‘micro’ equate to unimportant, it means the aggression or incivility is subtle.
Click here to learn about racial micro-incivilities.

How this affects me.
If you are the subject of or a witness to a microaggression you will debate with yourself whether to challenge the subtle insult.  Challenge and you risk damaging your relationship with the user and putting yourself in an unsafe situation. Leave it and the user is unaware of the pain experienced and goes on to cause more unobvious damage.
When deciding how to proceed consider, if you unknowingly used a microaggression, how would you like it to be highlighted to you? How would you feel if you were not informed and continued to perpetrate the microaggression?
It is important that you are willing to listen and learn.

Watch Dr Kira Banks explain ways that organisations can tackle microaggressions.

Definition
Within our social structures, certain groups experience greater incidents of stress in the form of discrimination and prejudice, resulting in members of that group experiencing more negative health outcomes than the majority group. This can look like being refused service, slurs or not being listened to by a medical provider about your own health.
You can view the minority stress model here.

How this affects me.
We can all make conscious choices to reform social issues of racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination to help decrease the disparities in quality of life and mental health between majority and minority groups.

Definition
Someone who supports an individual or a particular cause, in particular speaking up or stepping in when a person is being attacked, bullied or harassed.

How this affects me.
The more upstanders we have at the university, the more we will empower.
It is important to be safe when you are being upstanding.
Watch this video on the 4 D’s of bystander intervention.

Definition
A person engages in unwanted behaviour, with another which either violates their dignity or creates an intimidating or humiliating environment.
This could be of a sexual nature.

How this affects me.
You can be harassed in relation to any of the following protected characteristics: age; disability; gender reassignment; race; religion or belief; sex; sexual orientation.

Definition
Direct Discrimination is someone treating you unfairly because of: who you are; who someone thinks you are and/or someone who you are with.
It is unlawful discrimination if you are treated differently or less favourably because of a protected characteristic. It does not matter if the person didn’t know they were being discriminatory.
Find examples of unlawful discrimination.

Indirect Discrimination is when a general rule, policy or practice is applied to everyone in the same way, but it puts certain individuals at a disadvantage.
Find examples of indirect discrimination.

 How this affects me.
Everyone is protected from discrimination at work, in education, as a consumer, using public services, buying/renting property and as members or guests of a private club or association.
You will be protected from discrimination through association and if you have complained about discrimination or supported another person’s claim.

Definition
Attributing abilities, attitudes, behaviours, beliefs, interests, values and roles to a person based on their protected characteristics.
This could be pre-judging someone or having a fixed mindset about groups of people

How this affects me.
You may assume things about individuals before getting to know them properly which could limit your interactions with that person. For example, you learn your classmate is religious so you assume that they won’t agree with your views on marriage and avoid discussing this topic.
Someone may assume things about you that aren’t true based on your gender, beliefs, age, sexual orientation, for example, ‘All young people love nights out and getting drunk’, or ‘a mature student is uninterested in socializing with us.’

Definition
The intentional and repetitive hurting of another person or group of people where there is an imbalance of power. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological.
Find out more about the Anti Bullying Alliance.

How this affects me.
It is important that you know the difference between ‘banter’ and ‘bullying’ if someone is offended by a comment you make and you dismiss them and claim it is ‘banter’ you are completely invalidating that individuals experience and causing them further damage.
Be gracious if you are told that your ‘banter’ is unacceptable and stop your hurtful actions or remarks.

Defintion
Human beings have an inherent desire to belong, whether that is with friends, family or co-workers.
If you feel accepted, secure and supported to be your authentic self then you feel a sense of belonging to that group/environment.
Thriving environments of belonging create spaces for everyone to communicate, connect and create.

How this affects me.
Student belonging is correlated with positive learning experiences and academic excellence.
The more belonging you feel, the more likely you are to engage with opportunities which will have a positive impact on your human connections and therefore your mental health and self-esteem.