The facts are clear – Black, Asian, and minoritised communities face racial disparities in the criminal justice system, in education, health, employment, and many more areas of society. Just this past weekend we heard Mina Smallman, the mother of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry talk about why the killing of her daughters did not receive a public outcry. We see the impact of structural inequality clearly in our work to end violence against women and girls. So we are surprised, to say the least that this report questions the concept of institutional racism altogether.
The report talks about the need to examine the ‘agency’ of individuals and communities to ‘help themselves. This is pure victim-blaming when applied to abuse survivors. It is one of the most basic of social contracts that the State has with its citizens that protection is afforded to them in return for compliance with democratically made laws. Denying the daily reality that Black, Asian, and minoritised communities face on a daily basis is nothing more than institutional gaslighting.
We know that structural racism has a direct impact on the services both survivors and perpetrators need. This is why we actively support our sister organisations in advocating for more specialist support for Black, Asian, and minoritised survivors and why we are currently asking the Home Office to allocate funds to develop specific perpetrator interventions for Black, Asian, and minoritised perpetrators.
Respect believes that the diversity of the United Kingdom’s population is a great strength. It makes the UK a vibrant, exciting and innovative country.
Respect stands in solidarity with Imkaan and other 'by and for' organisations in rejecting the findings of this report.