REPORT GAY DOMESTIC ABUSE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Inspector Mark Parish, head of Leicestershire Police's domestic violence investigation unit

Report gay domestic abuse

by Ciaran Fagan

Police have launched a campaign to encourage gay people to come forward if they are being abused by their partners.

The drive was launched yesterday as police believe the crime is particularly under-reported.

Posters which bear the message "Domestic abuse doesn't discriminate – and nor do we" are being distributed across Leicestershire.

In 2011-12, the force investigated 81 reports of domestic crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – a small fraction of the 17,000-plus offences reported to the force in the past year.

Also, a survey carried out at Leicester Pride two years ago found that 46 per cent of those questioned had experienced some form of domestic violence.

Detective Inspector Mark Parish, who leads the force's domestic abuse investigation unit, said: "When you compare surveys of people's experience with recorded crime, it is clear members of the LGBT communities are under-reporting domestic abuse.

"There are likely to be two main reasons for this.

"The first is they may not recognise the signs of abuse, and what help there is available.

"The second is that, historically, there has been distrust between police and LGBT communities. However, things have changed. You can have confidence Leicestershire Police will listen to your issues and carry out a professional investigation without discrimination."

The campaign is being supported by domestic violence organisations and Leicester's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Centre in Wellington Street, in the city centre. It was launched yesterday at the Rainbow and Dove pub, a gay venue.

Paula Harris, co-chairman for the LGBT Community Safety Forum, said: "It is great to see police are taking this matter seriously.

"Hopefully, these posters will raise people's awareness that domestic abuse can and does happen in any type of relationship and it is not just about physical violence. I would urge anyone living in an abusive relationship to report it."

Meena Kumari, manager of domestic violence support service Safe Leicester, said: "Safe takes domestic abuse seriously.

"This is a real under-reported crime and would like to help the community gain the level of support they are entitled to."

RESPONSE TO DRAFT POLICE & CRIME PLAN

Here's the text of the Council of Faiths response to the draft Five Year Plan proposed by the recently elected Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader.

As well as writing and submitting this response from our organisation, I've contributed to the writing of a collective response, to be submitted in association with our colleagues at Leicester LGBT Centre, Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living and The Race Equality Centre

***

Response to Police and Crime Commissioner's draft Five Year

George M Ballentyne,

Equality & Diversity Officer,

Leicester Council of Faiths

Having searched the electronic version of the draft plan throughout, looking for relevant terms such as “faith”, “religion”, “place of worship”, “church”, “mosque”, “temple” etc., I was disappointed not to find any of them included.

I searched every conceivable variation on these terms and the only mention of any of them to be found was the use of the word “religious” twice, both times in connection to “racially and religiously motivated hate crime” (p.23). Even this slight mention gave cause for concern: under the new legislation embodied in the Equality Act 2010, race and religion are deemed distinct “Protected Characteristics”. Lumping the two of them together like this appeared a backward move, not in keeping with the change in legislation and public recognition.

So on even the most cursory reading, the draft plan makes no reference to any faith communities, or to any organisation representing anyone or anything to do with religion or belief. This is particularly disappointing for two reasons:

1. Firstly, absence of acknowledgment of the need to engage actively and positively with the city’s diverse faith communities – their places of worship and related community centres (numbering close to 300 and steadily increasing), the growing number of faith schools, the many festivals spread across the year.  Each of these communities, organisations and premises – as well as those responsible for the many public occasions – has worked hard over many years to establish, maintain and develop good relations with police at all levels. They each have particular sensitivities and vulnerabilities that need to be recognised and addressed, as well as distinctive strengths and contributions that should be acknowledged and accommodated. This is a certain kind of community policing that Leicester has become good at. Its omission from the draft plan could make it appear that all this hard work is not valued and may well go to waste under a new regime.
2. Secondly, absence of recognition that as well as giving so much to the celebrated diversity of the city, these communities, organisations, premises and events present potential flashpoints in terms of criminal behaviour and disruption of social order. Whether seen in the two recent visits by the English Defence League, in the on-going tension around ownership and use of Thurnby Lodge Community Centre, in the armed attack on the Moghul Dharbar restaurant in East Park Road or around the much-publicised issues of sexual exploitation, there is a new hardening of attitudes, a testing of relationships, a willingness to point the finger – and to take unilateral action, in word and deed – against, among and between communities that is altering the environment of peaceful coexistence in the city.

Faith communities and organisations can be engaged in the plan not just on crime related to “religion or belief” (e.g. religiously aggravated or motivated hate crime), but in other ways too. Places of worship, community centres, infrastructure organisations related to one particular faith (e.g. British Hindu Voice, Christians Aware, Federation of Muslim Organisations, Leicestershire Sikh Alliance) or related to a variety of faiths (e.g. Leicester Council of Faiths), opinion formers, influential figures, spokespersons and activists play an important part in all aspects of relations between police and community – and none of that seems to be recognised or included in the plan. These functions work in both a softer context in everyday terms and in a “harder context (e.g. role played during visits by English Defence League. Faith-based organisations are also experience and interested in rehabilitation work and can contribute much to cutting down re-offending.

The draft plan gives no indication of who should speak for or about the faith communities and issues of policing and crime that affect them – and on which many of them can make positive contributions. If only Voluntary Action LeicesterShire is to represent  the voice and interests of these communities and organisations (as well as those of every other voice and interest in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector) then Leicester Council of Faiths – and the communities and organisation with whom we work – would consider that an inappropriate and ineffective way to engage. Several years ago, when the Leicester Strategic Partnership set up its system of Host Organisations to represent the many “communities of interest” in the city, Voluntary Action LeicesterShire sought to be an all-encompassing “mega” Host Organisation, bidding to cover all the Protected Characteristics of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation. It was not considered fit to do so in the end and the Host Organisation were picked from among user-led organisations (ULOs) all of which were (and still are) working on the ground with the communities they would claim to represent. From the Council of Faiths’ point of view, VAL at that time had no specialist knowledge, experience or interest in the area of religion or belief and no personnel working with the faith communities. Nothing has transpired in the intervening period to make us believe that VAL has the capacity to undertake that role now. We can only speak for this matter as it relates to our specialist area of religion or belief – but we wish to make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that (I believe, in common with our colleagues in other ULOs in the city and county) we would not have confidence in VAL to perform this role in way outlined in the draft plan. We would urge direct engagement with ULOs, preferably in partnership alignment. 

In a new specification that runs initially to the end of 2014, Leicester City Council has commissioned the following activities from Leicester Council of Faiths:

• To promote trust, understanding and co-operation among faith communities and organisations in Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• To disseminate accurate information about the beliefs and practices of the diverse faith communities of Leicester, working collaboratively with Leicester City Council and other strategic groups and partnerships to achieve this.
• In pursuit of these activities, Leicester Council of Faiths is to deliver the following outcomes, all of which would be relevant and useful in the context of the Police and Crime Plan:

• Offer a collective voice for the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief are given appropriate consideration within the policies and operations of the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships), leading to improved design, delivery and monitoring of services.

• Provide a central point of contact for the City Council (and other strategic groups and partnerships) on behalf of the city’s faith organisations and the communities they serve, ensuring that issues of religion or belief can be addressed in an effective, sensitive and timely manner.

• Assist faith communities and organisations in Leicester more fully to engage in the life of the city in general.

• Ensure dissemination of accurate knowledge of the beliefs and practices of the city’s diverse faith communities and organisations, in order to increase trust, understanding and cooperation among them (and between the city’s diverse faith communities and the general public in Leicester). 

Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council as a partner on issues relevant to section 4.3 of the draft plan. Leicester City Council wants to use “using lines of communication between and within faith communities and organisations to improve design, delivery and monitoring of services”.  This same approach can be adapted to serve the purposes of the Police and Crime Plan. As a practical example, Leicester Council of Faiths is working with Leicester City Council on places of worship and faith-based community centres as focal points of “resilience” (see p. 30). It would make sense, as an example of “joined-up working” to match these needs and outputs. It would make sense for Leicester Council of Faiths to be taken on as a “resilience partner” in terms of the plan. There are many references in the draft plan to “working with partners” that could be seen as applicable to working with Leicester Council of Faiths. These include the following:

• “the Force already has an excellent reputation for working with our partners who play their own critical part in helping to reduce crime” (p. 51)
• “working with partners to solve locally identified problems” (p. 5)
• “working with partners to prevent and tackle crime and re-offending” (p. 9)
• “shared strategic priorities to tackle with our partners” (p. 11)
• “working with partners” (in relation to terrorism, p. 29)

HATE CRIME VICTIM BACKS APPEAL TO REPORT ATTACKS

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Hate crime victim backs appeal to report attack

A transsexual who was punched and knocked unconscious within moments of walking into a pub has spoken out in support of a campaign to highlight hate crime.

Giovanna Del Nord was hit in the head without warning by a stranger as she waited to be served in a pub in central Leicester in October.

The 46-year-old, who moved to the city last year, believes the man attacked her because she is undergoing sex change therapy.

She is a year into a four-and-a-half year course of therapy which will result in a sex change.

She spoke out yesterday at Leicestershire County Council's offices in Glenfield to support a campaign which encourages victims of hate crimes to come forward.

Stop and Tell is highlighting the plight of people who face abuse – physical, verbal or written – because of their race, religion, age, disability or sexuality. It is placing particular emphasis on crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

Awareness-raising events including displays at libraries and council offices, school assemblies, roadshows and staff training are being held across Leicestershire.

Giovanna said: "I spoke because I wanted to let people know that they should tell the authorities about crimes committed against them.

"What happened to me has happened to many other people but they have never told anyone.

"It is important people who carry out hate crimes are brought to justice."

Between April, 2011, and March, 2012, 631 hate crimes were reported to Leicestershire Police – about 40 against gay people. Attacks on transsexuals were in single figures.

Councillor Joe Orson, cabinet member for safer communities, said: "Incidents of hate should not be tolerated and everyone who lives, works in or visits Leicestershire has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to live without fear of hatred.

"We believe hate incidents are under-reported by people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered and we hope this campaign will go some way to demonstrate that help, support and advice is available."

Darren Goddard, Leicestershire Police's hate crime officer, urged people to contact the Hate Incident Monitoring Project (HIMP), which is monitoring the extent and nature of such crimes.

He said: "Sadly, incidents of hate often go underreported.

"HIMP is another way for people to report their experiences.

"Working with HIMP enables the police to better protect our communities and ensure those responsible are held to account."

Stop and Tell has been co-ordinated by the county, district and borough councils, Leicester LGBT Centre, police and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

Contact the Hate Incident Monitoring Project on 0116 305 8263 or visit the website below.

Alternatively, visit a council office or library, which are reporting centres for hate incidents.

In an emergency, call 999.

www.leics.gov.uk/reporthate

REDP DISCUSS COLLECTIVE RESPONSE TO DRAFT POLICE & CRIME PLAN

A meeting at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) this afternoon with colleagues from the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) to formulate a collective response to the draft five-year plan produced by Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader.

As well as LCIL itself and Leicester Council of Faiths, The Race Equality Centre (TREC) and Leicester LGBT Centre are represented here today.

This is the second time we've got together recently to talk about the draft plan. We met collectively (along with a few other VCSE participants) at TREC last month, when we spoke to face-to-face with Sir Clive and members of his team. I'd read the plan through and made some extensive notes before that meeting and was able to make what I hope were some salient points. But not everyone who was there then had been able to read, digest and comment on the plan. So we thought it best to meet at this later date and put together a united response. That approach has always served our organisations well in the past and we have confidence that it should do so in this context too.

We each have certain things to say about our own areas of interest and expertise, as well as highlighting issues around more general equality matters. So we'll all be contributing to this collective response. Chino Cabon, Senior Race Equality Officer at TREC, is going to write it on behalf of the four organisations and submit it to Sir Clive before the deadline in a couple of weeks. Sir Clive has scheduled a revision of the plan in September as part of its life cycle. We hope that our comments will be considered for that - and that we'll be involved in further consultation and discusion.

BBC RADIO LEICESTER: SAME SEX MARRIAGE & ASIAN FAITH COMMUNITIES

This evening I'm live on BBC Radio Leicester, discussing the response of the city's Asian faith communities to the Commons vote earlier this week on the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill with Kamlesh Purohit (photo above). Kamlesh broadcasts music, entertainment, news and features of special interest to an Asian audience every Sunday between 1800 and 2000.

We're joined in the studio by Paul Fitzgerald, Equality and Inclusion Officer at Leicester LGBT Centre.

Our appearance together here this evening follows on from a chat I had with Kamlesh's producer, Dimple Patel, when we met at the Student Volunteering Fair in Leicester College earlier this week. Once we'd agreed that this had the potential to be a good feature on this evening's show, I recommended involving Paul (my counterpart at the LGBT Centre) especially as he is coordinating the new Multi-Faith Support Group there. Paul and I meet up an hour or so before the show in the Almanack at Highcross so we can have a wee chat and avoid going on air cold. When we meet there, I recognise Paul from last week's edition of The Big Questions broadcast from Leicester, on which he made a memorable contribution to the discussion on same sex marriage. Here's a transcript of the interview:

KP: And talking of dealing with issues that affect you, there was one issue this week which exercised many minds, I can tell you, and got a lot of people talking. Because this week, MPs voted in favour of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, which will enable same sex couples to get married in both civil and religious ceremonies. However, no religious organisation will be forced to conduct same sex weddings. Many religious organisations, including the Church of England, are strongly opposed to gay marriage, so what support is there for Asian gay people in the Hindu, Sikh or Muslim communities who’d like to get married but feel that their faith community may not support them?

Well in Leicester, the Council of Faiths and the Leicester LGBT Centre have been working positively with people of all backgrounds, including Asians, who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender with faith communities: a very complex but very important issue. So I am delighted to say that joining me in the studio now are George Ballentyne, from the Leicester Council of Faiths, and Paul Fitzgerald, who is from the Leicester LGBT Centre.Chaps, a very good evening and thanks to you both very much indeed for joining us to talk about this very important issue. George, if I can start with you – because you work with faith communities and leaders in Leicester – we’ve spoken to you in the context of the Leicester Council of Faiths many times before. In your experience, what has been the response to the marriage bill and gay marriage, particularly within the Asian communities in Leicester.

GMB: Well it’s a very interesting topic to try and deal with just now because of course the actual parliamentary process isn’t complete yet, the bill has to go through the House of Lords, to get Royal Assent. So you could say well the dust hasn’t settled and it’s not yet time for organisations to make a complete and systematic response. Now that doesn’t mean that people don’t have opinions right now about it and certainly it’s been something which has been a topic of conversation and discussion amongst the faith communities. And, as you can imagine, the diversity of Leicester being what it is, there’s no single response really from the Hindu community or the Sikh community; there has been from the Muslim community, I think which is quite well known, but there … I think if you were looking for a consistent, systematic response, you and your audience will know that there’s not going to be a single kind of spearhead comment that will say everything for those communities.

KP: But isn’t that frightening because, like you say, you know, it’s not quite law yet because it’s go through the House of Lords as well before it’s ratified, but nonetheless, you know, progress has been made, this is the second reading of the Bill, so you would expect the faith communities at least to have got the ball rolling in some way.

GMB: I think the ball might be rolling but it’s not actually come out into the open yet. And I always say, particularly in situations like this in the studio, that I’m an employee of the Council of Faiths, I’m not a member, I’m not a Director, I can’t make policy or set the direction for the Council of Faiths, but I would stress really that over the past five years that I’ve been in post, we’ve worked very constructively, very positively and very collaboratively with the LGBT Centre. We’ve been members of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership together. And it’s quite often an interesting event that we’ll do things together and people will automatically assume that we should not be collaborating, that faith identity and sexual orientation as an identity should be things which are mutually antagonistic – and they’re not; people have both these things going on in their lives, we recognise that and work together.

KP: That’s the reality isn’t it? That is the reality. Paul, Paul Fitzgerald, from the LGBT Centre, what do you make of what George is saying because I suppose you kind of see it from the other side, you deal with gay Asian people in Leicester all the time. [PF: We do] What is the feeling amongst that community?

PF: I think the vast majority of feeling is one of rejection, that they can’t be honest and open with either their families or certainly their leaders within their chosen faith. To do so carries great risk, you know, family honour is hugely problematic, letting the family down, feeling that, you know, they’re going to have to go along with the process of getting married to sort of prove their sort of heterosexuality. There’s so many problems on so many levels with a lot of the community, particularly with men. The women tend to be more silent if I’m honest, gay women, unless they make contact with other gay women, remain very isolated. It’s the gay men that have the bigger issue with us who come to the Centre, talk to us about the problems they’re experiencing, the sort of issues that are affecting them, from their, you know, from whatever religious background they ‘ve come from. But certainly their families are hugely problematic in sort of coming out to them, and letting them know what’s been going on.

KP: So for those people, does the marriage bill complicate the issue even further? Because at the moment you have civil partnerships, so people can coexist together and they have certain rights, the fact that there’s now this possibility of a marriage bill coming along puts added pressure on them because they may feel they want to get married but they don’t get the support from the communities – either the family or the religious communities - isn’t this just kind of putting just another, another – if you like – kind of iron in the works?

PF: I think it is. We’re a long way from, you know, a large number of religious organisations accepting same sex relationships and equality across the spectrum. I think all this does is add weight to their levels of concern, their levels of angst for want of a better term, because they can’t come out, they can’t be open, they can’t be honest with, with, about who they are. I think it will mean, in essence, very little to them because they still won’t be able to go through the process of approaching their religious leaders to help conduct a same sex marriage. We’re 25-30 years away from that happening, I think, in the UK at the present time.

KP: So in many ways, for those people who may – who are of Hindu and Sikh backgrounds and they may want to choose to get married in their religious establishment, it’s not going to happen anyway so isn’t this just a waste of time for them?

PF: No, because I think equality is very important. I think if we continue the path that we’ve chosen, to make our world, our country, human beings more aware of equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights then I think that somewhere in the future along the way we will open those doors where people can feel that they can approach their leaders, to have the opportunity to get married, if that’s the choice that they make [KP: George –] We have to start somewhere we have to start one step.

KP: Absolutely, it’s a right, in a democracy, they have a right. Do you think the faith communities, in many ways, are afraid to deal with this very difficult issue which is perhaps why we haven’t heard anything definitive from them or is it just, like you say, early days at the moment because it’s not been – it’s not gone through the House of Lords, it’s not been ratified yet.

GMB: It’s not just early days in terms of the parliamentary or the legislative procedure. This is something that’s going to play itself out, you know, like Paul said there, over the course of a generation or more. I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how the young people in the communities respond to this changing landscape, how they might ask for clarification or challenge the leaders and elders in their own community. It’s very difficult to explain to a young person why people of the same sex can’t get married in Britain today. They just look at you like you’re an idiot if you try to explain what the legal or the Canon Law reasons are for this, and it’s going to make a big change in our society and all the faith communities have to respond to a changing social environment. I cannot say, I cannot predict what that might be. I think it’s also important to remember that within the law there is protection for those organisations, they cannot be forced to conduct a religious ceremony for a same sex couple.

KP: But isn’t that something, you know, organisations can hide behind then? In other words, because they don’t want to confront this very difficult issue, they can turn around and say, we refuse to allow this to happen because it’s – you know – not allowed in the religion.

GMB: Well you could say that they are maybe hiding behind it, but the government has placed it there as a shield and as a protection for those organisations which cannot, in good conscience, conduct a ceremony like this and it would be quite interesting – I don’t, I mean, you know – your wedding day is supposed to be the best, most memorable day of your life, or the most memorable several days of your life, and it’s impossible to imagine why someone would want to force a priest to conduct the ceremony. You don’t want to be married by someone who is, as it were, biting their tongue while they’re doing the ceremony. It should be positive and loving and collaborative and supportive. And I think the situation now there – it’s just in a complete flux. We can’t really say anything meaningful about it for quite a long time to come.

KP: But in reality Paul, how does this transpire in reality, because you talked about the pressure young people are on. On the ground, because you deal with gay Asian people all the time, you know – are they under stress, you know, is it sort of putting their health at risk? What – How does it transpire?

PF: Well it’s not just young people, it’s people across the age spectrum. Of course it materialises in their physical and emotional well-being being severely compromised. High rates of suicidal ideation – which is the thought of suicide – we know there have been suicides across the UK as a direct result of trying to be something that you’re not. That happens across all communities, not just within the Asian community. But your sexual orientation , fundamentally, is a big part of who you are. It’s not the only thing, but It’s an absolutely vital component that brings the whole together, where people feel comfortable and confident in themselves. And if one part of you is having to remain hidden and you can’t be true and honest to yourself, first and foremost, let alone anybody else, that will have and does have a detrimental effect on both your physical, psychological and emotional well-being.

KP: Okay, well on a final note then Paul, if faith community leaders listening to the programme this evening, what one thing would you say to them in the context of the marriage bill?

PF: Please come and talk to us at the Centre. We take on board anyone’s values, anyone’s particular beliefs, we’re not there to sort of dictate one way or the other , what we want to do is have meaningful dialogue – and George does some amazing work with the Council of Faiths to bring that collaboration and those communities together to talk openly and honestly and move things forward. You can move mountains just with discussion. We don’t have to all agree that everything has to be absolutely perfect, but we can move things forward with genuine concern for the well-being of our community.

KP: Dialogue; dialogue is the way forward. Okay, Paul Fitzgerald from the Leicester LGBT Centre and George Ballentyne from the Leicester Council of Faiths, thank you both very much indeed for joining us this evening.

LEICESTER LGBT CENTRE LAUNCHES MULTIFAITH SUPPORT GROUP

Leicester LGBT Centre is filling a gap in its support for its members by launching a new social and support group for LGBT people of faith in March 2013. The group is well-timed to support the needs of LGBT people who feel rejection or resistance from their faith. This has been particularly highlighted by very public opposition of many faiths towards the equalisation of marriage recently. Many LGBT people currently find themselves distrusting the support of their faith leaders and, in some cases, questioning their faith itself.

The purpose of the group is to provide a friendly meeting place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who may feel excluded from their personal faith to come together and share experiences without prejudice.

Members, active or lapsed, of all faiths are welcomed. Its aim is to enhance understanding of its members’ spiritual and cultural similarities by acknowledging differences and identifying commonalities. This can only be done by sharing differences of opinion honestly but respectfully with an open voice.

Group facilitator Paul Fitzgerald states, “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith often feel marginalised or excluded from their faith due to discriminatory practices or outdated views. We intend to provide a space where we can share ideas and values to promote good welfare among our communities and even reconnect with our personal faiths. The Leicester LGBT Centre is a perfect venue for this as it is centrally located, unattached to any particular faith and purposeful in its desire to support LGBT peoples’ differences.”

The group will start in March 2013. The Leicester LGBT Centre can be found at 15 Wellington Street, Leicester City Centre.

For further information contact Paul Fitzgerald: paul.f@leicesterlgbtcentre.org or call 01162547412.  Information will also be updated on the Centre’s website.

CHOICE UNLIMITED II

Early this morning, I bring down from the Welcome Centre some of our display material for our (half) table-top display at the second Choice Unlimited event in Leicester Tigers Welford Road Stadium. By 0800 I’ve set up and am on my way to Brooksby Melton College to help run their Inter Faith Events Day. 

A couple of hours later, when Choice Unlimited gets underway, Amanda Fitton and Dan Fisher are here to run the show. That's Amanda in the photo above, alongside Ian and Dennis from Leicester's LGBT Centre, with whom we share a table. Like the event today at Brooksby Meton College, we're "dual-badging" this for Leicester Council of Faiths and Faith Awareness (the inter-faith programme of Christians Aware).

After returning from Melton (a little delayed by having to deal with a partially collapsed ceiling in the kitchen at the Welcome Centre) I’m on the stall here for the last couple of hours of the day, up till 1800.

When the date for this event was announced, I assumed at first that the Council of Faiths wouldn't be able to take part, being right in the middle of Inter Faith Week. I'm glad I thought it through and saw how to make it all work out - with a little help from my friends.

Speaking of friends: in the picture above, Ian Robson, Director of the LGBT Centre is chatting with Harsha Kotecha (sitting in my chair), who was at Choice Unlimited to promote the charities, Cancer Does Not Discriminate and BME Cancer Voice.

Leicester Council of Faiths gets a nice promotional spot in the brochure too.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living this morning, for a meeting of the four Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership. The Core Partners, all Leicester-based Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, are: 

• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We used to meet on the first Tuesday morning of the month, but haven't done so since the funding for this project ended, in June this year.

It soon becomes apparent that there's life in the old dog yet, though. We spend the first half-hour or so catching up on what our particular organisations have been doing since last we met, where we are now, and what our futures might hold.

Our attention is focused on the forthcoming Choice Unlimited event, to be held at Leicester Tigers Stadium, Wednesday 21 November (1000-1800). The first Choice Unlimited, held in April this year, presented information, ideas, innovation, services, products for disabled people. It was an unexpectedly successful occasion, exceeding all our expectations in terms of interest and support. The November event will focus on the same sort of things, but for young people in what's called the "transition period" (14-25 years of age).

Since Choice Unlimited is taking place in the middle of Inter Faith Week (18-26 November) I'd assumed that the Council of Faiths (and, more specifically, I) wouldn't be able to take part in it, but I'm glad to say that we've come up with a plan for having a celebration of Inter Faith Week inside Choice Unlimited itself. Since I have to make sure that our exhibition in Highcross is kept going all that day, I'm not quite sure how we'll go about this, but where there's a will ...

I'll play as active a role as I can in promoting the next Choice Unlimited, through our various outlets - beginning with taking a clutch of fliers and posters to the AGM of Network for Change at the Guildhall this evening.

THE BISHOP OF LEICESTER EXPRESSES CONCERNS ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

The Bishop of Leicester expresses concerns about same-sex marriage

The Bishop of Leicester has expressed concern about proposals to allow same-sex marriage.

The Government has suggested changes to the law which would allow gay people to get married – something currently prohibited – in a civil ceremony.

The Rt Rev Tim Stevens said the Church of England wanted to see gay people further included in society but did not think this should mean redefining marriage.

The bishop also said he thought the Government's three-month consultation on the move was far too short.

He said: "The Government is seeking to meet what it perceives to be the needs of the gay community.

"I would say that the Church of England is sympathetic to those needs. 

"We want to see a society in which gay people are fully included and their needs are fully provided for.

"But this does not amount to a basis for introducing a complete redefinition of the concept of marriage based on a consultation process which is at the very least rapid."

Under the Government's proposal same-sex couples would not be allowed to be married in a religious service.

However, some in the Church of England said they expected a challenge to the ban could succeed at the European Court of Human Rights.

This, they fear, could lead to clergy being forced to conduct same-sex marriages.

If that happened, they warned, there would be an unprecedented clash between the Church's canon law – that marriage is between a man and a woman – and the state.

The outcome of this could be that it was impossible for the Church to continue as the official religious establishment of the state.

Canon Barry Naylor, the bishop's adviser on urban issues, said: "I think the fear comes from the idea that a Church of England minister could be approached by a same-sex couple asking to be married, that minister may object because it goes against their conscience and then legal action could ensue."

Canon Naylor said he was in favour of gay marriage in principle.He said: "I think the most important thing is that it is about two people who want to live in a committed relationship to each other."

Bernard Greaves, a representative of Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre, said he thought the Church of England was "overreacting".

He said the adoption of gay marriage would not lead to the disestablishment of the Church, nor "undermine the notion of marriage itself".

"The traditional view of Christian view of marriage is that it is a lifelong union between one man and one woman for the procreation of children," said Mr Greaves.

"In society that view of marriage has already substantially changed."We accept divorce, we accept remarriage and we accept that people get married with no intention of having children.

"None of that has undermined marriage at all.

"Allowing a man to marry a man or a woman to marry a woman is a change to the law that does not impinge on the Christian view of marriage."

He said he was not in favour of religious organisations such as the Church of England being forced to conduct same-sex marriages against their will.

"It would be absolutely wrong that any religious organisation should be forced to conduct same-sex marriages," he said.

"What is important is that people are given the maximum choice and equality."

LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL BUDGET CONSULTATION

At Leicester City Council, B Block, New Walk Centre, King Street (Directorate Meeting Room, 8th floor) for a consultation meeting on the City Council's proposed budget. Not far to travel from the site of my last meeting this time, as it's in the very same room.

This meeting has been convened by Irene Kszyk, Corporate Equalities Lead at Leicester City Council, to give invited representatives of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations the opportunity to discuss concerns about  the City Council's budget proposals and the summary equality impact assessments in each of the service areas.

As well as Leicester Council of Faiths, there are four other organisations round the table, meeting with Irene:

• Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland
• Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• The Race Equality Centre

Collectively and individually we make a number of observations and recommendations, that Irene can take away and incorporate into the next stage of this process.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning we have the regular monthly meeting of REDP's Core Partners: 

• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We meet, as usual, at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, which is the accountable body for this project. Our meetings are normally held in the office of LCIL's CEO. That's now Steve Cooper, since Dee Martin retired at the end of November last year (see blog entry for 30 November 2011). When I go into the office, much to my surprise, there's Dee! After a moment of confusion on my part, she tells me that she's been coming in every so often, just to tie up some loose ends.

I haven't seen Dee since her retirement do, but I have to say, she's looking well for it. She looks years younger, in fact. Retirement is clearly good for her. Ah, “retirement” … that will be a thing of the past by time I'm ready for it, of course.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning I’m attending the monthly meeting of the Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP). Leicester Council of Faiths is one of these four Core Partners, along with:

• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We meet at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, which is the accountable body for this project.

Today we're joined by members of our Working Group, bringing them up to speed with our exit strategy as REDP approaches the end of its initial funding period and on our plans and prospects for sustainability in the medium and long term. This is following up on the meeting of Core Partners last Wednesday morning (see blog entry for 7 December).

This isn't our only topic today, of course. We discuss the remaining three regional conferences that we plan to hold in the first half of 2012, the topics for which are:

• Human Rights (led by The Race Equality Centre)
• Hate Crime (led by Leicester LGBT Centre)
• Localism (led by Leicester Council of Faiths)

These will be spaced about eight weeks apart and each one will be preceded by a short series of seminars in six different parts of the East Midlands.

We also discuss how to set a consistent tone for the public projection of REDP. As well as adhering to a list of inappropriate words and phrases that we hope would never pass the lips of anyone doing anything, anywhere, on behalf of REDP, we'd like to do something that would help define our values. My part in this will be to draft a brief statement regarding the positive dimensions of identifying with one or more of the Protected Characteristics enumerated in the Equality Act 2010. More often than not, identification with a Protected Characteristic is presented as having a negative impact on individual, family and community life - as if being rid of this, that or the other Protected Characteristic would only beneficial. As if (say) a black person's life would be made better if they had been born white; as if a gay person (for instance) would invariably be happier if they were straight; as if giving up one's culture, heritage and identity as a Sikh (for example) would lead to more success in this world. This is ridiculous and patently so. No doubt that belonging to any identifiable group can lead to discrimination, harassment, persecution or victimisation - and we would never deny that that's the unfortunate and unacceptable reality of life for many. However, the solution is not to aspire to some bland, featureless, flavourless "norm" of being British. What on earth would that be like - and who on earth would say that is them, or wish to be like that? This would help differentiate our approach to diversity (after all, it's in our name) as well as affirming our commitment to equality.

REDP EXIT STRATEGY AND SUSTAINABILITY

This morning REDP's Core Partners are meeting at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, to consider our Action Plan for an exit strategy and sustainability when our initial period of funding ends in June 2012.

Leicester Council of Faiths is one of these four Core Partners, along with:

• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We consider our current position, plans and future prospects under the following broad categories:

• Policy and Procedure
• Audit and Performance
• Workforce and Training
• Accountability and Scrutiny
• Health and Safety
• Training and Equality-Proofing
• Website
• Research
• Market Profiling
• Project Delivery
• Seminars and Events

You'll have to make do with that for now. I'm not giving the game away at this stage! You'll just have to keep up with developments.

REDP CORE PARTNERS TAKE STOCK

Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) is the venue for this morning's meeting of the Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP) with Dennis Fisher, Grants Officer at The Big Lottery. It's The Big Lottery's Basis Fund that bankrolls REDP and Dennis is charged with overseeing our project. We've met with him several times in different settings over the past couple of years; he's here today to talk about our work so far and how we're going to make progress in the final year of this intial funding period.

Round the table for this meeting with Dennis are the Chair of REDP, Iris Lightfoote (The Race Equality Centre), Dee Martin (Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living), Ian Robson (Leicester LGBT Centre), Laura Horton (Project Manager, REDP) and myself, of course, representing Leicester Council of Faiths.

Ian, Iris and I are here until lunchtime, to join in an overall discussion of the project. Dennis spends the rest his visit with Dee (since LCIL is the accountable body for REDP) and with Laura.

We all get the chance to speak this morning; Dennis asks me directly about the "diversity" dimension of REDP.

There's a convivial atmosphere in the meeting today and our funders seem pleased with how REDP has performed.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning we have the monthly meeting of REDP's Core Partners. Apart from Leicester Council of Faiths, the Core Partners are:

• Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• The Race Equality Centre

Our normal meeting place is Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, the "accountable body" for this project.

The regular Core Partners meeting is normally a fixed point in my monthly calendar. I’ve only missed a couple since REDP began - and then only under abnormal circumstances. I did miss the last of these meetings though (Tuesday 2 August) because I was helping run the Council of Faiths stall at the pre-launch event for Leicester Speaks 2011 in Gallowtree Gate. I had the kids with me that day and it was a good setting for them to dash about on their scooters - as you'll see them do, faithful reader, if you visit the video interview with me on YouTube.

That was such a lovely day. Warm and sunny, it seemed the very height of summer. Hard to imagine it was only one month ago. It's blowing a gale today.

The Core Partners meeting goes until till 1330. Soon after that, we're joined by members of REDP's working group, which is charged with getting its sleeves rolled up and doing most of the actual work between meetings of the Core Partners. I'm the only member of the Core Partners who is also on the working group.

We're still discussing some important aspects of our ongoing work when I have to leave LCIL at 1430, to head on up to the Quaker Meeting House on Queens Road. I have my next meeting of the day there in half an hour.

REDP PEER EVALUATION

The Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership have been conducting "peer evaluations" of each other's role in the project. Leicester Council of Faiths has carried out a peer evaluation of the Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre and they have done the same for us. Here's the evaluation of how we've performed with REDP to date:

1.  What do you identify as the benefit of being involved in REDP? 

Involvement in REDP has helped our organisation establish Religion or Belief (as one of the new kids on the block, in terms of equality legislation) as a serious “Protected Characteristic”. We hope that it has helped show those who may be said to adhere to an old-fashioned hierarchy of equalities that no Protected Characteristic can be treated as more or less important than any of the others. 

Involvement in REDP has helped contextualise Religion or Belief as one amongst a specifically identified number of “Protected Characteristics”. We hope that this has helped show those who would make special claims for the significance of Religion or Belief that equalities fit together and that they cannot do good in society if they are in competition for top spot. 

Involvement in REDP has been the single most significant factor in making the post of our Equality and Diversity Officer sustainable. Without the income obtained through work done for REDP, it is highly likely that this post would not now exist. Consequently, our organisation has been able to do many things made possible only by the contribution of REDP toward sustainability of this post.

2.  How do you represent REDP reports to your Governing Body?

A Personnel Management Group, comprising senior officers of the organisation, past and present, receives regular updates on work done for / with REDP, directly from our Equality and Diversity Officer in writing and face-t-face in regular meetings.

Our Equality and Diversity Officer reports, verbally and in writing, to regular meetings of our Board of Directors and of the full membership.

Updates on issues related to REDP are posted on our Equality and Diversity Officer’s blog and by him on our organisation’s Twitter feed. Members of our governing body are at liberty to read and comment these and to ask any questions about them that they consider appropriate or necessary.

3.  How do you include REDP principles in the general work of your organisation?

Leicester Council of Faiths is a user-led organisation, representing the major faith communities in the city. It is our policy and practice to move forward together, rather than favour the interests of one or other particular community. We recognise the place of the Protected Characteristics in relation to religion and to the faith communities represented. A person’s faith – or the absence of it – is one part of their identity. For some it may be the most important part in terms of how they see themselves or want to be seen; in others it will be of lesser significance. This may vary any particular person at different times in their lives as their circumstances and fortunes change. There are older Baha’is, disabled Buddhists, gay Christians, Hindus with learning difficulties, Jains with mental health issues, Jews in civil partnerships, Muslims of different racial or ethnic background, Sikhs who are pregnant or in the early stages of parenthood. Being a person of faith, or being affiliated to any particular religion, does not balance, cancel out or confer immunity from any of the other Protected Characteristics. Our organisation acknowledges this and we work to raise similar awareness among our members and the communities they represent and with whom they work of the cross-cutting nature of equalities, as they affect individuals, families, communities and society.

4.  What is the percentage of time spent on REDP business as an overall percentage of your business

In terms of the work of our Equality and Diversity Officer, at last 50% of the working week.

5.  In what way has your involvement enabled you to develop your organisation?

Involvement in REDP has established a new sense and practice of partnership between Leicester and Council of Faiths and the three other Core Partners and, to a lesser extent, with the organisations who comprise the wider membership of the Core Reference Group.

Involvement in REDP has helped our organisation develop skills and knowledge, through collaborative working with the other Core Partners, which have, to differing degrees filled the role of mentors to us in this work.

It has also enabled and empowered us to appear in arenas and forums of debate and discussion where a more strictly constrained inter-faith organisation might find it difficult to be included or invited.

6.  What skills, knowledge and experience have you been able to bring to REDP

First and foremost, specialist knowledge and experience of religion or belief as a Protected Characteristic.

As an organisation, Leicester Council of Faiths brings to the table a quarter of a century of shared experience working with the diversity of the faith communities in the city and beyond. Many of our members occupy prominent and influential positions in their own – and the wider – community. The organisation’s good name and positive reputation shouldn’t be underestimated as a strong, positive contribution to REDP.

As an individual, our Equality and Diversity Officer (who does virtually all the work on behalf of Leicester Council of Faiths for / with REDP) has been able to draw on lengthy experience in adult education (including a period of specialist teaching inside the mental health service), in the world of publishing, as a copy-writer, editor and proof-reader, and many years working in multicultural, multi-faith settings (this last since as far back as 1979).

7.  How have you been able to use the information you have gained from REDP to benefit your stakeholders?

By helping ensure a more accurate, up-to-date and realistic knowledge and understanding of the facts and implications of legislation.

By subtly yet assertively challenging some of the lingering prejudices against individuals and groups associated with other Protected Characteristics (e.g. disabled people, people identifying with LGBT issues).

8.  As a Core Member, how have you been able to influence the direction of REDP?

Regular input at monthly meetings of Core Partners and to the business carried on between them.

Frequent contribution to comments and criticism of documents related to our areas of interest. Our organisation has led on some of these (e.g. Celebrating Civil Partnerships on Religious Premises; Developing Indicators to Measure National Well-Being; Worklessness and Benefit Dependency

Commitment to and development of use of social media (blogging, Facebook, Twitter) to help promote the work of REDP. Our organisation has been leading on this since May 2011.

Involvement in planning and execution of briefings, conferences, seminars and similar events.

9.  How has your involvement ensured that milestones are achieved?

See response to 8 above and 10 below.

Also, as one of the Core Partners, Leicester Council of Faiths has contributed to the design and refinement of milestones for the project.

10. How have you been able to interact with the Core Reference Group?

Regular input at meetings of Core Reference Group and to its business carried on between them.

Frequent contribution to comments and criticism of documents related to its areas of interest.

Researching, identifying and recommending potential members of the Core Reference Group to fill seats for different Protected Characteristics.

11. In considering the evaluation of the first year what changes did you make in the way that you worked with REDP?

Equality and Diversity Officer sought to obtain more direct and personal “buy in” from Directors of our organisation, assisting commitment and appreciation of the organisation to REDP.

12. What changes if any do you feel REDP needs to undertake to be sustainable in the future?

We need to develop a brighter, more dynamic and attractive virtual presence, making us easier to find – and more attractive and appealing when people do find us!

We need to exploit every opportunity to ensure that our name and mission is known everywhere and by everyone whom we want to know about us. We have done very little to promote ourselves in the media for example; we should certainly do more of this.

We have to be – and appear to be – more inclusive. I’m afraid that sometimes we may appear to be following an old-fashioned agenda that looks more 20^th century than 21^st. Sometimes we can be perceived as more backward-glancing than forward-looking.

I don’t believe we’re making the most of the Diversity aspect of our name, our opportunities or our work. We can appear too legalistic, which I fear is putting off some of those we could be helping – and who could be helping us.

As a group, we’ve developed particular strengths in the planning and hosting of events. We should capitalise on this.

We need to establish ourselves as a brand encompassing all that goes with that in terms of expectation, identity, loyalty, reputation. When the topic of Equality and Diversity comes up, REDP should be the first name on the team sheet!