EOC: Discrimination, racism in top 10 issues

WHILE fighting discrimination and inequality remains a challenge, a survey by the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) has revealed that discrimination and racism top the ten most important issues facing TT.

Speaking at a panel discussion on Friday on Public Perception of Equality and Discrimination in TT at the Institute of International Relations, UWI, EOC chairman Lynette Seebaran Suite said the commission’s national survey on the public perception of equality and discrimination provided a good resource to ensure continuity of its endeavours.

Seebaran Suite urged the public to access the summary of the document on the commission’s website at www.equal opportunity.gov.tt.

She said the findings were on the basis of public perception on the most important issues facing the country.

She said: “A comparison was done between the 2011 MORI Caribbean Opinion Survey and the EOC National Survey on the Public Perception of Equality and Discrimination 2017. The public perception of equality revealed that 83 per cent responded that a lot needed to be done to achieve equality.

“Nineteen per cent believed that equality was ‘extremely achievable’ and 58 per cent believed that it was ‘somewhat achievable.’”

Seebaran Suite said 14 characteristics were given, which included ethnicity/race, political views, class/status/occupation/income, education level, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status, disabilities, location of residence, religion, age, sex, geographic origin/nationality, parental status, and marital status.

She said the public perception of discrimination showed that 92 per cent believed discrimination is a problem, with 57 per cent responding that it was a very big problem.

“Ninety-four per cent believed that one or more forms of discrimination exist in society and approximately 40 per cent of respondents felt discrimination was done on purpose.

“Discrimination in employment and in the provision of goods and services were perceived as the settings in which discrimination most frequently occurred.”

Seebaran Suite said societal perceptions of religious discrimination were greatest among Pentecostals and lowest among Muslims.

“Muslims and Seventh-day Adventists perceived more discrimination in personal experiences than other groups. Perceptions of discrimination were greatest among other religions, Pentecostals and Baptists.”

“Other” in the survey covered Rastafarians, Orisha, Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Methodists, Moravians and others, she explained.

Dr Gabrielle Hosein, director of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at UWI, said while women continue to experience discrimination at higher levels than men, the data suggested they also perceived the country as discriminating more against women than men.

Hosein said when one looked at the recommendations of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to the Government in 2016, one of the strong recommendations was for a national gender policy.

She said the country is still awaiting the formal approval of the policy and if the Government takes seriously the findings that the national experience for women is one of greater discrimination, “Then the data suggest that a policy needs to be approved sooner rather than later, so that there is a co-ordinated national approach available for all to see, and a basis for accountability for us to address this.

“The policy is now in draft form under feedback and is not yet formally approved,” she said. “The lobbying and the collaboration to get a version of the national gender policy that can be approved by Cabinet continues.”

Hosein said the findings of the EOC study highlighted the importance of the Government having stated policy positions on ending discrimination against women.

“That alone strengthens the call for a final version of the policy to be approved as a sign of the Government’s commitment,” she said.