Caste Discrimination

House of Lords written question – answered at on 29 July 2013.

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Photo of Lord Avebury Lord Avebury Liberal Democrat

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the letter by the Minister for Women and Equalities, Helen Grant, to Lord Avebury on 25 June, published on the Dalit Solidarity Network website, what assessment they have made of the familiarity of employers, public authorities and others with each of the protected characteristics in section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 prior to that legislation being enacted.

Photo of Baroness Stowell of Beeston Baroness Stowell of Beeston Lords Spokesperson (Department for Work and Pensions), Lords Spokesperson (Women & Equalities), Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

There was a full public consultation on the Equality Act 2010 before its introduction. Moreover, all of the protected characteristics contained in the Act already had some form of existing legal protection under discrimination law.

Unlike existing protected characteristics, there is no common understanding by organisations such as employers and public authorities of what caste is and how it can be recognised.

This is illustrated in the NIESR report on caste discrimination and harassment in Great Britain (2010) which contains several case-studies where someone claiming caste discrimination also claimed that an employer or public authority failed to take action in response to a caste-related incident because it did not understand the nature of the problem.

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