Communicate with Confidence our information toolkit for the community we serve GWASANAETH TÂN AC ACHUB Canolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru Mid and West Wales FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICE RAISING AWARENESS - REDUCING RISK Contents FOREWORD 3 THE DIVERSITY UNIT 4 Who are we? 4 What we do 4 Why we do it 4 Contact details 5 LEGISLATION AND POLICY OVERVIEW 6 WORKING WITH ETHNIC MINORITY COMMUNITIES 10 Introduction 10 How to refer to people by ethnic origin 10 Cross-cultural communication 12 Afghanistan 13 Arabs 14 The Balkan States 15 The Chinese 20 The Vietnamese 22 People of South Asia 23 People of the Caribbean 25 Africans 27 Somalis 27 Irish/Travellers 29 Polish/Migrant Workers 33 RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL DIVERSITY 35 Bahai’i 35 Buddhism 36 Christianity 39 Hinduism 41 Islam 45 Jainism 46 Judaism 49 Rastafari 52 Shintoism 53 Sikhism 56 Taoism 57 Zoroastrianism 57 Food Laws 59 Death Rites 60 WORKING WITH DISABLED PEOPLE 61 Introduction 61 The social model of disability 61 Meeting a disabled person 62 Attitude and approach to people with a disability 62 Meeting a person who uses a wheel chair or has limited mobility 62 Meeting a deaf, deafened of hard of hearing person 63 Meeting a blind or visually impaired person 64 Meeting a person who has speech difficulties 64 Meeting a person who has facial disfigurement 64 Meeting a person with learning difficulties 64 Meeting a person with mental health issues 65 Disability related language: Good terms to use 66 Disability related language: Terms to avoid 66 WORKING WITH OLDER PEOPLE 69 Introduction 69 Meeting with older people 69 Emergency situations 70 WORKING WITH THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY 71 Introduction 71 Legislation 71 Myths and facts 72 Do’s and don’ts 73 Transgender equality 73 Introduction 73 What is gender reassignment? 73 What is the purpose of gender reassignment? 74 What is gender recognition? 75 COMMUNICATION 76 Language Line 76 British Sign Language 77 Welsh Language 78 Events and Meetings Checklist 79 DATA AND STATISTICS 80 INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED DAYS 81 Foreword Equality isn’t a minority interest. A fairer society benefits everyone in terms of economic prosperity, quality of life and good relations within and among communities. The responsibility for building a successful society rests with all of us. The role of the Fire and Rescue Service has evolved over recent years. No longer do we use the ‘one size fits all’ service delivery approach. We now tailor our services and working practices to meet the requirements of our communities and our staff. To help us to do this we have created this resource which will compliment the other tools you use to do your job effectively. It sets out useful information as well as practical tips about people that live, work and visit South Wales. We hope the information will enhance the way we conduct our day to day activity, what ever our role in the Service. It is important to recognise that people of any strand of diversity are not a homogenous group. We have multiple facets to our identity such as an older, black, disabled female for example. It is also important that whilst taking account of any individual’s background and requirements, we should not allow these to define them. A ‘wheelchair user’ is a person using a wheelchair. A ‘gay man’ is a man. With this in mind, when using this resource please always remember that individuals are exactly that. Most people will respond to courtesy and good manners. A large proportion of the information in this document is obvious and common sense, for example shaking a persons hand is perfectly acceptable in most cultures, and you can offer your hand to a blind or visually impaired person. But it would be common sense to say ‘may I shake your hand’. The resource has been put together in such a way that it can be continually updated and revised as new information presents its self and the demographics and dynamics of our South Wales community evolves and changes. 3 The Diversity Unit Who we are: The Diversity Unit is currently comprised of two diversity officers who cover the entire Fire Service. The skill set and expertise of the Unit enables it to target and respond to the wide variety of equality and diversity issues which present themselves within such a large organisation, and assist colleagues with the creation of applicable solutions. The team reports to the Chief Fire Officer; however they work across all directorates and all areas as the requirement for compliance and improvement transcends a linear approach. What we do: • We offer in-house advice and guidance on equality and diversity issues to promote legislative compliance • We advocate for equality and diversity improvements • We work with key partners to gain, share, and implement best practice • We enable ownership of diversity by supporting managers and staff • We promote real and meaningful mainstreaming throughout the business • We assist the Service in assessing how best to meet the diverse needs of its staff and the communities it serves • We encourage the organisational and cultural development of the Service • We empower staff by providing information, awareness sessions, and related support services • We celebrate improvements, good news, and changes which brings our diversity ethos to life for service users as well as current and future staff • We act as an equality and diversity contact point for external service users and partners Why we do it: As a service funded by public money, there are clear legal duties and requirements placed upon South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) in relation to equality and diversity. These are complex and range fully across all sectors of the Service and its business- from how we procure equipment to how we prioritise services. With the Welsh Assembly Government listing equality and diversity as one of the top three priorities in Wales for Fire and Rescue Services, the momentum to drive forward and embed, real and meaningful changes is increasing. 4 As well as current legal requirements, the introduction of the New Single Equality Bill will strip public sectors of many ‘get out’ clauses currently allowed, and will put the responsibility squarely on these services to proactively create the improvements needed. Some ways these improvements are being driven: • Internal and external facing Equalities and Diversity web pages • Development of in-house resources available on the intranet • Supporting key events in the geographical area • Commissioning an equality audit to benchmark current position • Advising senior and executive management on risks via consultation processes • Developing working partnerships on a pan-Wales basis with the other fire services • Providing multileveled information to service via high level meetings, induction sessions, station based talks, and team briefings • Developing a Single Equality Scheme • Facilitating improvements in line with our Stonewall Diversity Programme • Implementing a People Ambassador Pilot to ‘up-skill’ awareness across all levels of the organisation • Feeding into plans, policies, equality impact assessments, and corporate actions • Highlighting legislative based business risks in regards to equality and diversity • Creating a multi-disciplinary equalities forum with key internal and external partners • Establishing staff networks that provide both support and a meaningful mechanism for engagement and consultation • Facilitating, participation and involvement activities, internal and external • Commissioning research The Diversity Unit welcomes feedback and further information that can be added to the resource. The Unit would like to thank Race Equality First, Cardiff and the Vale Coalition of Disabled People. LGBT Excellence Centre, Safer Wales, Age Concern Cymru, Help the Aged Wales, the Minority Support Unit of South Wales Police and Steve O’Connell, for their valuable contributions to this resource. Our contact details are: Vicky Gregory Diversity Officer [email protected] Tel: 07747 693353 / 01443 232673 Carey Wood-Duffy Diversity Officer [email protected] Tel: 01443 232749 5 Legislation and Policy Overview South Wales Fire and Rescue Service has a duty to consider the needs of the community it serves as well as its staff. This document intends assist personnel in the task of engaging and working with communities. Such principles can also be applied to working with all members of staff. The Welsh Assembly Government requires the public sector to ensure that it engages people in developing people/citizen centred services. Legislation, especially equality legislation relating to gender, race, disability, religion or belief, age, sexual orientation and relating to the Welsh language, are explicit about involving such individuals and groups to enable the development of more inclusive services and employment practices. The Service has been listening to its service users and staff for some time. Its intention is to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to inform the development of their Fire and Rescue Service as a service provider and as an employer. This requires more sophisticated methods of engagement and up to date information about its staff and the community. What are Human Rights? ‘Human rights’ are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world. Ideas about human rights have evolved over many centuries. But they achieved strong international support following the Holocaust and World War II. To protect future generations from a repeat of these horrors, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. For the first time, the Universal Declaration set out the fundamental rights and freedoms shared by all human beings. These rights and freedoms - based on core principles like dignity, equality and respect - inspired a range of international and regional human rights treaties. For example, they formed the basis for the European Convention on Human Rights in 1950. The European Convention protects the human rights of people in countries that belong to the Council of Europe.