Equality within my Borough (Part 2)

What are you views on discrimination within the London Borough of Sutton?

There are many different strands of equality and as a disabled person living within London Borough of Sutton I feel that the approach to equality in the borough is not always very equal.

With regard to race discrimination, the London Borough of Sutton has historically been a “white” area i.e. approximately 87% of the boroughs population is “White British” as opposed to 50% in some of the other London Boroughs.

In relation to “Sex Discrimination”, I do not believe there is a major issue with discrimination within Sutton and I am aware of any initiatives and schemes aimed at gender issues particularly relating to the number of women’s groups etc in all areas of the community.

Obviously disability is very personal to me and it was not until the beginning of the 21st Century that I began to feel that discriminatory barriers were being removed within the borough. At this time, disability appeared fairly high on people’s agendas and disability issues began to be taken more seriously. Unfortunately, I do now feel that after this initial appreciation of the issues it has somewhat abated and is not being treated as importantly as race and sex discrimination within the Borough.

I do not believe that there are that many experiences of discrimination within the Borough in relation to other equality strands such as Age, Sexual Orientation, Religion and Transgender.