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Equality Duties
There is a wealth of research and practice
based experience that shows bullying can be racist,
homophobic or sexist, and targeted at children and young people
with disabilities or special needs.
Where bullying is discriminatory, the
underlying attitudes and values that are informing the behaviour
need to be addressed. Equality officers and other relevant staff
have an important part to play in advising how best to develop and
monitor anti-bullying strategies to ensure they tackle
discrimination.
A number of local authorities have developed and
published guidance and materials for schools and the
wider community that relate directly to the equality
strands.
The Safe
to Learn suite of guidance also directly addressed identity
based bullying including:
- Bullying around racism, religion and
culture
- Homophobic bullying
- Bullying Involving Children with Special Educational
Needs and Disabilities
Sexual, sexist and transphobic
bullying
Legislation to tackle discrimination has been
considerably strengthened, and anti-bullying
practitioners must ensure they familiarise themselves with the
legislation, and relate this directly to their work. All
agencies, including schools, must have regard for their duties and
obligations under existing legislation. A good way to keep up
to date is to regularly visit the website of the Equality and Human Rights
Commission.