Poverty and Protected Characteritics is a cross-cutting theme of our work in Fife which includes our research on Equality in Fife across the protected characteristics, the barriers to accessing anti-poverty measures (Let’s Leave No One Behind) and life outcomes (Different Paths – A Collection of Life Stories) for individuals.
This theme joins up work on advancing and mainstreaming equality (usually understood as between groups of people or communities) with that of reducing inequality (usually concerning topics around health or wealth/poverty).
Understanding how those key areas of work are interlinked and can complement each other became even more crucial since the Fairer Scotland Duty came into force on 1 April 2018. This duty enacted part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, in Scotland and places a duty on certain public bodies in Scotland to consider how to reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage.
We also collect and share under this theme testimonies of the impact of the Covid19 pandemic through community interviews and blogs or articles.
Let’s Keep Chatting
Following our ‘Let’s Chat’ community interviews during Diversity Week Fife 2020, we are continuing the conversations fortnightly with groups in Fife who are helping people with protected characteristics and who might be affected by poverty and social isolation especially during the current Covid19 pandemic.
To listen to our interviews visit: Let’s Keep Chatting – Podcasts
(link: https://centreforequalities.org.uk/lets-keep-chatting-podcasts/)
You can also watch the interviews on our Youtube channel (with closed captions/subtitles) at:
Lets leave no one behind
At the end of 2019, we carried out with Fife Council Research Team where we looked at better understanding how people who are already disadvantaged and affected by poverty also face additional barriers in accessing anti-poverty measures or initiatives due to their protected characteristics. We linked our discussions in Fife with the wider discussion in Scotland around poverty through Oxfam Scotland and the University of West Scotland.
Our reports and publications in partnership:
- Lets leave no one behind: Poverty and Protected Characteristics in Fife (FCE and Fife Council Research Team)
- Report Launch Blog and Outputs (November 2019)
- On Target for 2030? (UWS, Oxfam Scotland, SDG Network/SCVO)
- ‘Reducing Inequalities’ article in The Geographer – Winter 2019 (Royal Scottish Geographical Society)
- Let’s Talk Inequality (Oxfam Scotland, August 2020)
