Racism fears shown in survey 'should ring alarm bells'

Islanders from Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man answered eight questions assessing equality on the islands and perceptions towards the Black Lives Matter movement.

Guerns Against Discrimination member Lottie Parkes said the notable figure was that 90% of Channel Island respondents from the BAME [Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic] community said racism was a problem locally.

‘This statistic should ring alarm bells for all those who have continually insisted that racism doesn’t exist in Guernsey. It absolutely does – and you should not need any more evidence than this. This is the figure that we should all be focusing on as this is coming from the people who are actually experiencing racism.

‘This, unfortunately, comes as no surprise, but should be a call to action for all of us here in Guernsey, especially those in positions of power.’

Outgoing deputies approved discrimination ordinance proposals recently.

This will lead to a law protecting against discrimination, but that still needs to be drafted and approved.

For the law to be effective and to facilitate cultural change, Miss Parkes said that States members, businesses and the community need adequate education on racial matters.

Guernsey Black Lives Matter co-founder Camille Brouard said that the June BLM protest was commonly deemed irrelevant by people who said racism was not an issue in Guernsey.

‘This survey provides evidence to the contrary,’ she said.

‘From the more common everyday instances of discriminatory behaviour to verbal and physical abuse, racism is very much a structural issue on the island that needs to be addressed in the law, in education, and in our community.’

Nearly a third of survey respondents said that no changes are needed to give all racial and ethnic groups equal rights.

Miss Brouard said that until anti-discrimination laws are active, there is no legal protection against racism.

‘Legislation won’t be a cure-all either. It is very important, but we also need to look into adopting wider initiatives and have conversations on structural inequality and discrimination at all levels to ensure underlying biases are addressed.’

Teaching about racism and colonial history in schools, investigating racial inequality in health care and housing and reviewing pay gaps were recommended as starting points.

‘Racism is a systemic issue. Unrooting it from our community requires reviewing all our systems to ensure they are as free from bias and inequality as possible. You can’t just say you don’t see colour and look away from these issues.’