Blog: The Absence of Equality

At THRE we often focus on and talk about the positives and benefits of human rights and equalities, but it is also important to reflect on what can happen when human rights and equalities are not respected – when there is an absence of equality.

Our work is about and for the third sector but in this sector as well as others, the country and the world, we can sadly find a long list of examples of this absence.

There are many potential negative impacts of inequality, such as poverty, attainment gaps and lack of opportunity but one common yet often overlooked outcome is emotional and physiological harm.

Facing and dealing with inequality can lead to feelings of confusion, shame, helplessness and anger. It’s no surprise that these emotions then impact a person’s overall mental and physical wellbeing. Various studies have shown that the stress that comes from facing inequality, and experiencing these emotions, can cause serious, in some cases long-lasting, trauma. Racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, depravation and poverty are just some examples of the sort of inequality that leads to trauma – in fact any form of discrimination, against any group can have this impact.

It is widely understood that stress has an impact on the body. So, when we have our human rights denied or compromised and we face inequality, it doesn’t just impact us negatively in an emotional sense but also in a physical one. Stress, or toxic stress to be more accurate, can manifests itself in various ways, such as through digestive issues, headaches, heart disease leading to heart attacks, high blood pressure, weight gain and sleep issues.

This can have profound outcomes for those facing inequalities. For example, a health study in Glasgow found that around a quarter of those living in the most deprived areas of Scotland reported levels of mental distress indicative of a possible psychiatric disorder, with these figures being significantly lower for those in less deprived areas.

Generally speaking, more equitable societies and spaces are healthier. The solutions to this are obvious in many ways but also hard to achieve, as a society what we need to work towards is equality, by this we mean not just equality in race and gender and what are referred to in law as the protected characteristics, but also in employment opportunities, wealth distribution, education, healthcare, infrastructure and all the other relevant aspects of the places, communities and world we live in.

We might be tempted to focus on individual instances of this absence of inequality, but it’s also important to consider the systems that influence and enable it. At THRE we talk about the dominant identity shaping the world – that the world and its systems are designed by and work for the most common demographic of person, in many cases in Scotland this means by the archetypal white male who occupies a traditionally privileged position in our society.

This means that there is not always adequate resources or systems to meet the needs of people outside of the dominant majority. This can have a wide range of consequences for many and erodes inclusion in society, widening the gaps between different groups.

An absence of inequality affects individuals in an emotional and physical sense but when we then take these affects and apply to them wider societal structures, we see that an absence of equality is detrimental and in fact dangerous to the cohesion and community we need in society. The idea of equality isn’t some left leaning, fluffy idea for liberal minded people to promote, it is about human connection, community and above all fairness and dignity, which every human being deserves.

Find out more about some of the issues raised in this blog in our Beyond Protected Characteristics resources.