Jersey Community Relations Trust: Annual Report 2012.

STATES OF JERSEY

JERSEY COMMUNITY RELATIONS TRUST: ANNUAL REPORT 2012

Presented to the States on 14th June 2013 by the Minister for Home Affairs

STATES GREFFE

2013   Price code: B  R.59

Annual Report 2012

Address  PO Box 50, Seale Street, St Helier, Jersey JE4 8PA

Current Trustees  Dr Elena Moran

Martin Richardson FCA Kirsten Spary

Deputy Sean Power  Samantha des Forges Christopher Journeaux Karen Veljovic

Trustees during 2011

Dr Elena Moran Martin Richardson FCA Hannah Clarke Deputy Sean Power  Dr Bryn Williams Juliet Karugahe

Karen Veljovic

Chairperson Treasurer Independent Trustee States Member Independent Trustee Independent Trustee Independent Trustee

Chairperson Treasurer

Deputy Chair

States Member Independent Trustee Secretary Independent Trustee

Executive Officer  Juliet Karugahe Anti-Bullying Counsellor  Alison Fox

Changes in 2011

Trustees – Kirsten Spary, Christopher Journeaux and Samantha des Forges were appointed  to  Trustee  positions  made  vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Dr  Bryn Williams, Hannah Clarke and Juliet Karugahe. The Trust would like to express its gratitude for their hard work and commitment.

Aim

The Jersey Community Relations Trust (JCRT) was established by the States of Jersey on 3rd September 2004, with the following aim:

"To seek to eliminate discrimination on any ground including, but not limited to, grounds of colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins, gender or sexual orientation, disability or age, by promoting good relations between all members of society, and seeking to achieve equality of treatment and opportunity within our community."

Objectives

In order to achieve this aim the Trust has the following objectives, which are set out in its constitution.

• To encourage mutual respect among all people in the Island.
• To promote equality of treatment and opportunity.
• To encourage and facilitate partnerships which enhance social harmony.
• To identify areas where discrimination arises, while promoting and encouraging existing and future initiatives to tackle it.
• To promote education in the community about the aim of the Trust.
• To promote recognition and acceptance of cultural diversity.
• To take measures to counter discriminatory behaviour, attitudes and policies.

The Trust reviews its aims, objectives and activities each year. This review looks at what the Trust has achieved and the outcomes of its work for the previous 12 months. The review looks at the success of each key activity and the benefits they have brought.

The Trust has a partnership agreement with the Home Affairs Department as it provides the Trust with funding. Its aim is to improve people's quality of life by helping create a safe, just and equitable society'. The Trust therefore plans its activities in order to satisfy all of these aims. The Trust believes that all of its activities below satisfy both its own aims and those of the Home Affairs Department.

Activities in 2012

Anti-Bullying Campaign

Following a survey in 2010 that identified a need for an anti-bullying service for those above school age, the Trust established a pilot counselling scheme, the Workplace and Community Bullying and Harassment Advice, Counselling and Support Service in September 2011. This is the first such program on the Island that specifically targets adults who are not covered by existing services (some children have also been counselled when contact has been made by parents).

The Service has been very successful since its inception with a high demand and waiting list for counselling. Many of our clients who have accessed the Service have stated they had previously been unable to find the support and assistance they needed with any other charitable body.

In August 2012, the Trust made a successful application for additional funding to the Association of Jersey Charities, specifically for the Service. A grant of £29,600 was provided in order to increase counselling hours to meet demand. It will also allow the Trust to transfer responsibility for the Service to another appropriate charity.

Education project

One of the ways that the Trust furthers equality is by commissioning research in areas where inequality has been identified. Previous research has related to topics such as civil partnerships, maternity rights and succession law. In 2012, the Trust sought to focus on equality in education and educational outcomes for different community groups.

In conjunction with Southampton University and with the cooperation of the Department for Education Sport and Culture, the Trust has commissioned its largest research project to date. The ultimate aim of the project is to further equality within our schools, to complement work being done in the schools and provide an evidence base that could be used, for example, to formulate policy so as to ensure that children have the best opportunity to achieve their potential.

The research does not seek to compare individual schools but rather to develop an evidence base that will inform action by any interested party.

The team from Southampton University made several visits to the Island conducting interviews with pupils, parents and staff of 13 local schools. They also interviewed policy makers and business people.

The final report will be completed by December 2013. Anti-Discrimination Legislation

Anti-discrimination legislation is commonplace in many countries in various forms. The States of Jersey has been working on an anti–discrimination law since 1999.

In August 2011 responsibility for a draft law was passed to the Social Security Department, to be lodged by the end of 2012. The Trust had previously contributed to the process in various ways, such as carrying out a survey to gauge employers' views on the proposed law. It continued its engagement in 2012 by maintaining pressure for an early introduction of the law by attending consultation meetings and providing a written response to the States' Consultation report. In addition, the Trust was generally active in supporting the discourse around the issue by vocalising its support for the law through the media.

The Social Security Minister, Senator Francis Le Gresley, lodged a draft law on 15th January 2013. This was debated and approved by the Assembly on 14th May

2013. Initially, it will protect people in Jersey from race-based discrimination. Protection against discrimination on grounds of sex, age and disability are to be introduced at a future date. The Trust will maintain its interest in the development of the law and continue to advocate for change.

Civil Partnership

Following a sustained campaign by the Trust, The Civil Partnership (Jersey) Law 2012, came into force on 2nd April 2012.

Previously, it was not possible for same-sex couples to secure any legal recognition for their relationship in Jersey or enjoy any legal rights or take on any legal responsibilities for their relationship. This had a major impact on the quality of life of same-sex couples.

The Trust believes that the passing of this Law is a major step forward and it is proud to have played a major part in the process that led to the passing of this landmark legislation.

CEDAW Alternative Report

In May 2012, the Trust released the first comprehensive report on the position of women in Jersey. The report considered issues of inequality and discrimination affecting women and highlighted areas requiring action.

The report was written at the invitation of the London based Women's Resource Centre (WRC) for submission to the United Nations (UN). The WRC was coordinating the United Kingdom's shadow report for the UN Committee's examination of women's rights in 2012. These rights are encompassed in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. It is often described as an international bill of rights for women. It defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination. Whilst Jersey is not a signatory to CEDAW, at the last examination in 2008, the UK hardly included any information on women's rights in the Crown Dependencies. The UN, therefore, asked specifically about this.

The report identified a number of serious issues that have been outstanding for many years and that impact on gender equality in Jersey, such as the low representation of women in the States Assembly, the high cost of childcare, the absence of any legislation on maternity or parental leave and flexible working. The report also highlighted the lack of statistics relating to the pay differences between men and women performing comparable roles, without which it is impossible to address this potential issue.

The Trust intends to continue to work towards enhancing equality in this area by implementing one of our recommendations to encourage more women to run for political office.

While the Trust believes that the passing of anti-discrimination legislation and race-based regulation in particular is a major step forward, it will continue to push for sex discrimination regulations to be implemented as soon as possible.

Inheritance

During 2012 the JCRT continued to question the States' Legislation Advisory Panel on when the succession laws would be changed to achieve equality between widows and widowers.

On 19th March 2013, the Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst , lodged au Greffe' the Wills and Successions (Amendment No.2) (Jersey) Law 201- for debate by the States at the earliest opportunity.

The amendment would remove one of the remaining discriminatory elements in the Jersey law of succession, by finally equalising the rights of surviving spouses in respect of land left under a will.

This development is a direct result of the efforts of the Trust and especially the report written by Professor Meryl Thomas commissioned in 2009.

If the amendment is passed, it will follow a similar amendment approved by the States of Jersey on 23rd March 2010 also based on the Trust's report, which opened up succession rights to illegitimate children. Such children were, as a result of the amendment, placed on the same footing as legitimate children for the purposes of succession.

Measuring the Benefit of the Trust's Work

The Home Affairs Department has asked that the Trust provides details of the number of people who have benefited from its efforts. As the work of the Trust impacts such large and diverse groups within society, it is difficult to present specific numbers. Or even an accurate estimate. This is especially so in respect of legislative changes to further equality such as the Civil Partnership Law, Anti- Discrimination  Law,  succession  laws  or  the  current  research  into  equality in education.

The Anti-bullying Service launched in September 2011 has been highly successful. There were an estimated 194 contacts by the end of 2012 (figures include both face to face counselling and phone advice).

Financial review

During the year the Trust received a grant of £27,500 from the States of Jersey.

The continuing level of the grant from the States will be necessary to ensure that the Trust can cover its fixed costs and the funding of ongoing projects.

Additionally, the Trust received a grant of £29,600 from the Association of Jersey Charities specifically to increase the capacity of the Workplace and Community Bullying and Harassment Advice, Counselling and Support Service, launched in 2011. The bid for this grant centred on the exceptional demand for the Service and the inability to meet the demand within the Trust's existing budget.

Governance Arrangements

Governance and transparency of decision-making is extremely important within the Trust. Minutes are taken at all meetings of the Trustees and are available upon request.

Where funding is made available to external bodies, the Trust completes a Service level Agreement (SLA), to ensure the funding is used appropriately and to ensure that both parties are clear as to the required outcomes.

An annual external independent review is conducted by Rosscot.