ALAstella
Posts: 253
Joined: 12/3/2008
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I'm using here as a sounding board and canvassing opinions.
Now I guess we all know what discrimination means, but what are the effects of discrimination? What is the impact of discrimination? And how can that be measured?
Is it enough to simply report that someone is being racist, homophobic, transphobic or sexist for it to be regarded as a hate crime or as discrimination? How do you as a judge, a law enforcement officer or a lawyer decide what is discrimination and crime against someone motivated by hatred? Yes, it may be laid out in a law or a statute, but what lies behind the decision to take further action, to record it, or to take no further action?
This is something I have been thinking about, and I have devised an Index as an attempt to measure the effects of discrimination.
It is based on a 100 point scale. There are four sections to the Index - physical, psychological, emotional and social.
Physical
- physical injuries requiring primary medical attention
- physical injuries requiring secondary medical attention
- exacerbation of existing physical ailments
- impact on sensory and perceptive abilities
- impact on motor and coordination abilities
Mental
- effects on mental health requiring primary psychiatric attention
- effects on mental health requiring secondary psychiatric attention
- exacerbation of existing mental health issues
- effect on depressive or non-reactive mental health issues
- effect on expressive or reactive mental health issues
Emotional
- effects on victim's attitudes towards oneself
- effects on victim's attitude towards other people known to victim
- effects on victim's attitude towards other people not known to victim
- effects on activities of daily living, eating, sleeping, personal hygiene, etc
- effects on emotional stability, moods, ways of self-expression
Social
- effects on victim's housing or accommodation circumstances
- effects on victim's income, occupation, voctaional or financial circumstances
- effect on victim's family and social network
- effects on victim's primary relationship and parental role (if victim is a parent)
Points are awarded against each of the above
1 - no effect
2 - slight
3 - significant
4 - severe
5 extreme
This gives points between 20 and 100. The Index has been kept simple so that it can be applied universally and used by people without special training. Any assessment or evaluation is going to be subjective, but I feel that using this Index is a step forward and goes a bit further than not using it.
What do you think?
Thoughts, opinions, suggestions and comments please.
stella
PS. I've called it the Stella Baker Index, if anyone wants a copy of the index or wants to start using it please PM me on the other side and I will send a copy which can be printed out and used. It will also be available shortly from the website of the charity I'm setting up.
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Degrees of discrimination - 
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