Terms and Definitions

Accessibility is about making everything in society easy for disabled people to use and take part in. This includes buildings, transport, information, communication systems, public services and sports and leisure activities.

Source: OHCHR Website

Accountability refers to the obligation of an organisation to account for and take responsibility for their actions and to disclose the results in a transparent way.

Source: Scottish Government Website

It is also one of the PANEL principles in a human rights-based approach:

Accountability requires effective monitoring of human rights standards as well as effective remedies for human rights breaches.

For accountability to be effective there must be appropriate laws, policies, institutions, administrative procedures and mechanisms of redress in order to secure human rights.

An unwanted or unanticipated result of taking a particular action.

The Equality and Human Rights commission (EHRC) explains that when assessing equality impact, you must identify whether a policy could have a differential or negative effect on those with protected characteristics. If evidence suggests a policy could disadvantage a group, this is considered an adverse impact, and steps should be taken to remove or mitigate it.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

Independent support for an individual or group from another person or organisation in order to express views and opinions and get help realising rights and needs.

Source: Scotland’s second National Human Rights Action Plan

Age refers to a person belonging to a particular age group (e.g. 18–30 years old) or range of ages. It is one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

Age discrimination is when you are treated differently because of your age in one of the situations that are covered by the Equality Act.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

The quality or practice of helping or supporting other people who are part of a group that is treated badly or unfairly, although you are not yourself a member of this group.

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Actively standing up against racism, challenging and changing the policies, practices, beliefs and behaviours that unjustly disadvantage people from minority ethnic groups; and being proactive in creating a more inclusive and fair society.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Audit Scotland is an independent public body responsible for auditing most of Scotland’s public organisations. These include the Scottish Government, local councils and NHS Scotland.

Source: Audit Scotland Website

The duty on public bodies to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in performance (while maintaining an appropriate balance between quality and cost).

Source: Scottish Government Website

The action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgement.

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) is used to analyse the cost and benefits to businesses and the third sector of any proposed legislation, voluntary regulation, codes of practice or guidance that impact the public, private or third sector.

Source: Scottish Government Website

A document that explains why a project or policy should go ahead. It generally compares different options, looking at their benefits, costs, and risks, and shows why the chosen option is the best.

Its main purpose is to get approval and commitment to invest in the project.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Capability is about the skills, knowledge and behaviours – ultimately the competencies – that an organisation’s staff have to help them achieve the organisation’s goals.

Source: Skills for Justice

Capacity refers to the resources, staffing levels and time available to an organisation to achieve its goals.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy

Anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked after background at any stage of their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked after.

Source: Scottish Government Website

It stands for: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. A UN treaty adopted in 1979 to promote women’s rights.

The CRWIA is an assessment process, tool and report through which the potential impacts of any proposed decision, including the development of policies, projects, programmes or services, have on children’s rights and wellbeing. This allows for these to be identified, analysed and recorded.

Source: Scottish Government Website

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that a child is anyone under the age of 18.

In Scotland, for most purposes a child is someone aged under 16.

In general, duties on public bodies or professionals to pay special attention to children and young people apply to anyone aged under 18, but provisions regarding the decision-making ability of the child, such as on medical consent, apply to children aged under 16.’

Source: Scottish Government Website

Civil society – sometimes called the “third sector” (after government and commerce) refers to a wide array of organisations.

A civil society organisation (CSO) or non-governmental organisation (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group which is organised on a local, national or international level (UN).

This could include many different kinds of organisations, such as: community groups, labour unions, indigenous peoples’ movements, faith-based organisations, professional associations, foundations, think tanks, charitable organisations, and other not-for-profit organisations.

Source: World Bank Group

A formal process of seeking the views of stakeholders, service users, and the public on proposed policies, services, or decisions before they are finalised.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The human rights set out in the European Convention on Human Rights are incorporated into the law of Scotland through the Human Rights Act and the Scotland Act.

Scottish Human Rights Commission Website

A strategic document that sets out an organisation’s priorities, objectives, and planned activities over a specified period, typically 3-5 years.

It stands for: Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. A councillor-led organisation that represents all 32 local authorities in Scotland.

Source: COSLA Website

The Council of Europe is an international organisation whose stated aim is to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.

Source: Council of Europe

It stands for: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A United Nations treaty adopted in 2006 to protect the rights and dignity of disabled people.

It refers to the ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. It includes:

• Awareness of one’s own cultural worldview.
• Recognition and appreciation of cultural differences.
• Skills to navigate diverse cultural contexts.

Source: The Oxford Review – DEI Dictionary

A DPIA is a process designed to help you systematically analyse, identify and minimise the data protection risks of a project or plan. It is a key part of your accountability obligations under the UK GDPR.”

Source: Information Commissioner’s Office Website

Means treating one person worse than another person because of a protected characteristic. For example, a promotion comes up at work. The employer believes that people’s memories get worse as they get older so doesn’t tell one of his older employees about it, because he thinks the employee wouldn’t be able to do the job.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

A physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on a person’s ability to do normal daily activities. It is one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

When you are treated unfairly because of your disability, including direct or indirect discrimination, harassment, or failure to make reasonable adjustments.

source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

Data disaggregation means breaking down large data categories into more specific sub-categories. When data is broken down and disaggregated by protected characteristic groups and sub-groups, they can show the unique differences among groups and reveal significant disparities.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The presence and representation of people with different backgrounds, characteristics, and experiences, ensuring that the organisation reflects the communities it serves, and benefits from varied perspectives to foster inclusion, creativity, and fairness.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Having due regard means that you have made yourself fully aware of – and understood – what the Public Sector Equality Duty  requires, and that you have put this knowledge into practice. There is no standard legal definition of ‘due regard’.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission – EHRC – website

It stands for: European Convention on Human Rights. It is an international treaty between the member states of the Council of Europe. The United Kingdom was one of the States that drafted the ECHR and was one of the first States to ratify it in 1951. The Convention came into force in 1953.

Source: European Convention on Human Rights

EDI stands for equality, diversity and inclusion

It stands for: Equality and Human Rights Commission. The UK’s national equality regulator, responsible for enforcing the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

It stands for: Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Empowerment is one of the PANEL principles of a human rights-based approach:

A human rights-based approach means that individuals and communities should know their rights. It also means that they should be fully supported to participate in the development of policy and practices which affect their lives and to claim rights where necessary.

Source: Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Website

Used as shorthand for the experiences of groups that need to be borne in mind when thinking about compliance with the Equality Act 2010. Likely to have originated as a contraction of ‘equal opportunities’.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, opportunities or outcomes. This means every individual having an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents regardless of characteristics such as their age, race, where they live and come from or socio-economic background etc.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The primary UK legislation which makes it unlawful for private, public, and voluntary organisations to discriminate against employees and service users based on specific characteristics. These protected characteristics include age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

View the Equality Act 2010 in full on legislation.gov.uk.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) Website

A pragmatic approach towards solving inequalities. It is an approach that recognises the intersectionality of inequality as well as the differences in our communities.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy

A systematic process used to evaluate the potential effects of policies, practices, or decisions on different groups of people from an equality perspective. It aims to ensure that these policies, practices, or decisions do not discriminate against any group, and promote equality and fairness. By completing an Equality Impact Assessment, organisations can make informed decisions that prioritise inclusivity. Often abbreviated to ‘EQIA’ or ‘EIA’.

Source: Scottish Government Website

A process that helps organisations assess how well they are doing in promoting equality and avoiding discrimination. While not a legal requirement for all employers, it is considered good practice and is particularly relevant for public authorities subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission Website

The principle that everyone should have a fair chance to achieve their potential.

An equality outcome is a result which an authority aims to achieve in order to further one or more of the needs mentioned in the general equality duty: to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

The Fairer Scotland Duty “places a legal responsibility on particular public bodies in Scotland to actively consider (‘pay due regard’ to) how they can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage, when making strategic decisions.”

Source: Scottish Government Website

A person’s innate sense of their own gender, whether male, female or something else, which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth.

Source: Stonewall

The process of transitioning from one gender to another. This may involve social, legal, and/or medical steps, but medical treatment is not a requirement. It is one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

When you are treated unfairly because you are trans or are perceived to be trans.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission – EHRC – website

A Gender Recognition Certificate, or GRC, is an official document that legally recognises a person as the gender they identify with (man or woman only) rather than the gender that accords with their sex that was recorded at birth. Once a person has a GRC, their acquired gender is recognised in law for things like marriage, pensions, and other official documents.

Source: Stonewall 

This applies across England, Scotland, and Wales, and requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to:

• Put an end to unlawful behaviour that is banned by the Equality Act 2010, including discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
• Advance equal opportunities between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.
• Foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission Website

Governance is the way an organisation is run and how decisions are made. It sets out who has the power to decide things, how they should behave, and who is responsible if things go wrong. It helps make sure the organisation is legal, honest, well‑managed, and doing what it said it would do.

Source: UK Chartered Governance Institute

Governance is the way an organisation is run and how decisions are made. It sets out who has the power to decide things, how they should behave, and who is responsible if things go wrong. It helps make sure the organisation is legal, honest, well‑managed, and doing what it said it would do.

Source: UK Chartered Governance Institute

Some examples of governance documents are:

Core Legal Governance Documents/Rulebooks

These typically form the legal backbone of how an organisation is run.

Examples include:

• Constitution
  Explains: purpose, who runs the organisation, rules for meetings, finances, trustee appointments
• Articles of Association
  Sets out the internal governance structure, roles, voting rights, and decision processes.
• Trust Deed
  Sets out trustee powers, duties, and how assets must be used.
• Partnership agreements
  A formal written agreement that sets out how two or more organisations will work together, what each partner is responsible for, and the rules and expectations that govern the partnership.

Governance Framework and Oversight Documents

These aim to help leaders make decisions, set direction, and maintain accountability.

Examples include:

• Board Terms of Reference / Committee Terms of Reference
  Explain responsibilities, decision‑making powers, boundaries, and reporting lines.
• Governance Frameworks / Management Frameworks
  Set out how work is managed, who makes decisions, and how processes align with standards.
• Delegation Framework / Scheme of Delegation
  Details who has authority to make different types of decisions.
• Codes of Conduct / Ethical Codes
  Support governance principles like accountability, transparency, and integrity.
• Functional Standards and Compliance Documents

Strategy and Direction‑Setting Documents

These are part of the governance system because they set organisational direction.

Different organisations may refer to such documents differently, but some examples may be:

• Organisational strategy / Corporate Strategy
• Business or delivery plans
• Risk management strategy
• Stakeholder engagement strategy
• Operational governance documents (Policies & Procedures)
• Business cases (governing programme/project decisions)

Operational Governance Documents (Policies & Procedures)

These documents aim to help deliver the governance principles of transparency, risk management, accountability, and compliant operation.

Examples include:

• Risk Management Policy
• Financial Controls Policy
• Conflicts of Interest Policy
• Data Protection Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Safeguarding Policy

Organisational Structure and Accountability Documents

These tend to describe “who can make decisions, who has authority, and who is accountable,” aligning with governance definitions.

Examples include:

• Organisational Structure Charts
• Accountability Maps
• Decision‑Making Procedures (e.g., who signs off what)

Unwanted behaviour that you find offensive, where the other person’s behaviour is because:

• you have a protected characteristic
• there is any connection with a protected characteristic (for example, you are treated as though you have a particular characteristic, even if the other person knows this isn’t true)

Unwanted behaviour could include:

• spoken or written abuse
• offensive emails
• tweets or comments on websites and social media
• images and graffiti
• physical gestures
• facial expressions
• banter that is offensive to you

Anything that is unwelcome to you is unwanted. You don’t need to have previously objected to it.

The unwanted behaviour must have the purpose or effect of violating your dignity, or creating a degrading, humiliating, hostile, intimidating or offensive environment for you.

To be unlawful, the treatment must have happened in one of the situations that are covered by the Equality Act. For example, in the workplace or when you are receiving goods or services.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

Unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that violates dignity or creates a hostile environment.

Homogenisation refers to treating all groups in society as if they are the same, rather than recognising the distinct forms of disadvantage faced by different groups.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy

Basic rights and freedoms that belong to everyone, from birth until death, protected by the Human Rights Act 1998. This includes rights to life, liberty, privacy, and freedom from discrimination.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Giving people a greater opportunity to participate in shaping the laws, policies and practices that impact on their human rights; increasing the ability of those with the responsibility for fulfilling rights to recognise and respect those rights; and making sure they can be held to account. It also means ensuring non-discrimination, equality and the prioritisation of the most marginalised.

Source: Scottish Government Website

It stands for: International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. A UN treaty adopted in 1966 to protect civil and political rights.

It stands for: International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. A UN treaty adopted in 1965 to eliminate racial discrimination.

It stands for: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A UN treaty adopted in 1966 to protect economic, social, and cultural rights.

Impact assessments provide a structured process for considering implications of proposed polices and actions while there is still an opportunity to shape the proposals and mitigate against any negative impacts

Source : Scottish Government Website

Some examples of Impact Assessments are:

• Business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA)
• Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)
• Data Protection Impact Assessment
• Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
• Fairer Scotland Duty assessment
• Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

Source: Scottish Government Website

Providing help to make sure everyone has a fair chance to take part in opportunities, especially people who might be left out or face barriers. This often means thinking about the needs of disadvantaged groups and making changes to include them.

Source: Scottish Government Website

 Sharing information in a way that everyone can understand.

Source: Inclusive Communication Website – Disability Equality Scotland

This can happen when an organisation puts a rule or a policy or a way of doing things in place which has a worse impact on someone with a protected characteristic than someone without one. For example a local authority is planning to redevelop some of its housing. It decides to hold consultation events in the evening. Many of the female residents complain that they cannot attend these meetings because of childcare responsibilities.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

The systematic differences that we observe between groups in society, which result in a gap in autonomy, process or outcomes between groups of people.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Discrimination that is embedded in the policies, procedures, and culture of an organisation.

An Integrated Impact Assessment is a systematic and holistic process used to evaluate the potential economic, social, environmental, health, and human rights impacts of a proposed policy, programme, or project. Unlike traditional assessments that focus on a single dimension (e.g. equality, environmental or economic), IIA combines multiple perspectives into one framework, ensuring that decisions are informed by a comprehensive understanding of interconnected consequences

Source: The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation (GCRI)

Intersectional Analysis helps us recognise and dismantle systems of oppression that disproportionately affect certain groups, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of inequality and a more effective pursuit of social change.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Intersectionality is the recognition that individuals can experience multiple forms of discrimination or privilege based on their intersecting social identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, disability, and class.

Scottish Government defines intersectionality as ‘A term used to describe how race, class, disability, and other characteristics ‘intersect’ with one another and overlap. It recognises that having a combination of characteristics – for example being an older man with low wealth, a younger Muslim woman, or a disabled transgender person – may result in distinct, and frequently compound, inequality.

Source: Scottish Government Website

An ICIA assesses whether “a policy, strategy or service which, in the authority’s opinion, is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).”

Source: Scottish Government Website

A way of measuring a company’s progress towards the goals it is trying to achieve

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

Legality of rights is one of the PANEL principles of a human rights-based approach.

A human rights based approach requires the recognition of rights as legally enforceable entitlements and is linked in to national and international human rights law.

Source: Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Website

An acronym commonly used to describe people who are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning and ace.

Other commonly used acronyms include LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi and trans), LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer), and LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex).Source: Stonewall

The bodies subject to the Scottish Specific Duties are specified in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (as amended).

Here is an alphabetical list of all the public authorities who are covered not only by the general public sector equality duty (PSED), but also by the Scotland specific duties under the Equality Act 2010 and the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012.

Personal knowledge about the world gained through direct, first-hand involvement in everyday events rather than through representations constructed by other people. It is also defined as “the experiences of people on whom a social issue or combination of issues has had a direct impact.”

Source: Scottish Commission for Learning Disabilities (SCLD) Website

Local authority A Local authority in Scotland is a public organisation responsible for providing local services and governance in a specific geographic area. These services include education, social care, housing, waste collection, planning, and more. Local authorities are also known as councils, and there are 32 of them across Scotland.

They are governed by elected councillors and operate in accordance with applicable legislation.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Integrating equality and human rights considerations into all policies, procedures, and practices. In the context of this toolkit, it means putting equality and human rights at the core of organisational business, creating long-term, sustainable cultural change.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Read more in What is Mainstreaming? – Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Toolkit

Groups within a given culture, context or history, at risk of being excluded and discriminated against because of the interplay of differing personal characteristics or grounds

Source: Unesco Library Website

Marginalised groups include those experiencing poverty and social exclusion, bullying, mental health difficulties and/or special educational needs, students at risk of early school leaving, as well as some groups of migrants and minorities. Such groups need a distinct focus on processes and structures for their representation and participation.

Source: Downes, Nairz-Wirth and Rusinaitė, 2017. European Union Publications Website

• Marriage is a union between a man and a woman or between a same-sex couple.
• Same-sex couples can also have their relationships legally recognised as ‘civil partnerships’. Civil partners must not be treated less favourably than married couples (except where permitted by the Equality Act).

It is one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

When you are treated unfairly at work because you are married or in a civil partnership.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

A small act or remark that makes someone feel insulted or treated badly because of their protected characteristic (disability, age, sex, etc), even though the insult, etc. may not have been intended, and that can combine with other similar acts or remarks over time to cause emotional harm

Source: Cambridge Dictionary

In 2017, the First Minister appointed the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG), to advise the Scottish Government on what action is needed to achieve gender equality in Scotland.

Source: The First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls – gov.scot

A term which encourages neurodevelopmental differences to be viewed and understood in a positive way. It is not a medical diagnostic label.

Neurodiversity includes conditions such as:

• Autism
• ADHD

Source: Neurodiversity | Resources | Education Scotland

This is one of the PANEL principles of a human rights-based approach.

A human rights-based approach means that all forms of discrimination in the realisation of rights must be prohibited, prevented and eliminated. It also requires the prioritisation of those in the most marginalised situations who face the biggest barriers to realising their rights.

Source: Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Website

The framework that describes how an organisation delivers its services, including its structure, processes, systems, and ways of working.

A systematic evaluation of an organisation’s current capacity, capability, culture, and systems to successfully implement equality and human rights mainstreaming. It includes assessing leadership commitment, existing policies, staff awareness, available resources, and structural barriers to change

The five key principles of a human rights-based approach:

• Participation (active, meaningful involvement in decisions affecting human rights),
• Accountability (effective monitoring and remedies for rights violations),
• Non-discrimination and Equality (prohibit and eliminate discrimination, prioritise marginalised groups),
• Empowerment (understand rights, participate in policy development, and assert rights), and
• Legal (recognise rights as legally enforceable entitlements).

Source:  Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Website

This is one of the PANEL principles of a human rights-based approach.

Everyone has the right to participate in decisions which affect their human rights. Participation must be active, free, meaningful and give attention to issues of accessibility, including access to information in a form and a language which can be understood.

Source: Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Website

The systematic process of monitoring, measuring, and improving organisational and individual performance against set objectives and standards.

A policy is a statement of what the government is trying to achieve and how it will do it. Policies describe the work the Scottish Government is doing to achieve its strategic objectives.

Source: Scottish Government Website

In the workplace, positive action means the steps that an employer can take to encourage people from groups sharing a protected characteristic who:

• have different needs
• have a past track record of disadvantage
• have a record of low participation

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission – EHRC – website

Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant or expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth, and is linked to maternity leave in the employment context. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination is for 26 weeks after giving birth, and this includes treating a woman unfavourably because she is breastfeeding.

It is one of the nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

When you are treated unfairly because you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or on maternity leave.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

The process used to buy goods, services, and works from external suppliers.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The Programme for Government sets out the actions the Scottish Government will take in the coming year and beyond. It includes the legislative programme for the next parliamentary year.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The nine characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010:

• Age
• Disability
• Gender reassignment
• Marriage and civil partnership
• Pregnancy and maternity
• Race
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation

Source: Equality Act 2010 – Legislation.gov.uk

The legal duty under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 requiring public authorities to have due regard to eliminating discrimination, advancing equality of opportunity, and fostering good relations between different groups.

The Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), as defined by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), consists of two parts:

• The general equality duty (This applies across England, Scotland, and Wales)
• Specific duties (These vary by nation (England, Scotland, Wales) and are designed to help public authorities meet the General Duty)

Having due regard means that you have made yourself fully aware of – and understood – what the PSED requires, and that you have put this knowledge into practice. There is no standard legal definition of ‘due regard’,

Advancing equal opportunities means:

• removing or reducing the disadvantage that people with protected characteristics face
• taking steps to meet the specific needs of people with protected characteristics
• encouraging people with protected characteristic to participate fully in all activities, especially where they are underrepresented

Fostering good relations means you are taking action to reduce prejudice and increase understanding between different groups of people.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

It is the mechanism through which public services are delivered to the public by local, municipal, or federal governments. Sewage and trash disposal, street cleaning, public education, and health services are some of the examples of public services.

Source: IGI Global Website (publisher)

A public body is a formally established organisation that is publicly funded to deliver a public or government service, though not as a ministerial department. The term refers to a wide range of public sector entities including local authorities and health boards.

Source: Scottish Government Website

A race is a group of people defined by their colour, nationality (including citizenship) ethnicity or national origins. A racial group can be made up of more than one distinct racial group, such as Black British.

A protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

When you are treated unfairly because of your race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origins.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

Equality law recognises that bringing about equality for disabled people may mean changing the way in which employment is structured, the removal of physical barriers and/or providing extra support for a disabled worker.

This is the duty to make reasonable adjustments.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments aims to make sure that, as far as is reasonable, a disabled worker has the same access to everything that is involved in doing and keeping a job as a non-disabled person.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

Religion refers to any religion, including a lack of religion. Belief refers to any religious or philosophical belief and includes a lack of belief. Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.

A protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

When you are treated unfairly because of your religion or belief, or lack thereof.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

Under international law, states have obligations and duties to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. According to the UN (United Nations), “The obligation to respect means that States must refrain from interfering with or curtailing the enjoyment of human rights. The obligation to protect requires States to protect individuals and groups against human rights abuses. The obligation to fulfil means that States must take positive action to facilitate the enjoyment of basic human rights.”

Source: United Nations – Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights Website

A person who claims their rights under a legal framework.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death.

They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

Created by secondary legislation in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. These duties are intended to help those authorities listed in the regulations in their performance of the general equality duty.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

A document that sets out the level of service a user requires to meet their business needs. It includes the information or level of cooperation the service requires from its service users in order to provide quality support or assistance. SLAs will state how service levels and/or quality is measured and monitored and how issues can be put right if things go off track.

Source: Legal Services Board

A user is any person that the service/product is designed for use by.

Source: The Scottish Government website

Being a man or a woman.

A protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

Whether a person’s sexual attraction is towards their own sex, the opposite sex or to both sexes.

A protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website)

When you are treated unfairly because of your sexual orientation.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website)

The Scottish Human Rights Commission is an independent public body, accountable to the people of Scotland through the Scottish Parliament.

The Commission has a general duty to promote awareness, understanding and respect for all human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil and political – to everyone, everywhere in Scotland, and to encourage best practice in relation to human rights.

Source: Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) Website

Six key drivers have been identified by the Scottish Government as essential to advancing the mainstreaming of equality and human rights.  These drivers for change collectively form a theory of change. These include Strengthening Leadership, Developing Accountability and Transparency, Ensuring Effective Regulatory and Policy Environment, Using Evidence and Experience, Enhancing Capability and Culture, and Improving Capacity.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy

The key areas identified in the Equality and Human Rights Mainstreaming Strategy essential for advancing mainstreaming: Strengthening Leadership, Developing Accountability and Transparency, Ensuring Effective Regulatory and Policy Environment, Utilising Evidence and Experience, Enhancing Capability and Culture, and Improving Capacity.

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Limited) objectives use a specific set of criteria to help ensure that objectives are clearly defined and attainable within a certain timeframe.

Source: Scottish Government- website

SNAP 2 is Scotland’s second national human rights action plan.

Source: What is SNAP2- website

The Social Renewal Advisory Board was established by Scottish Ministers in 2020 to support Scotland’s recovery as it emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Board brought together stakeholders from the third sector, think-tanks, universities, equality organisations, and Local Government to make recommendations aimed at tackling the root causes and impacts of poverty and inequality.

Source: Scottish Government Website

 Living on a low income compared to others in Scotland, with little or no accumulated wealth, leading to greater material deprivation and restricting the ability to access basic goods and services.

Source: Fairer Scotland Duty: guidance for public bodies

Stakeholders are people and organisations who work with an organisation, use its services, or are affected by what it does.

Source: Analysis Function Website

SEA is a means to judge the likely impact of a public plan on the environment and to seek ways to minimise that effect, if it is likely to be significant. SEA therefore aims to offer greater protection to the environment by ensuring public bodies and those organisations preparing plans of a ‘public character’ consider and address the likely significant environmental effects.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Strategic planning is a process that public organisations use to set priorities. It involves looking at where an organisation is now, where it wants to go, and how to get there.

Source: Public Sector Experts Website

Inequality that is embedded in social structures, based on institutionalised conceptions of differences based on, for example, disability, race, or sexual orientation.

Source: Scottish Government Website

Structural obstacles within society that prevent individuals or groups, particularly marginalised communities, from accessing opportunities and resources. These barriers are often embedded in policies, practices, and cultural norms.

Source: Fivable Website

Systemic discrimination involves the procedures, routines and organisational culture of any organisation that, often without intent, contribute to less favourable outcomes for minority groups than for the majority of the population, from the organisation’s policies, programmes, employment, and services.

Source: Council of Europe

Discriminatory institutions, structures, and norms that are embedded in society. Examples include racism, sexism, homophobia and ableism.

Source: Scottish Government Website

A way in which power is shared in a society, for example through politics, education or the economy.

Source: Scottish Government Website

The third sector includes charities, social enterprises and community groups which deliver essential services, helps to improve people’s wellbeing and contributes to economic growth.

Source: Scottish Government Website

A trade union is a membership organisation whose members are usually workers. Trade unions are a strong mechanism for encouraging effective voice within organisations.

Source: My.Gov.Scot Website

Transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the public, and meets basic open data standards (e.g. raw data, machine readability) where formats allow”.

Source: Open Government Partnership Website

A treaty is a written agreement made between two or more states that is governed by international law.

These are the nine core human rights conventions/treaties developed by the United Nations. The UK has ratified the first seven.

Ratified:

– International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

– International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

– Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

– Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

– Convention against Torture (CAT)

– Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

– Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)

Not ratified:

– Convention on the Rights of Migrants and their Families (ICMW)

– Convention on the Protection of All Persons for Enforced Disappearance (CPED)

The United Kingdom is reviewed regularly for its compliance with most of these treaties by UN Committees

Source: UK Parliament Website

An association of many countries that aims to help economic and social conditions improve and to solve political problems in the world in a peaceful way.

Source: Oxford Dictionary

Unconscious biases are the views and opinions that we are unaware of. They affect our everyday behaviour and decision making. Our unconscious biases are influenced by our background, culture and personal experiences.

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) website

It stands for: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. An international human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.

The universal design principles are guidelines to design spaces and products that everyone can use.

Source: UK Government website

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 4.5 years.

Source: United Nations Human Rights Council Website

Victimisation is when someone is treated less favourably as a result of being involved with a discrimination or harassment complaint.

Ways someone could be victimised include:

• being labelled a troublemaker
• being left out
• not being allowed to do something

Victimisation is a specific type of discrimination under the law (Equality Act 2010). It’s different to bullying.

Source: Victimisation – Discrimination at work – Acas

The Equality Act protects against discrimination in the workplace when you are:

• applying for a job
• offered a job on certain terms and conditions
• looking for opportunities for training and promotion
• trying to access work-related benefits
• going through disciplinary or grievance procedures
• dealing with your working environment
• being sacked or made redundant
• looking for, or being given, job references

Source: Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Website

Unwanted conduct that violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment.