On Tuesday, 20th August, Selma Taha, Executive Director of Southall Black Sisters, along with the CEOs/Directors of four leading third sector organisations (Women for Refugee Women, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Safety4Sisters and Imkaan) submitted a list of 12 demands to Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer to tackle the root causes of far-right riots. The list of demands, which calls on the government to take action to protect Black, minoritised and migrant communities in the face of far-right, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant riots sweeping across the UK following the murderous violence in Southport, is signed by 65 organisations in the violence against women and girls, anti-racist and migrants’ rights sectors. Led by Southall Black Sisters, this list is signed by 28 specialist organisations providing frontline support to and campaigning for the rights of Black, minoritised and migrant communities. It is signed in solidarity by 37 generalist third-sector organisations. The list of demands follows a joint statement of resistance coordinated by Southall Black Sisters signed up to by over 60 signatories.
Through the list, the organisations call on the government to action 12 demands as part of the safeguarding response to the threat Black, minoritised and migrant communities are under amid the racist riots. This includes urgent protective measures and support mechanisms for communities and organisations in danger, immediate suspension of in-person immigration reporting, the need to recall parliament to ensure a streamlined national response to the crisis, referral of sitting MPs who make racist comments to the parliamentary Standards Committee and evaluation of the role of social media companies in contributing to the unrest. The organisations also urge government to implement long-term reform that can help build trust between statutory agencies and Black, minoritised and migrant communities, such as an end to the hostile environment, reversal of austerity measures, eradication of institutional racism in policing and rejection of the alarmist anti-immigrant rhetoric.
It is hoped that the list of demands will lead to the government recognising the disproportionate harm such discriminatory policies have had on Black, minoritised and migrant communities over the decades culminating in the resurgence of xenophobic, racist, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim attacks reminiscent of the National Front’s attacks on African, Caribbean and Asian communities in the 1970s and 1980s.
Selma Taha, Executive Director, Southall Black Sisters says, “Black, minoritised and migrant communities, who are among the most marginalised in society, are under threat. Since the attack in Southport, the far-right has instrumentalised violence against women and girls to spur hateful and divisive anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant and racist sentiments that have sowed fear in these communities. It is shocking yet unsurprising to see such vitriolic violence in 2024 for it is the result of decades of discrimination and deprivation institutionalised in government policy. We are now demanding urgent change from the government, including a commitment to undoing the disproportionate harm caused to Black, minoritised and migrant communities through the perpetuation of austerity era measures and policies such as the hostile environment.”
