Recently, Southall Black Sisters (SBS) responded to the Women and Equalities Committee’s (WEC) inquiry on community cohesion.
In our submission, we asserted that community cohesion has diverted attention from the main levers of hateful division in society and the government’s responsibility to tackle structural discrimination, racism and socio-economic inequalities. This has led to an excessive focus on the behaviour of Black, minoritised and migrant communities, views on which are shaped by the government’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and draconian laws as well as by political parties’ legitimation of far-right and religious fundamentalists’ anti-immigrant racism. Resultantly, the manufactured distinctions between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ migrants and ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ victim-survivors take centre stage in public discourse and government policy. Community cohesion has also been unsuccessful in addressing the power imbalances within Black, minoritised and migrant communities.
In view of this, we recommended that the government put an end to hostile environment policies and practices such as the outsourcing of policing to the public including to landlords, doctors, and employers, and the selective conferring of citizenship rights to migrant populations. We emphasised the need for an overhaul of policing given the detrimental impact of their institutionally racist and sexist practices on community cohesion and the importance of one law for all. We advocated for an end to the alarmist anti-immigrant rhetoric alongside proactive engagement in positive and evidence-led messaging that reposes value in migration as well as ring-fenced funding for specialist ‘by and for’ Black, minoritised and migrant community organisations.
We welcome the opportunity to address the WEC further on these issues.
