Judges beware prejudiced language

The Lord Chief Justice advises Judges about using suitable language in order to include the disadvantaged and those with different values.

The advice is contained in The Equal Treatment Bench Book which addresses gender differences, equal treatment and social disadvantage, minority ethnic issues, religion, children, disability and sexual orientation.

Lord Woolf, said: “While we must treat people equally. Not only must justice be done, it must be seen to be done, and therefore although judges are in fact acting and behaving fairly, if they don’t appear to be acting fairly that is just not good enough.”
“However committed a judge may be to fairness and equality, they may still give the opposite impression by using inappropriate, dated or offensive language.”

The advice includes:

• Beware gender-based, racist or “homophobic” stereotyping.
• Avoid terms such as “mental handicap” and “the disabled”, using instead “learning disabilities” and “people with disabilities”.
• "British" must be used in an inclusive sense; avoid it as a synonym for white, English or Christian.
• Avoid using phrases such as "Refugee/asylum-seekers" which are now associated with people with no genuine claim and is “almost pejorative”
• Similarly "Second/third-generation immigrants" is a phrase “likely to cause offence”
• "Black", "disabled" - instead say “black person, disabled person.” Descriptions such as black or disabled are adjectives and should always be used as such, as in “black person” or “disabled person”.
• "Coloured" is "an offensive term that should never be used”
• "Mixed race" is “slightly pejorative”
• Avoid cultural stereotypes
• Don't assume Aids and HIV-positive status indicate homosexuality.
• Remember everyone has prejudices,and guard against your own.

How much of the above advice could apply to you?

Before you protest that you are not prejudiced, examine yourself and the situations you find yourself in. Do you assume that people are generally like you - and that anyone different is odd? Do you condone racist or sexist language from others? Even by no objecting to the prejudiced language of others we can quietly be encouraging racist attitudes.

Do you think "aboriginal people" is a euphemism for native Australians? Do you think "abbo" is a dysphemism for native Australians?
Do you think "native Australians" is an appropriate term?
What do native Australians themselves think?
Why might they object to any of these terms?
What right do we have to choose words to describe any group or individual without their consent or approval?
What words or phrases do you object to if used to describe you?
Do you object to "girl" "boy" "kid" "adolescent" "rabble" "scruff" ...

Discuss this with your friends - and then with a different group of people who have different views, such as your parents, teachers, a group of a different religion, colour or gender. Listen to what they think is offensive and try to understand their point of view and to adapt your own language.