See human rights in action
Many of us take human rights for granted, but then something goes wrong. It’s the sort of thing that could happen to anyone, and it makes us feel badly treated, discriminated against or humiliated. And then we join the thousands of people in Britain who rely on human rights to improve their lives.
Many familiar stories in the news are human rights issues. Older people abused in care homes, patients being denied life-saving treatment, the press invading people’s privacy – these are just a few of the hundreds of situations that can be challenged on human rights grounds.
The videos below have been produced by Equally Ours and they show why human rights are important in situations that could affect you, your family or friends.
Getting more care to improve quality of life
Jan has multiple sclerosis. Confined to her bed for most of the day because of the low level of care allocated to her by her local authority, she used human rights to take legal action and gain the support needed for a reasonable quality of life.
Putting human rights at the heart of mental health care
Rathbone Rehabilitation Centre, part of the Mersey Care NHS Trust, makes human rights the basis on which to treat people with mental health conditions with fairness, respect, and dignity.
Calling a halt to unfair stop and search
Nick has been stopped over 30 times by police and believes his skin colour makes him a target. Nick is in a good position to judge if this treatment is unfair - he is a police officer himself. He uses a human rights approach to improve stop and search to prevent the unfair targeting of certain ethnic minorities.
Changing the way young people are treated by the police
Hughes was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. His distress was made worse when he could not contact his family because, as a 17-year-old, the law treated him as an adult. Hughes used human rights to challenge the law. He won his case and 17-year-olds can now access the same support as other children when arrested – the police must tell their parents, or other appropriate adult, about their situation.
Last updated: 04 May 2016