Equality Diversity and Rights

There are a number of bases of discrimination which are * Culture * Disability * Age * Social Class * Gender * Sexuality * Health status * Family status * Cognitive ability
As a health and social care professional it is part of your role to understand the bases of discrimination and to make sure you don’t discriminate a individual in any sort of way as it can have a negative effect on the individual leading to further problems.
Culture
A person’s culture is very important to them and indentifies them who they are. It is important to respect everyone’s culture regardless when they come from, everyone should be treated as an individuals and treated fairly. In a health and social care setting it is important at all times to respect an individual’s culture and not to discriminate against them.
Disability
As a professional you will be working with many people who are different various types of disability, under no circumstances should a disabled person be discriminated against just because of their disability or seen different from everyone else. Many people don’t think about the individual but see the disability first and see them different from the rest which can lead to bullying.
Social class
Our social class is based on where we live. The higher the class, the better the place is. This can lead to people being discriminated against due to people who don’t have a lot of money and can’t afford some things.
Age
Age discrimination happens when someone is restricted to do certain things because of their age. In health and social no individuals should be discriminated against because of their age. Age shouldn’t be a problem to anyone; they are still entitled to everything just as everyone else is. An example of this will be an elderly needing an operation but the surgeons saying they can’t undergo the surgery due to their age; this is discriminating against their age and putting them at risk as the surgery may be essential and can maybe save their life.

Gender
A person may be turned away or discriminated due to their gender. An example may be a male doctor giving better treatment to another male. This is discrimination and everyone should be treated fairly and not be discriminated because of their gender.

Sexuality
A person can be discriminated due to their sexual orientation. Sexual orientation can refer to a person who is attracted to the same sex. Some people think it’s wrong to be attracted to the same sex so they may start to bully the person or make them feel left out or different from the others.
Health status
Sometimes decisions have to be made about an individual medical treatment, bearing in mind the cost of the treatment and an individual’s life expectancy.
Family status
This can lead to a variety of discriminations against gay/lesbian parents, single parents, and parents with different races. An example of this would be a child getting bullied at school due to the fact his dad is gay and is attracted to the same sex. This can have a negative effect on a person and may feel that they are different from the rest.
Cognitive Ability
Cognitive ability is the way individual processes information in their brain can be the cause of discrimination particularly for those with learning difficulties. Health and social care staff may find them hard and challenging to work with and may apply labels to them.