BME - Mental Health | mhmwales.org.uk

BME(Black and Minority Ethnic)

Mental Health

The Equality Act 2010 came into force from 1st October 2010 and harmonises and replaces previous anti-discrimination legislation (such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995). For the most part the responsibilities under the Act have stayed the same. However there are some changes that help employers and business that provide goods and services to the public to increase diversity and reduce inequality. These include the introduction of protected characteristics and definitions of new forms of discrimination.

MHM Wales Black Lives Matter Statement:

MHM Wales unites with the world to show Black Lives Matter and Black Mental Health Matters both in Wales and around the World. We strive to ensure equality throughout the mental health sector.

In mental health, as in other areas of life, there is a huge disparity in how black and minority ethnic population are listened to and supported at every level. Numerous studies have detailed that there are significant mental health, health and justice inequalities for Black and minority ethnic people.

Regardless of colour or ethnic background, everyone who uses a mental health service (or cares for someone who does) should have equitable access to effective interventions, and equitable experiences and outcomes. MHM Wales’ aim for mental health services it delivers is to be culturally capable and able to address the diverse needs of a multi-cultural population through effective and appropriate forms of support while taking into account the cultural/spiritual needs and religion of those requiring support.

We aim for our services and workforce to be ‘culturally capable’, to ensure we are able to deliver high-quality support to every person, irrespective of their race, ethnicity, culture or language proficiency. We are working towards the Diverse Cymru Good Practice Workplace Certification Scheme which recognises the commitment to continually develop ways in which organisations can improve services and provide culturally appropriate mental health services through offering practical ongoing positive differences and by ensuring everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets the support, dignity and respect they deserve. But we aim to do even more by working with people and communities to redesign our services and our society.

#Black Lives Matter, and deserve more than mattering.

Minority Ethnic Communities (MEC) Health Fair

A fantastic day at the Minority Ethnic Communities (MEC) Health Fair, and a great way to share ideas to promote preventative measures for a healthy future for Wales.

We networked and linked in to promote our services with health providers that reached across the whole of the country.

Empowering conversations were held regarding what services our charrity was currently providing, and disucssions on how we can support all minority ethnic backgrounds.

Equalities Landscape in Wales

In 2019, it was found that there was an estimated 169,400 people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups living in Wales.

The areas with the highest percentage of people who are Black, Asian and minority ethnic were:

Cardiff (18.5%),

Newport (12.1%)

Swansea (10.2%).

The areas which reported the lowest percentage of people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups were:

Pembrokeshire (1.2%),

Wrexham (1.5%),

Caerphilly (1.6%)

Flintshire (1.6%).

In EYST’s recent All Wales Survey for Ethnic Minority People, it was found that 44% of 143 respondents have felt unwelcome by a person of another background. In this survey, the majority of respondents (nearly 80%) felt safe or very safe in their community. However, there were several negative comments about personal safety in recent years, post-Brexit and post-Trump.

Additionally, the Home Office has found that hate crime has risen by 10% in England and Wales from 2017/18 to 2018/19.Further, from police reports on hate crime, it was found that of the 3932 recorded hate crimes in Wales during 2018/19, 2676 (68%) were hate crimes related to race and religion.

Research shows that discrimination has been felt by individuals because of their race. In EYST’s All Wales Survey for Ethnic Minority People, one of the largest barriers for respondents or members of their community accessing services was said to be discrimination. Further, negative treatment because of race appears in the workplace. TUC’s ‘Racism at Work’ report found that over 70% of Asian and Black workers who took the 2016-17 survey reported that they had experienced racial harassment at work in the last five years. Further, the report found that around 60% of Asian and black workers, and almost 40% of participants from a Mixed heritage background reported being subjected to unfair treatment by their employer because of their race.