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You
can find a lot of information about human
rights but it is not always easy to understand.
It can be hard to see how human rights
can be part of your life.
This page tells you about some human rights
and how they can help you.
On this page you will read about how people have used human rights laws.
We are making a lot of our information into easy read so that everyone can understand more about human rights and the law.
The
Equality and Human Rights Commission works
to make sure that people are treated fairly
and equally.
We are working to stop discrimination against disabled people, men and women and people from different races and cultures.
We are also working to make sure that people of different ages, lesbian and gay people and people from different religions are treated fairly and equally.
We also want to make sure that people ’s human rights are respected.
The Human Rights Act is the law about
human rights.
Many other laws have to follow what theHuman
Rights Act says.
Human rights are about how we treat each
other.
They
are about
• respect
• freedom
• equality
• dignity
• fairness
The Human Rights Act protects everyone.
Human rights are for everyone.
They are to help groups like councils,the police and hospitals protect you by making sure they respect your human rights.
Human rights mean that the government should protect all of us from groups or individuals who would take away our rights.
Your
life is as important as anyone else ’s.
Nina’s story
Nina
is 10.
She has a disability.
She became very ill and had to go into
hospital.
The doctors would not put her on a machine
to help her breath. They also decided
that if she stopped breathing they would
not try to save her life.
Her mother was very unhappy about this.
Nina
was moved to another hospital. The new
hospital put her on a machine to help
her breath for 2 weeks.
She got better and went home from hospital.
The
Disability Rights Commission (which is
now part of the Equality and Human Rights
Commission) took the first hospital to
court.
They used the right to life to argue that,
even thought Nina had a disability, she
had the same right to care and treatment
as everyone else.
The right to live as a family. For example, for gay and lesbian couples to have the same rights as other couples.
Sarah’s story
Sarah is Judy’s partner.
Judy had problems with her mental health
and was taken into hospital.
If you have mental health problems and
cannot make decisions for yourself, your
nearest relative can make them for you.
Because
Sarah was a woman, for her to be Judy’s
nearest relative she needed to have lived
with her for 5 years.
She had lived with Judy for 3 years.
If Sarah had been a man, she would have
been seen as Judy’s nearest relative after
living with her for just 6 months.
Sarah argued that the right to respect for private and family life meant that she and Judy should not be treated differently from other couples.
The law about nearest relative was changed because of Sarah going to court. The amount of time is now the same for all couples.
You should get the care and support you
need to have a good life.
You should also be able to join in with
things in your community along with everyone
else.
Mary and Jean are sisters.
They
are both disabled.
They live at home with their parents.
They need help to move around their home
and go out.
The local authority said it was too risky for their staff to lift and move Mary and Jean. This meant that the sisters could not move or go out.
Their
case went to court. The judge said that
all disabled people have the right to
be supported to be a part of their local
community.
He said that the local authority must
look at its rules about lifting and moving
people.
The local authority changed its rules to respect the dignity and rights of people who need to be lifted.
Visit the Equality and Human Rights Comission website: www.equalityhumanrights.com
Telephone 1 of our helplines.
• 
They
are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
• On Wednesdays the helplines stay open until 8pm.
England
• 08456 046 610
• Textphone 08456 046 620
• Fax 08456 046 630
Wales
• 08456 048 810
• Textphone 08456 048 820
• Fax 08456 048 830
Scotland
• 08456 045 510
• Textphone 08456 045 520
• Fax 08456 045 530
website © Getting A Life 2010
