2020 has been an unprecedented year. Hundreds of thousands of lives across the world have been lost to Covid-19, with the virus exposing stark inequalities in communities globally.
As highlighted in the Public Health England Review, BAME communities have been disproportionally affected by Covid-19. And while we all struggle to deal with the impact of this, racial inequality has been amplified further by the tragic death of George Floyd in America.
People across the world are quite rightly standing up against this appalling and unnecessary loss of life, which further highlights the inequalities being experienced by so many people. This inequality is not acceptable.
We know that all our staff are strongly committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We have always had a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination and our community focus is central to our Group’s ethos. But more is now needed.
As a Group we want to build a legacy of hope and empower our staff, students and wider communities to be bold, spirited and free to help make change we want, and need, to see.
Racism, oppression, discrimination and all other forms of inequality simply must be eliminated.
Such tragic times must become a catalyst for positive change and we will not stop until we have made a difference.