Children and young people push for equal treatment

On August 20th, 23 children and young people from England, Scotland and Wales met in London to discuss Government proposals for new laws on equality and discrimination.

On the day the participants talked about two major questions:
• Should age discrimination in goods, facilities and services be against the law? (this would include shops, buses, cinemas, health services and swimming pools)
• Should public authorities (for example schools, local councils, police etc) be given a strong duty to promote equality and prevent discrimination?

The event was a massive success, with excellent discussion and debate. There were lots of examples of age discrimination ranging from children not being taken seriously by ambulance and health services, to being followed around shops by security guards.

A report was then put together based on everything that was said on the day. This report was then sent to the Government.