New legislation called for in equality fight

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 4

New legislation called for in equality fight

By

JANE ENGLAND

New legislation should help prevent human rights violations against children, the elderly and people with A.1.D.5., says a woman who has spent the last four years fighting for equality.

The South Island Human Rights Commissioner, Ms Diana Shand, is leaving after holding the post on a full-time and part-time basis since 1985. People must develop tolerance in facing changes within society, she said yesterday. “In times of economic

hardship the more callous side of human nature appears and discrimination worsens,” said Ms Shand. People of every culture, creed and gender should always have access to training, employment and accommodation.

“A society without access is a society without hope, and a society without hope is a terrible place to live,” she said. Human rights violations were being committed against children, the elderly and people with A.I.D.S. and physical disa-

bilities, she said, but there

was little to protect them. “There is no national constituency for people with physical impairments which would simply enable them to survive.”

Institutions were now emphasising integration, but society still placed emphasis on the disabilities rather than the abilities of the people being

integrated. A.I.D.S. was a “time bomb” that would affect everyone, she said. People with A.I.D.S. were already suffering discrimination. Ms Shand cited a case in which an employee was thrown out of a company

house for nursing a relative with A.I.D.S. Children were also victims of a system that did not encompass their rights, Ms Shand said. “There is an urgent need for a commissioner acting especially for children’s rights, serving as a watchdog and guarding their interests.”

Discrimination against the elderly or “ageism” had now been identified as a problem in New Zealand, Ms Shand said. “Employers are looking to employ people aged between 30 and 45 with the experience of someone aged between 40 and 60, . ' x

“With an ageing population all aspects of ageism are dangerous and tragic.” Although society had changed, further changes

were needed to promote

equality between people of different genders and cultures, Ms Shand said. Schools needed to encourage girls and boys to develop a wide range of skills, and employers needed training to recognise people of different cultures and genders as

suitable for employment and promotion. “Women and men need to swap some of their skills. Women need to pick up some of the practical skills of men and men need to gain the emotional skills of

women.” Ms Shand’s own work experience has derived from her background. She received correspondence schooling on a high country sheep station and attended boarding school at which she received an American Field Scholarship.

She received a B.A. in Political Science, from the University of Canterbury, and worked on a construction site at the edge of the Arctic circle while

attaining an M.B.A. from a Canadian university. She has worked in data processing in England and Canada, been a university lecturer in business ad-

ministration and marketing and a teacher at the Christchurch Polytechnic. Ms Shand is a member of the Canterbury Promotion Council and an associate member of the New Zealand Institute of Management.