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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 8:44 pm
Time: 8:44 pm
Results for public services
2 results foundAuthor: Guasp, April Title: One Minority at a Time: Being Black and Gay Summary: There are over 400,000 black and minority ethnic lesbian, gay and bisexual people living in Great Britain. They are Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Black Caribbean and a whole host of other identities. Some are open about their sexual orientation living, socialising and even praying with heterosexual friends and family. Some are not open. Some worry about how they might be treated if people were to know about their sexual orientation. For many, the decision about whether to be open about their sexual orientation is one that requires a great deal of thought and consideration. All gay people consider whether people will reject them when they learn about their sexual orientation. As a society we have decided that our public services should serve all citizens; black, white, straight or gay. This report highlights where we may not yet be getting this right and suggests some actions that service deliverers could take to match our aspirations with the needs and experiences of lesbian, gay and bisexual service users from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. This report has been produced by Stonewall, the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity and Runnymede, the UK’s leading independent race equality think tank. Researchers from Stonewall and Runnymede have spoken to over 50 lesbian, gay and bisexual people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. They have shared their experiences about being gay as well as their experiences of accessing public services. The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on public bodies to proactively consider the needs and experiences of their lesbian, gay and bisexual service users. A similar duty has existed in relation to race since 2002 and although some progress has been made to understand the experiences of black and minority ethnic people very few public bodies have taken into account the fact that some black people are also gay or disabled or indeed both. Details: London: Runnymede Trust; Stonewall, 2012. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2012 at http://www.stonewall.org.uk/documents/one_minority_at_a_time_final.pdf Year: 2012 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/documents/one_minority_at_a_time_final.pdf Shelf Number: 126924 Keywords: Black BritishDiscrimination (U.K.)Gays, Lesbians and BisexualsMinoritiesPublic ServicesVictim Services |
Author: Congressional Research Service Title: Combating Corruption in Latin America: Congressional Considerations Summary: Corruption of public officials in Latin America continues to be a prominent political concern. In the past few years, 11 presidents and former presidents in Latin America have been forced from office, jailed, or are under investigation for corruption. As in previous years, Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index covering 2018 found that the majority of respondents in several Latin American nations believed that corruption was increasing. Several analysts have suggested that heightened awareness of corruption in Latin America may be due to several possible factors: the growing use of social media to reveal violations and mobilize citizens, greater media and investor scrutiny, or, in some cases, judicial and legislative investigations. Moreover, as expectations for good government tend to rise with greater affluence, the expanding middle class in Latin America has sought more integrity from its politicians. U.S. congressional interest in addressing corruption comes at a time of this heightened rejection of corruption in public office across several Latin American and Caribbean countries. Whether or not the perception that corruption is increasing is accurate, it is nevertheless fueling civil society efforts to combat corrupt behavior and demand greater accountability. Voter discontent and outright indignation has focused on bribery and the economic consequences of official corruption, diminished public services, and the link of public corruption to organized crime and criminal impunity. In some countries, rejection of tainted political parties and leaders from across the spectrum has challenged public confidence in governmental legitimacy. In some cases, condemnation of corruption has helped to usher in populist presidents. For example, a populist of the left won Mexico's election and of the right Brazil's in 2018, as winning candidates appealed to end corruption and overcome political paralysis. The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy characterizes corruption as a threat to the United States because criminals and terrorists may thrive under governments with rampant corruption. Studies indicate that corruption lowers productivity and mars competitiveness in developing economies. When it is systemic, it can spur migration and reduce GDP measurably. The U.S. government has used several policy tools to combat corruption. Among them are sanctions (asset blocking and visa restrictions) against leaders and other public officials to punish and deter corrupt practices, and programming and incentives to adopt anti-corruption best practices. The United States has also provided foreign assistance to some countries to promote clean or "good" government goals. U.S. efforts include assistance to strengthen the rule of law and judicial independence, law enforcement training, programs to institutionalize open and transparent public sector procurement and other clean government practices, and efforts to tap private-sector knowledge to combat corruption. This report examines U.S. strategies to help allies achieve anti-corruption goals, which were once again affirmed at the Summit of the Americas held in Peru in April 2018, with the theme of "Democratic Governance against Corruption." The case studies in the report explore: - Brazil's collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice and other international partners to expand investigations and use tools such as plea bargaining to secure convictions; - Mexico's efforts to strengthen protections for journalists and to protect investigative journalism generally, and mixed efforts to implement comprehensive reforms approved by Mexico's legislature; and - the experiences of Honduras and Guatemala with multilateral anti-corruption bodies to bolster weak domestic institutions, although leaders investigated by these bodies have tried to shutter them. Some analysts maintain that U.S. funding for "anti-corruption" programming has been too limited, noting that by some definitions, worldwide spending in recent years has not exceeded $115 million annually. Recent congressional support for anti-corruption efforts includes: training of police and justice personnel, backing for the Trump Administration's use of targeted sanctions, and other efforts to condition assistance. Policy debates have also highlighted the importance of combating corruption related to trade and investment. The 116th Congress may consider the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which would revise the NAFTA trade agreement, and contains a new chapter on anti-corruption measures. Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2019. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2019 at: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45733.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Latin America URL: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R45733.pdf Shelf Number: 156054 Keywords: Anti-CorruptionBriberyCorruptionLatin AmericaOrganized CrimePublic OfficialsPublic Services |