Social justice issues for Caribbean Studies

1. SOCIAL
JUSTICE
In the Caribbean

2. Social Justice Issues in the
Caribbean
 Gender equality
 Class/race discrimination
 Minority rights
 Indigenous people
 Disabled/elderly
 Street people/AIDS victims
 Rights of the child

3. Issues in social justice
 Rights for all versus fairness to all (e.g. aboriginal
lands)
 The need for welfare for the vulnerable in
society(distributive justice)
 Responsibilities- to produce while demanding
service
 Natural rights(right to life and liberty) versus the
social contract to respect the rights of others
 Prejudices(attitudes), stereotype(set of ideas
typifying a group), discrimination(open acts against a
group)
 The concept of the ‘Other’ as opposed to ‘normal’
people(meaning oneself)

4. Defining Social Justice
 Social justice according to Reid(2007) results
form equalization of social and economic
opportunities for all classes of society,
regardless of colour, race or creed.

5. …Defining social justice
 Most Caribbean countries on gaining
independence included a Bill of Rights in their
constitution to introduce and uphold the
principles of equality and social justice.
 In spite of this, much still needs to be done for
Caribbean countries to be rid of social
injustice which results when minimum
guarantees (e.g. to life, education, health care
etc.) are not met.

6. Equality versus Equity
 Equality – everyone entitled to an equal share of
things, e.g. everyone is entitled to ‘free’ education
up to tertiary level in Trinidad
 Equity – everyone is entitled to get what he or she
needs, e.g. not everyone will need to be provided
with welfare cheques from the government and
other forms of social assistance in order to
maximise their ‘free’ educational opportunities

7. Terms associated with social
justice
 Fairness(or equity) and welfare(standard of
living)
 Responsibilities – the ‘social contract’ or
mutual advantage
 Natural rights( rights that are inalienable or
without conditions; often referred to as ‘God-
given’; also See UN Declaration of Human
Rights

8. The evolution of Social justice in
the Caribbean
 Pre-Columbus – equality/equity(equal
opportunities to accrue wealth in society
 1492-1834 – repartimiento to slavery – all extreme
forms of social injustice
 1838-1917 – Indentureship (minimum wage
labour with limited rights)
 1940s – Universal Adult Suffrage : right to self-
determination
 1960s – Independence – bill of Rights in
Constitution

9. What does this Bill of Rights
imply for every citizen?
 It affords any citizen the power to redress any
infringement of his/her constitutional rights
through the use of the court system
 It diminishes the effect of the Westminster
doctrine of the Supremacy of Parliament

10. …Bill of rights
 The constitutionality of certain laws therefore
have been repeatedly challenged in the
Caribbean; among the most notable are
1. The death penalty
2. The banning of the Shouter Baptist religion
(1917-1961)
3. The illegality of same-sex relationships

11. Inequality and social exclusion
 Unequal distribution in wealth(access to utilities,
education, social grants etc.) leads to loss of
socioeconomic equalisation, increased poverty
and hindered development
 Social exclusion refers to the inability of the
individual to participate in the basic political,
economic and social aspects of society
 The abovementioned can eventually lead to social
instability – crime, violence and civil disobedience

12. Indicators of underdevelopment
with breaches of social justice
 Inequality affects the economy, re: poverty,
unutilized human capital and resources( lack of
infrastructural development), suppressed
economic growth increased social spending
 Social consequences – crime, loss of investor
confidence, substance abuse, depreciated human
rights record, anarchy
 Impact on the environment – due to squatting etc.

13. Examples of consequences to
perceived social injustice
 Civil unrest of the 1930s
 The Black Power Movement of the 1970s
 The Cuban Revolution of the 1950s
 The Arab Spring of 2010 – 2012
 Black Lives Matter Movement 2013

14. On the road to social justice and
development
 Creating an economic environment of free
trade and investing in the economy and the
people(education, health, etc.)
 Legislation to promote human rights and
justice for all from reducing taxation to
criminalizing discrimination in all forms
 Social protection – insurance, pension
schemes, minimum wage bills, policies to
change stereotypes

15. Forms of ‘institutionalised’
discrimination
 Racism – pigmentocracy
 Sexism – unequal opportunities(glass ceiling)
or unequal pay for equal work
 Ageism – mandatory retirement; unequal
spending on infrastructure, programs for this
group
 Ableism – discrimination against people with
disabilities, e.g. government buildings with no
lifts etc.

16. …institutional discrimination
 Creedism – discriminating against certain
religious sects in society, e.g. Rastafarians,
other small sects as opposed to the perceived
superiority of the Roman Catholic Church
 Classism – For example allocating less
resources(schools, hospitals etc.) for rural
populations as opposed to urban ones(No. of
Schools in Caroni vs St George)

17. Enablers of discrimination
 Primary and secondary socialization -gender roles,
values and religion, the law institution and that of formal
education
 Gatekeepers (employers/business owners, hierarchies
of politics and religion and the legal system)
 Historical patriarchal and pyramidal structures in
society
 The Mass Media perpetuating old stereotypes and
cultivating new ones, e.g. portraying young people as
naturally rebellious, insatiable and frivolous

18. Gender
 For many years, women in the Caribbean were
not given equal opportunities in the pursuit of
employment or education. During the last two
decades of the twentieth century, women in the
Caribbean experienced significant increases in
opportunities. Women are using their education to
move into many management positions,
traditionally dominated by men. Issues still arise
with reference to equal pay and promotion

20. Unequal pay for equal work
 In a research paper published by Bellony et
al(2010), and funded by the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) it was found that in
Barbados males earned an average 8 -17 per
cent more than females and in Jamaica an
astounding 14 -27 per cent more for the same
work!

21. Class discrimination
 People of inner-city and rural areas are often
discriminated against in terms of opportunities
and justice, while upper classes who engage
in white-collar crime are often dealt with
leniently. This creates feelings of
disenfranchisement which may lead to social
unrest.

23. Race discrimination
 Even though institutional racism no longer
exists, there still remains a sort of
pigmentocracy – where varying skin tones
and physical features are ranked in terms of
perceived superiority. There have been stark
instances of this practice of discrimination
especially with reference to club
memberships, job opportunities and access to
social events.

24. The anachronism of Indigenous
people
 There are an estimated 75,000 people of
Indigenous descent in the Caribbean.
 Most are found in Dominica, St. Lucia, T&T
and Belize
 They have been largely forgotten, ignored
and/or stereotyped for the past half a
millennium

25. …Indigenous people
 Some of their issues involve access to ancestral
lands, preservation of culture at national level,
pollution of the environment and a voice in policy
making
 They have been able to forge alliances(e.g.,
Caribbean Organization of Indigenous People and
the UNCED Agenda)
 In Dominica and Trinidad they have preserved
reservations and festivals respectively to ensure
that their culture is not completely erased.

26. Ableism
 Unlike in the past where they were not able to live
independently, disabled people are now accessing
premises and thus educational and job opportunities.
Ministries of social development in several territories
are working towards making this group of people more
productive members of society and not just dependent
on welfare rights.
 Some credit should be given to NGOS such as the
Barbados Council for the Disabled who among other
initiatives, launched Wheelchair Tennis to the into the
sporting arena as well as an awards system for
facilities that have upgraded to accommodate disabled
people.

27. Ageism
 These people must be protected from ageist practices some of
which include:
 Mandatory retirement at 60 -65 even though a person at that age
may still be very productive
 Reluctance or refusal to hire people above a certain age
 Insurance benefits may not be granted or premiums may
increase when applying after 35. Also most policies expire at age
60-70 at best
 Less of the national budget is spent on geriatric services
 It is noteworthy that several populations of the Caribbean
including Trinidad and Tobago now have an ageing population
(2011 census)

28. HIV victims and street people
 Public campaigns and implementation of laws and
policies have seen the lot of these groups improve in
the last decade of so. For AIDS victims there is now
legislation to protect them from unlawful dismissal and
discriminating hiring practices. There also have been
programmes geared toward rehabilitating street
dwellers which includes the provision of shelter,
medical services and training programmes. One must
note that many of these programmes to help the
vulnerable in society are spearheaded by Non-
Governmental Organisations(NGOs).