Rejected petition Prevent Hair Discrimination in healthcare
A study produced in April 2021 found that a majority of black people working in healthcare services have been discriminated against in relation to their hair, with terms such as “unacceptable” and racist “hair must not be below your collar” policies that discriminate against black people who wear their hair to identify themselves culturally. Did you know a black healthcare worker cannot wear large braids to work because it is “unprofessional”? I personally was asked to stop working until I take off my braids.
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If I did not remove my braids then I was asked to move it above my collar and to use accessories that tangled my braids, making it hard for me to remove the accessories from my tangled braids. Such policies discriminate against black people because our hair comes in different forms and textures and, because of such policies, we are predisposed to racist remarks from racist co-workers. The experience gave me anxiety that I had to seek counselling from my local church for because every day I stepped in at work, I was afraid that I was going to get picked on about something pertaining to my racial identity.
This is one of the many forms in which black people suffer from discrimination because there are policies in place that allow it.
Why was this petition rejected?
It did not collect enough signatures to be referred to the Petitions Committee.
Petitions need to receive at least 250 signatures before they can be considered in the Senedd.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards
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