Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

NHS-backed research urges to scrap the term “BAME”

A NEW research backed by the NHS has urged to scrap the term “BAME” as it “erases identities”, The Telegraph reported.

The NHS Race and Health Observatory launched a four-week consultation with the public in July on how best to collectively refer to people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups.


The independent body, set up and supported by the NHS to tackle health inequalities, has formally committed to never use the blanket acronym after feedback to its consultation said it was not representative, the report added.

Generic collective terms such as "BAME", "BME" and "ethnic minority" are "not representative or universally popular", the Observatory said, after receiving responses from 5,104 people.

It said terminology that "crudely conflates" different groups "does not just erase identities, it can also lead to broad brush policy decisions that fail to appreciate the nuance of ethnic inequality in the UK".

It found no single, collective umbrella term to describe ethnic groups was agreed by the majority of respondents.

It is understood NHS England has also moved away from using the term “BAME”.

The report gave no recommendations for other organisations to drop the acronym, but said it recommended groups should “have their own conversations about language”.

According to the survey, "ethnic minority" was the least unpopular collective term, with equal proportions feeling unhappy and happy with it (37.9 per cent).

Some 30 per cent of respondents were happy with the term "BAME".

"The communities we engage and work with needed to be at the centre of these broad conversations before the Observatory took a final decision on its own approach towards terminology use," Dr Habib Naqvi, director of the Observatory, was quoted as saying by The Telegraph.

"We hope that the proposed principles will help others to reflect on their own approaches to language use. This is not the end of the conversation as we remain open to revisit preferences over time."

White British people made up the largest group of respondents - 38.2 per cent of the total - but their responses were not counted when questions were asked about feeling comfortable about collective terms for non-White British groups.

The Observatory also held five focus groups with around 100 participants over September and October.

Annette Hay, chairman of Coventry University Race Equality Council, told The Telegraph: "There were some very compelling arguments for and against the use of various phrases, acronyms and terminology, most of which seemed to reinforce the need for more conversations and consultations, so that we might find new and more nuanced ways of referencing, describing and analysing, typically marginalised and minoritised groups."

More For You

Victims’ families seek names of doctors who treated Nottingham attacker

Calocane, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after killing three people and attempting to kill three others on 13 June 2023. (Photo credit: Nottingham Police)

Victims’ families seek names of doctors who treated Nottingham attacker

THE FAMILIES of the Nottingham attacks victims have called for the doctors responsible for Valdo Calocane’s treatment to be named and held accountable.

Their demand follows the release of a report on his mental health treatment before the June 2023 attacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rahim Al-Hussaini

Prince Rahim is the eldest son of Aga Khan IV and his first wife, Princess Salimah.

Rahim Al-Hussaini succeeds Aga Khan IV as leader of Ismaili Muslims

PRINCE Rahim Al-Hussaini has been appointed as the 50th hereditary Imam, or spiritual leader, of Ismaili Muslims following the unsealing of the will of his late father, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV.

The announcement was made by the Aga Khan Development Network on Wednesday.

Keep ReadingShow less
BAPS opens largest Hindu temple and cultural hub of southern hemisphere in Johannesburg

BAPS Hindu temple and cultural complex in Johannesburg

BAPS opens largest Hindu temple and cultural hub of southern hemisphere in Johannesburg

Eastern Eye

THE largest Hindu temple and cultural complex in the southern hemisphere was unveiled in Johannesburg last Sunday (2) with scores of worshippers participating in a ceremony to mark the occasion.

Although fewer than two per cent of South Africans identify as Hindu, it is the most followed religion among the country’s Indian community.

Keep ReadingShow less
Naga Munchetty exposes online scam that used her fake photos on social media

BBC’s Naga Munchetty speaks out against online scams misusing her image to deceive the public

Getty Images

Naga Munchetty exposes online scam that used her fake photos on social media

BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty has expressed her shock and frustration after discovering that her name and image were being used in online scams. In a personal account published on the BBC website, Munchetty described how fake advertisements featuring manipulated images of her were circulating on social media platforms like Facebook and X. These ads included crude photoshopped pictures of her face on someone else’s body, alongside links to fraudulent websites.

Munchetty said she was “mortified and bemused” by the ads, which were designed to trick people into clicking on fake news articles. These articles falsely claimed she had been detained by the government after revealing a “lucrative loophole” to make money during an interview on ITV’s This Morning. The fake articles used the BBC’s logo and branding to appear legitimate, but they were part of a scam to lure people into investing in a fraudulent cyber trading platform.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi-Kumbh

Modi, dressed in a saffron sweatshirt and black sweatpants with saffron stripes, took dips in the knee-deep water. (Photo: X/@narendramodi)

Modi takes holy dip at Maha Kumbh, days after deadly stampede

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi took a holy dip in the sacred river waters in Prayagraj on Wednesday as he joined millions at the Maha Kumbh Mela, a week after a stampede at the event left dozens dead.

Authorities confirmed 30 deaths in the stampede on January 29, which was the festival's most auspicious day. More than 76 million people gathered at the river for a 'royal dip'. Reuters sources put the death toll at over 50.

Keep ReadingShow less