by POPPY JAMAN, head of City Mental Health Alliance

FOR about ten seconds I doubted myself and my experiences as a brown woman and a leader. That is what structural racism does. That is what this report is going to do to anyone that has had the awful experience of racism and gender discrimination.

My message to my friends and peers is to remember the facts as you read the spin. The word disappointing is not big enough to capture the emotions I am feeling right now. Race relations in our country has a long way to go and this report and its tone of voice is the perfect example of institutions that uphold systems that discriminate.

I have seen the term government ‘gaslighting’ trending on social media and I feel sad that that’s the way people feel. How can we ever foster a sense of belonging when the tone of this report and subsequent headlines are making people question their experience?

The narrative from the report is taking us back and attempting to make us invisible again. It’s a hard day living when you must prove you exist in the first place. The headlines are worrying and will make the work of EDI leads harder than it already is.

My daughter told me last week she worries every time I go out in case I’m racially abused. This is not something every child has to think about, is it?