Stereotyping based on race, religion or ethnicity will be unlawful once Senate Bill No. 1081 (SBN 1081) or Anti Religious and Ethnic Stereotyping Act is approved into law.
Authored by Sen. Chiz Escudero, SBN 1081 makes any racial-profiling and stereotyping unlawful with penal provisions for those who will be proven violating and guilty of such.
According to Escudero, chairman of the senate committee on finance, it has become a typical ill in our society to cast particular groups of people in a mold simply because they belong to stereotyped communities or groups.
“It’s an age-old ill, stereotyping ascribes negative traits to a particular group or person, such as when a person suspected of being involved in a crime is referred to as a ‘Muslim suspect,’ when no such identification is made when such a suspect belongs to a Christian or other religions. It’s almost rooted in bigotry and this should be rectified by an enforced legislation,” the senator said.
Individuals who belong to the stereotyped communities feel a diminished sense of citizenship, a feeling of being an unequal member of society when we claim to live under one flag and one country.
“Every citizen has the fundamental right to be free from discrimination”, said Escudero. /MP
No comments:
Post a Comment