Key Quotes - Social Issues

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March
 
Teachers should replace he or she, him or her and his or hers with new pronouns xe, xem and xyr to refer to children who believe they are transsexual, according to school rules passed in Vancouver in late June. The new words were sanctioned to be used as alternatives to regular pronouns if required by pupils. Training is also being backed for teachers to develop a ‘gay-friendly’ curriculum and states that children ‘have the right to dress in a manner consistent with their gender identity or gender expression’.
Social IssuesEvangelicals Now, August 2014
 
Same sex marriage has been rejected in Finland for the second time in less than two years, it was reported in mid-June. Following last year’s rejection of same sex marriage, a pro-same sex marriage group launched a petition, called a Citizens’ Initiative, which gathered 166,000 signatures. As a result of the action, parliament was forced to discuss the issue. The legal affairs committee rejected the same sex marriage Bill by 10 votes to 6, compared to a 9-8 vote by the same committee in March 2013.
Social IssuesEvangelicals Now, August 2014
 
Half a million people who volunteer in their local community should be given council tax rebates, the Local Government Association has recommended.
Social IssuesCivil Society News - 29th July 2014
 
The top civil servant at the Home Office has admitted he is ‘concerned’ more than 100 files linked to allegations of paedophile activity in Westminster are missing. Mark Sedwill said there were no surviving records of what had been destroyed or lost from the 1980s and 1990s. He also announced Richard Whittam QC will be leading a fresh inquiry into the Home Office’s handling of information it received during the period – including a 1983 dossier from ex-MP Geoffrey Dickens.
Social IssuesThe Sentinel, July 9, 2014
 
In a stunning anti-democratic move, the One of Us campaign petition – carrying the signatures of almost 2 million European citizens – has been rejected by the European Commission. The petition calls for an end to EU funding of research and development which involves the destruction of human embryos.
Social IssuesCARE - 6th June 2014
 
In Switzerland extraordinary cases of non-terminally/chronically ill patients undergoing assisted suicide are increasingly becoming part of standard practice. EXIT, one of the more prominent assisted suicide organisations, has recently announced that it will now accept non-terminally ill elderly people, in a worrying but sadly unsurprising move.
Social IssuesCare Not Killing - 4th June 2014
 
Reports last week suggest that Belgian euthanasia deaths rose 26.8% in 2013 to 1,816, representing five people every day having their lives ended, and a Brussels nurse has recently written of 'what really happens in Belgium's healthcare system with euthanasia'.
Social IssuesCare Not Killing - 4th June 2014
 
British soldiers have been eating halal meat in military canteens without their knowledge, the Military of Defence (MoD) has admitted.

The MoD says that whilst it “does use Halal and Kosher meat in its meals”, it does not label dishes clearly in its UK and overseas bases.
Social IssuesChristian Concern - 20th June 2014
 
An online petition asking people to resist the legislation of assisted suicide in the UK was launched in May by Not Dead Yet UK, a network of disabled people in the UK opposing the legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia. Signing up to the online petition will help fight against Lord Falconer’s forthcoming Private Members Bill which Not Dead Yet fear will begin to open the door to state sanctioned assisted dying.
Social IssuesEvangelicals Now, July 2014
 
Almost half of 10 to 14-year-olds have seen their parents drunk, according to a poll. Research carried out by ICM on behalf of Drinkaware, the industry-funded charity, found that a staggering 46% had seen their parents drunk, with 29% saying they had witnessed the same scene on more than one occasion. In contrast, 72% of the 1,000 parents taking part in the survey said they felt very confident talking to their children about drinking – with 75% believing they were best placed to do so.
Social IssuesThe Plain Truth, Spring 2014
 
The Telegraph has reported that the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to issue new guidance which makes it clear that sex-selective abortion is unacceptable and illegal, it was reported in late May. The guidance will close a loophole in the Abortion Act which has made it difficult to bring charges against doctors who have carried out abortions based on gender and pre-signed abortion forms without consulting with the patients.
Social IssuesEvangelists Now, July 2014
 
More than 1.1 million schoolchildren do not speak English as their first language. New data suggests that the numbers of youngsters who do not have English as their mother tongue has rocketed, with around a quarter of a million more now speaking other languages at home, compared to five years ago. Overall, one in six pupils in state primary and secondary schools, have a first language that is known, or believed to be, other than English – a total of 1,109,610 children. In 2013, around 15.9% of youngsters spoke English as a second language, while in 2009, it was 13.2%.
Social IssuesThe Sentinel, June 13, 2013
 
A High Court judge has rejected a couple’s opposition to the adoption of their children by a same-sex couple. The Slovak Roma couple argued that the lifestyle of the adoptive parents “goes against our Roma culture and lifestyle”, and that the children “will not be able to be brought up in the Catholic faith because of the conflicts between Catholicism and homosexuality”. On Friday, Sir James Munby upheld the adoption plan, but said that it was “unfortunate” that Kent County Council had suggested that the Roma couple were “bigoted”. A Kent County Council spokesman said: “We have acted in the best interests of these young children.”
Social IssuesChurch Times, 30 May 2014
 
A new report by Save the Children is warning that the number of children in poverty in Britain could rocket to 4.9 million by 2020. A Fair Start for Every Child, which was released on Wednesday, predicts that, because of stagnant wages and welfare cuts, 1.4 million more children would be living in poverty by 2020. The total will then be the highest recorded level of child poverty in the UK for a generation. Child poverty is defined as being when a household income is 60 per cent below the national average. Today, this applies to 27 per cent of British children – some 3.5 million.
Social IssuesChurch Times, 30 May 2014
 
The number of people saying they trust charities has fallen from 66 per cent to 56 per cent in 2014, according to research published today by nfpSynergy.

Charities have dropped to seventh in a list of the most trusted institutions, from fourth last year. They have been overtaken by the royal family, schools and small businesses, according to the research, published today.

The Armed Forces, the NHS and the Scouts and Guides are top three in the list, with levels of trust at 70 per cent, 68 per cent and 64 per cent respectively, it finds.

Political parties and the government are bottom of the list with levels of trust at 12 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

The survey, carried out in April, shows 28 per cent of people trust the Fundraising Standards Board but the same proportion have never heard of the regulator.
Social IssuesCivil Society News - 24th June 2014
 
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