The latest edition of the Equal Treatment Bench Book gives guidance on the appropriate use of terminology

Judges in England and Wales have been given new guidance on communicating with witnesses and other parties in courts and tribunals. The latest edition of the Equal Treatment Bench Book is full of sound advice. It acknowledges, language is constantly evolving and there are disagreements on what terms may be acceptable. Here’s some of the latest guidance:

BAME or BME: These are generally no longer used because they emphasise certain ethnic-minority groups (Asian and black) and exclude other minority groups.

Black: It is now generally considered acceptable to use the term “black” to describe people of African-Caribbean or sub-Saharan African descent. This term should only be used as an adjective, eg “a black person”, not as a noun (“a Black”).

Asian: “Asian” is a collective term which has been applied in Britain to people from the Indian sub-continent. In practice, people from the Indian sub-continent tend to identify themselves in terms of one or more of their national origin, their region of origin, or their religion.

People of colour/coloured: The term “people of colour” tends to be used more in the USA than in the UK. “Coloured” is offensive and must be avoided. A person of the older white generation in the UK may feel that they are being polite by using the word “coloured” rather than “black” but that is an extremely outdated view and not acceptable in any way.

Mixed race: The term “mixed race” is still widely used and is considered acceptable by some, though not by others. More acceptable terms are “person with a mixed ethnic background”, “mixed heritage” or “mixed/dual parentage”. “Half-caste” is generally considered offensive and should be avoided.

Non-white: It is not acceptable to describe black people or black and Asian people generally as “non-white”. That is defining people by what they are not.

British/English: “British” and “English” are acceptable terms in themselves, but they should be used in an inclusive sense to refer to all ethnic groups and not simply to denote white people.