Our Rights Stories

Today’s episode is a part two of our special conversation with Kairos Women+, a community-led women’s space for all women and non-binary people across Renfrewshire and beyond.  

While speaking with Katy Wilson-Scott, senior coordinator, and Abril Flores Rojo, project worker, about their incredible projects, we found out more about:  

• Kairos Museum and their collaboration with Paisley Museum around the Women's Guild,  

• and their innovative work with our Scottish Women’s Rights Centre by providing feedback through a lived expertise panel on the accessibility’s level of their services when it comes to access and inclusion and the barriers that women might face.  

Visit Kairos Women+’s website to read their latest news: Kairos Women+ – Renfrewshire's community-led women's space—collaboratively creating opportunities for women via workshops, events and courses. 

Today, we talk with Jean Demars, Director of the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), about: 

• What PILC is and what the team does. 

• How they collaborate with community groups and social movements to drive systemic legal change. 

• Why it is crucial to establish trust-based relationships when working with the most marginalized communities in the UK. 

To learn more about their recent cases, upcoming initiatives, and their grassroots approach, where 'Without relationships with groups, we don't exist,' listen to our podcast! 

Visit their website for more details: Public Interest Law Centre • Public Law • Human Rights • Legal Action (pilc.org.uk)  

This is part 2 of our conversation with Jean Demars, Director of the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC). 

This episode features the kind of services the team is delivering with a focus on their current projects and campaigns, and their approach when taking part in public inquiries including Undercover Policing Inquiry. 

 
Jean is also focusing on their Gypsy and Traveller Legal Advice project and he depicts the structural inequalities these communities are facing across the UK and England, through extensive data analysis.  

Jean talks about laws and examples from PILC’s work in England and Wales and the laws in Scotland are often different. However, through our work with Gypsy/Traveller communities in Scotland we also see that these communities often face similar issues and barriers to justice. At JustRight Scotland we are working alongside these communities to defend and extend their rights across Scotland. 
 

The term ‘Gypsies and Travellers’ is used throughout this episode as it is the term used by PILC in their work. In Scotland the term 'Gypsy/Travellers' is often used to refer to distinct groups – such as Roma, Romany Gypsies, Scottish and Irish Travellers. 

     
To learn about the amazing work that PILC are doing in the UK and how impactful it’s on their communities, you can 

• Visit their website   

• Check out their videos 

• Subscribe to their Newsletter  

Today’s episode is our insightful conversation with Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS), a leading charity working with single-parent families in Scotland. 

While speaking with Satwat, we learned more about: 

• Their latest research, including the "Living without a Lifeline" report which highlights key issues single parents are facing during the cost-of-living crisis. 
• Their report findings from their five focus groups with single parents in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Dundee, and Edinburgh on a Just Transition to Net Zero.
• Their campaigns: from "Cost of School" (which addresses how costs such as school clothing and school meals can put pressure on low-income families) to "End Child Poverty" (ECP), which calls on the UK Government to take action on child poverty, universal credit, the benefit freeze, and childcare. 
• Their story and how this year they are celebrating 80 years of One Parent Families Scotland. 

Visit the OPFS website to read their latest news: Changing Lives, Challenging Poverty - One Parent Families Scotland. 

In this episode, we explore the barriers African migrants face in the UK workforce, particularly the disconnect between their educational qualifications and the limited opportunities available to them. Our guest Esther from JustCitizens and Adeniyi from African Connect share personal insights on the struggles highly skilled individuals, including those with PhDs, face when they are pushed into the care sector as the "easy way out" of the system.  

We also discuss the broader issues of education, mental health, and employment within racialised communities in Scotland.  
 
Tune in to hear how we can change the narrative and create a more inclusive system together.