What is cohesion?

Community cohesion is simply about making sure that people of all different faiths, ethnic and other identities develop trust and respect for each other and can work together. It means tackling some of the prejudices and stereotypes – often reinforced by inequalities – which contribute to separateness, rivalries and conflict.

Put more simply, community cohesion is ensuring that ‘different groups of people get on well together’.[1] But this is easier said than done - the concept of community cohesion emerged in the UK in 2001 as a result of riots and disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham.

The independent Community Cohesion Review Team, chaired by Ted Cantle, reported at the end of 2001, some six months or so after the riots. The ‘Cantle Report'[2] as it became known, provided a national overview of the state of race and community relations, following visits to a wide range of towns and cities, including both riot stricken areas and those that had not experienced any tensions.

The report demonstrated how divided and un-cohesive communities had become in some areas and found that people were living ‘parallel lives’ in fear and ignorance of each other. Since then, a whole area of public policy developed to respond to the situation. This is not confined to the UK with many European and Western democracies responding to this new era of ‘super diversity’ in similar ways.

To build cohesion many organisations, including iCoCo, believe that we need to encourage wider civic engagement and a richer notion of British citizenship with its attendant rights and responsibilities, promoting greater interaction within and between communities. The best and fairest societies are those in which people share experiences and common ambitions whatever their racial, religious or cultural backgrounds. In essence, we need to develop the sense of a shared society in which everyone’s life chances are unaffected by what or where they were born.

There has been some debate over the exact definition of cohesion. This is not surprising, it is a new concept and the issues which we face are constantly changing in response to social and economic factors – and the process of globalisation. The Institute of Community Cohesion has developed a definition of community cohesion which will be the main point of reference for this review. It believes that community cohesion is an outcome, but the process is also critical. It comprises at least six facets:

• Interaction between individuals, communities and wider society to promote trust and common understanding
• Active citizenship: participation in civil society, in public institutions, the workplace and in political life
• Equality of access to the labour market, housing, education, healthcare and social welfare. Evidence of progress towards equality of outcome across society
• A society at ease with itself, with a real sense of security, welcome and belonging
• Respect for the rule of law and the liberal values that underpin society
• Civil, political and social rights and responsibilities