People are not alone.WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME TOGETHER WITH OTHERS,to bring to light issues.

Why is protest so fundamental for human rights and democratic society? Here are six basic reasons why we need to protect and exercise the right to protest.

1. People realise that they are not alone

Public demonstrations,protests, and marches empower people by showing them that there are thousands of people who think the same things.

2. By protesting, we alter the agenda and start a debate

Those in power may try to ignore us, but if there are enough protesters then they will feel the need to come up with reasons why all of the protesters are wrong. That is when the debate begins and argument becomes possible.

3. In an electoral democracy, protest provides an essential voice for minority groups

government recognised that universal suffrage and majority voting threaten to impose the ‘tyranny of the majority’ and override the rights of minorities.Protesting gives the minorities a voice,a platform.The gov cannot ignore.

4. Sometimes we win!

If there are enough protesters, the policies of those in power may become unworkable,When the UK government introduce the flat-rate Poll Tax in 1990, huge numbers of people protested and refused to pay the tax. It became clear that prosecuting everyone who refused would be impossible, chaos threatened, and the government abolished the tax.

5. Sometimes we win in ways we had not intended or planned

Political events are unpredictable. Often protestors get arrested,Even when there exercising there legal right to peacefull protest.Thiis can result in the media getting involved.Legal organisations become involved to.Due to human rights laws being broken.And the results seen often in the media.Bringing to the eyes of more of the population.

6. Sometimes it takes time

At the time it may feel that it's going nowhere; that those in power are stuck in a certain mindset and cannot change their thinking.new people come along,unencumbered by past thinking, and see that the views of the protesters were just common sense

A clever analysis finds that protests do in fact have a major influence . just not in the way you might think. big crowds send a signal to policy-makers. protests get people politically activated.

Evaluating the efficacy of protest is no easy task. It’s challenging to untangle whether a big protest actually caused a change, or whether that change would have happened regardless, because a policy was unpopular and the protest is a symptom of that unpopularity.

As it turns out, protest size really does matter. The difference in political outcomes actually increased over time. Larger turnout for the initial protest had lasting effects .

At the heart of every protest are grievances, such as experience of illegitimate inequality, feelings of relative deprivation, feelings of injustice, moral indignation about some state of affairs, or a suddenly imposed grievance. Feelings of relative deprivation result from comparison of one’s situation with a standard—be it one’s past, someone else’s situation, or a cognitive standard such as equity or justice. feeling part of a group which you perceive as deprived is particularly important for engagement in protest.

Efficacy refers to an individual’s expectation that it is possible to alter conditions or policies through protest. Group efficacy is the belief that group-related problems can be solved by collective efforts, and political efficacy is the belief that political actions can have an impact on the political process.

the more people identify with a group the more they are inclined to protest on behalf of that group. In addition to shared fate, shared emotions, and enhanced efficacy, identification with others involved generates an inner obligation to behave as a ‘good’ group member. Together these dynamics explain why group identification functions as a ‘stepping stone’ to a politicized identity.

In terms of emotional mechanisms, it is anger which is seen as the prototypical protest emotion. For those of us who have been part of protest events or watched reports on protest events in the news media, this is hardly surprising; it is hard to conceive of protest detached from anger. A relation between anger and efficacy also exists: people who perceive the in-group as strong are more likely to experience anger and desire to take action; people who perceive the in-group as weak are more likely to feel fearful and to move away from the out-group. Although anger is seen as the prototypical protest emotion, contempt, shame, sympathy and outrage have also been related to protest. Recent research has also found that pride felt after collective action is an important predictor for future participation in collective action.

the decision to take part in protest is not taken in social isolation. Social embeddedness looks at how individual grievances and feelings are transformed into group-based grievances and feelings within social networks. Networks function as a ‘socialization device’ as they enable the formation of a mobilization potential and provide or reinforce political awareness around a given protest issue. They also operate as a ‘recruitment device’ by creating a contact between the potential participant and the movement.

information that people are able to gather about politics as a result. Individuals who feel efficacious are more likely to participate in protest provided that they are embedded in social networks which offer an opportunity to discuss and learn about politics. In other words, this is where people talk politics and thus where perspectives on the socio-political world are constructed and people are mobilized for protest.

Three mechanisms of influence are important: disruption, facilitation and persuasion. And three players are important: political allies, public opinion and media.

Demonstrations affect political agendas directly through disruption, and indirectly through players that mediate and/or amplify the influence of demonstrations on political agendas.

Media play a significant role in mediating and amplifying the impact of protest but rather than viewing media as passive relays, we should conceive of media as active actors covering, framing and interpreting issues and protest events . Media, political actors and public opinion form a tight reciprocal system in which media act as amplifiers. That is to say, they make big demonstrations look ‘bigger’ and grim demonstrations look ‘grimmer’. The amplified images in their turn impact on political and public agendas.

ARTICLE 11: RIGHT TO PROTEST

WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO COME TOGETHER WITH OTHERS AND PEACEFULLY EXPRESS OUR VIEWS. AUTHORITIES MUST ALLOW US TO TAKE PART IN MARCHES, PROTESTS AND DEMONSTRATIONS.

Everyone has the right to associate with others and gather together for a common purpose.

Article 11 is fundamental to keeping us free. It lets us protest peacefully, join trade unions and hold the powerful to account

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

Article 11 is closely linked to freedom of expression as it applies to protests, marches and demonstrations, counter-demonstrations, press conferences, public and private meetings and more – but it does not protect intentionally violent protest.

People turn to Article 11 when public authorities either stop a demonstration going ahead, take steps in advance to disrupt a demonstration or store personal information on those taking part.

The State can’t interfere with your right to protest just because it disagrees with protesters’ views, because it’s likely to be inconvenient and cause a nuisance or because there might be tension and heated exchange between opposing groups.

Instead it must take reasonable steps to enable you to protest and to protect participants in peaceful demonstrations from disruption by others.

FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Everyone is free to associate with others – including forming and joining trade unions or joining with others to pursue common causes and interests.

The right of association also includes the freedom not to associate with others. Associations aren’t obliged to admit someone if other members decide their membership is not compatible with the group’s aims and interests – as long as this refusal does not come into conflict with equality and discrimination legislation.

When trade unions are involved, exclusions which have negative employment consequences must not be arbitrary or unreasonable.

You also have the right to refuse to join an association. This does not include professional regulatory bodies set up by the State to regulate professions, as these are not considered to fall within the definition of an association.

Protests and marches: letting the police know

If there’s no march involved

If there’s no march organised as part of your protest, you don’t have to tell the police.

By law you must tell the police in writing 6 days before a public march if you’re the organiser.

Tell the police the:

date and time of the march

route

the names and addresses of the organisers

The police have the power to:

limit or change the route of your march

set any other condition of your march

If you arrange a march at short notice, you must still tell the police as soon as you can.

Police can only place restrictions on a protest or demonstration if they have reason to believe that it will result in property damage, disruption of the community or serious public disorder.

Stop and search powers at protests

Contrary to what you might believe, police powers to stop and search are the same at a protest as they are anywhere else. Police can only stop and search an individual if they have reasonable cause, and being present at a protest does not constitute reasonable cause.

New laws and protests

What the new laws mean for you and your local group You still have the right to protest, but the new laws mean that the police have more excuses to make protest difficult and it is easier for companies to try to prevent you from protesting. There are golden rules to bear in mind in all your campaigns that involve peaceful protest:

Bring people with you Make sure you are agreed on what you are there for, and that everyone feels that they are part of the protest – a genuinely united group is much more powerful than a group that feels they have been brought there by one or two leaders. Do not behave antagonistically In dealing with the police, company employees or members of the public, stay calm and seek to reason. If told to do something, ask why, politely – even if the other person is not being polite. Assert your right to protest Remember that you have a right to protest, and you are following a noble tradition with distinguished predecessors.

You have a right to assemble on the public highway If you want to gather together and demonstrate about an issue, you do not need permission from police, from the council or anyone else. Provided you do not completely block off the public highway, and you act peacefully and without any threats of violence, you will generally not be committing any crime.

Trespass is not (normally) a criminal offence Your right to assemble is only on the public highway. If you assemble on private land without permission, you will probably be committing trespass. Generally, this is not a criminal offence. You can be sued for damages (very unlikely) or you can be asked to leave and be forcefully removed if you refuse. But you will not be committing any crime, and so should not be arrested.

When protest becomes harassment When you think of harassment laws, you think of stalkers and sex pests. But these laws are also being used by companies to try to stop protesters. There are three types of situation when protest can become harassment: • A course of conduct (two or more incidents) against one person, or a group of people (but not a company), that amounts to harassment. Harassment is not defined but can include conduct that causes alarm or distress. Shouting of words or holding up placards can be harassment. • One incident where two or more people are harassed, and the intention is to persuade someone not to do something they are entitled to do or force them to do something they are entitled not to do. • One incident where someone is harassed in the vicinity of any dwelling, with the intention to persuade someone not to do something or to force them to do something. Although many types of public protest can fall within the definitions above, you will not be committing any offence if your conduct is reasonable – and because you have a right to peaceful protest.

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Friends of the Earth's Rights and Justice Centre Provides free or affordable legal advice to groups and campaigners seeking to use the law to protect their environment: legal@foe.co.uk Tel: 020 7566 1726

Liberty's Your Rights Guide Comprehensive guide to human rights issues, including on right to protest. Can also provide initial legal advice to online or telephone queries: http://www.yourrights.org.uk

FreeBeagles Legal Resource for Campagners Information and resources on a variety of legal issues that may affect campaigners: http://www.freebeagles.org

Law Society Information about choosing and using a solicitor on a particular area of law: http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/choos ingandusing/findasolicitor.ctively what sort of problems could arise and how best to deal with them when they do"

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