Lorraine Barrie speaks today at the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament

By Mere Greta | September 17, 2026

Today, Making Rights Real’s Intertim Director Lorraine Barrie spoke to members of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament. This was the third of three meetings this committee held to hear evidence from organisations working in human rights. She was joined in a roundtable discussion by Jennifer Cannon, Head of Legal and Policy; Jan Savage, Executive Director, Scottish Human Rights Commission; Juliet Harris, Director, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights); Charlie McMillan, Director, Human Rights Consortium Scotland, and Cat Murphy, Executive Director, Engender.

Lorraine began by speaking about the grassroots work Making Rights Real does with communities of Scottish Gypsy Travellers, in particular those affected by the Tinker Experiements. She touched on our work in the Highlands with women experiencing breaches in their human rights to healthcare, our work on the rights on unpaid carers, and our work on access to justice.

In addition, she spoke about MRR’s grassroots work around addressing housing conditions and hate crimes faced by Scottish Gypsy Travellers. Lorraine explained how we support Scottish Gypsy Travellers who have experienced hate crimes and the importance of registering instances of hate crimes as hate crimes. She drew attention to the media’s role in moderating comments on their social media channels to reduce instances of hate crimes when stories are published.

Lorraine made a powerful request for the committee’s help in securing justice for victims of the Tinker Experiments. She detailed the shameful history of the Tinker Experiments and the long-lasting devastating impacts they permanently had on families. Lorraine explained that the First Minister apologised in June 2025 for the Tinker Experiments, but we are no closer to securing reparations and redress. Her report on this lack of progress was submitted to all those on the committee and in attendance. On behalf of the communities of Scottish Gypsy Travellers we work with, Lorraine invited members of the committee to meet with them and hear about their experiences in their own words.

You can watch and listen to her compelling statements of evidence in the clips below from Scottish Parliament TV.

Lorraine Barrie, Interim Director of Making Rights Real, introduces our work to members of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee and participants in the roundtable discussions.