For the past three years my basic human rights have been violated — constant monitoring, threats, and psychological abuse, with no protection or acknowledgment from the systems meant to keep us safe. I have learned the hard way that in the UK, human rights can be taken away quietly, simply because the law does not clearly recognise us as human beings.

One of the biggest problems is the language in our legislation.
UK laws still use words like “subject”, “person”, “participant”, “individual”, “data subject”, and “service user” — terms that reduce real people to legal objects. The most harmful of all is “subject”, a word rooted in dominance and control, not dignity. No human being in a modern democracy should be labelled a “subject”.

This isn’t semantics — it is structural.
The Interpretation Act 1978, the foundation for how all UK laws are read, defines “person” in a way that combines human beings with corporations and government bodies. This means the law does not automatically see you as a human being with inherent rights. It sees you as a category — one that can be overridden, sidelined, or reinterpreted.

I am calling for Parliament to amend the Interpretation Act 1978 to:

1. Remove the term “subject” from UK legislation.

2. Define “human being” clearly and separately from corporations or state bodies.

3. Stop using dehumanising terms such as “subject”, “person”, “participant”, “data subject”, and “service user” when referring to human beings.

4. Require all future laws to use the term “human being” when human rights, safety, or dignity are involved.

This simple change would prevent legal loopholes that allow authorities and organisations to treat people as less than human. It would force the law to acknowledge the dignity, autonomy, and rights of every individual — something too many of us have learned cannot be taken for granted.

Language shapes power.
If the law names us as “subjects”, it can treat us like subjects.
If the law names us as human beings, it must protect us as human beings.

Please sign this petition to demand that the UK updates its legal language and restores the rights, recognition, and dignity every human deserves.
Every signature is a step toward acknowledging real human beings — not subjects.