Almost one in six people in the UK experience racial abuse: Survey

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Guardian
10 Apr 2023 18:17

About one person in six said they experienced racist abuse from neighbors, while 17% said they suffered racism-related property damage.

A woman walks across a street at Trafalgar Square, in London, Friday, Feb. 24, 2023 (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

A survey conducted on racism in the UK revealed that one in three people of "ethnic and religious" background has experienced racially motivated physical or verbal abuse.

Conducted with the participation of 14,000 people from 21 ethnic groups, the study found that levels of racial abuse in the country were "strikingly high."

The two-year-long study was published this week in a book called Racism and Ethnic Inequality in a Time of Crisis.

Looking into the various sorts of racial discrimination that take place at work and public spaces, Professor Nissa Finney, who conducted the study and teaches human geography at St Andrew's University, said the study proved racism was "part of daily lives."

"The UK is immeasurably far from being a racially just society. The kinds of inequality we see in our study would not be there if we had a really just society," Finney told The Guardian.

One of the results indicated that more than a quarter of those from minorities had experienced racial insults with nearly one in three experiencing racial insults in a public space.

About one person in six said they experienced racist abuse from neighbors, while 17% said they suffered racism-related property damage.

The study also revealed that one person in six said they experienced racist physical assault prior to the pandemic.

"The kinds of inequality we see in our study would not be there if we had a really just society," Finney said.

Another notable find is that 29% of respondents from ethnic and religious minority backgrounds say they had experienced racial discrimination in employment and education; nearly a fifth reported the same while looking for housing.

As for discrimination in dealing with the police, one in five said they reported some sort of racial abuse, with 43% among black Caribbean groups and more than one in three of those from Gypsy, Traveller, and Roma groups.

Many also reported experiencing overcrowded homes and a lack of housing space.

About 60% of Roma families said they live in overcrowded homes, and a quarter of Pakistani and Arabs reported the same.

In spite of high levels of racial abuse, the majority of minority groups said they feel a strong sense of belonging in British society, reflected in higher levels of trust than white Brits in Parliament and 'devolved' governments. Those were assessed during the pandemic -- a time in which ethnic minorities had higher chances of contracting the virus.

The survey also revealed that ethnic minority groups had higher chances of experiencing bereavement related to Covid-19 than white Brits, with Chinese and Asian groups reporting a spike in abuse during the pandemic.