Racism an 'enduring feature of British society' according to stark survey by Manchester University

The research comes from The University of Manchester. Credit: The University of Manchester.

New data shows there is "stark evidence" that racism is an enduring feature of British society, according to Manchester University.

The research found that more than a third of people from ethnic and religious minorities groups in Britain have experienced some form of racist assault.

The racism reported by the survey’s respondents took different forms - physical, verbal or damage to property - and happened in all areas of life including education, work and when looking for housing.

The findings come from The University of Manchester, in collaboration with the University of St Andrews and King’s College London.

The new research comes from The University of Manchester. Credit: ITV Granada

In their research, they found that:

  • Almost one in six respondents had experienced a racially motivated physical assault.

  • Over a third of people identifying as Gypsy/Traveller, Roma or Other Black reported that they had been physically assaulted because of their ethnicity, race, colour, or religion.

  • Over a quarter had been verbally abused or insulted because of their ethnicity, race, colour, or religion.

  • 17% reported experiencing damage to their personal property.

  • Nearly a third reported racial discrimination in education and employment.

  • Nearly a fifth reported racial discrimination when looking for housing.

  • During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese, Other Asian and Eastern European people reported an increase in experiences of racial discrimination relative to other ethnic minority groups.

The survey has found some groups experience a high level of racist abuse in Britain. Credit: Andrew Milligan/PA

Dr Dharmi Kapadia, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at The University of Manchester, said: “Our data is stark evidence that racism is an enduring feature of British society today.

"However, tackling racism is not just a case of merely removing ’bad apples’ from workplaces and institutions, we need to seriously transform the policies and procedures that enable racist discrimination to persist, in order to ensure better outcome and life chances for ethnic and religious minority people.”

The study, called Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) is the most comprehensive survey of ethnic and religious inequalities for over 25 years.

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