BLACK PEOPLE and Muslims are encountering the highest levels of dicsrimination across Britain, according to a new report.

Researchers from the University of Kent and the Belong Network studied survey data on social relations in Britain and focused particularly on the attitudes and experiences of black, Muslim and white respondents.

The hard-hitting report, titled Discrimination, Prejudice and Cohesion – Intergroup relations among Black, Muslim and White people in Britain in the context of COVID-19 and beyond, found that 81% of Black British people and 73% of British Muslims reporting that they had experience some form of discrimination in July alone this year. Only 53% of survey participants identifying as white reported incidents of discrimination and were the least likely group to take racism as seriously. 

Alex Beer, Welfare Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation, called for a greater commitment to stamping out systemic inequalities.

“Racism, prejudice and discrimination take a real toll on peoples’ lives. This research shows that even during the pandemic when social distancing rules were still in place, very high percentages of black and Muslim people in Britain were experiencing discrimination,” he said.

“Systematic racial discrimination has harmful effects, including on people’s mental health and affects labour market outcomes. As a society, we need to redouble our commitment to tackling discrimination, increasing diversity in public life and proactively tackling the barriers to inclusion for minority communities and under-represented groups.”

The new report is an attempt to bring importance  “intersectionality” and how it shapes different groups experiences of discrimination. 

The term is about how increased levels of discrimination can result from the overlap of social identities, such as race and gender. 

It suggests that this vulnerability to discrimination becomes cumulatively greater the more protected characteristics a person has. 

Figures revealed that 89% of younger black women and 85% of younger Muslim women are most likely to report experiencing discrimination of some kind. 

Around 77% of Muslim women are significantly more prone to discrimination to in comparison to 67% of Muslim men.

Among black respondents, reports of discrimination among men and women are the same, but remain at a  81% – the highest for any demographic. Young people between 18-24-year-olds report an increase in discriminatory attitudes at 78% compared to 44% of those 45-year-old and above. 

Professor Dominic Abrams, director of the Centre for the Study of Group Processes at the University of Kent, said: “These findings show that we still have a long way to go defeat prejudice and discrimination in our society. That there is discrimination is not a surprise, but the extent of discrimination reported by black and Muslim people in Britain today, must give us pause for thought, as should the fact that the heaviest burden of discrimination falls on young, black and Muslim women.”

Researchers found that social contact with people from different backgrounds is associated with lower levels of prejudice, but that the quality of our interactions with others are ten times more important in reducing prejudice than the number of our interactions. 

The authors behind the report have called for have called for greater urgency to tackle discrimination, support for initiatives that help build meaningful connections between people from different backgrounds, and public dialogue that encourages people to listen to the views and experiences of others. 

They say that tackling the problem could be in education and youth services providing children with more opportunities to form connections with people from different backgrounds, and for funding at a neighbourhood level to support spaces, programmes and activities that promote social mixing.

Jo Broadwood, CEO of Belong – The Cohesion and Integration Network, said: “These findings demand that we redouble efforts to tackle issues of discrimination and prejudice in our society. 

“We know already that fostering positive social connections between people from different backgrounds can be a powerful force in building understanding and breaking down prejudice and mistrust. 

“This research points towards the need to focus on high quality interactions, and how important it is to listen and learn from those who have lived experience of discrimination and prejudice. 

“This requires us to turn our back on the culture wars mentality. Instead, we need to create spaces and public dialogue for people to feel able to genuinely listen and learn about others’ experiences, particularly those that are different from their own.”