Ethnic minorities more likely to face discrimination

A new survey from the RSA has found that ethnic minority communities have been disproportionately impacted by pandemic, being twice as likely to face discrimination in local services.

A survey of 2,600 people in Great Britain, including a weighted sample of 1,000 people from ethnic minority backgrounds, found that discrimination in local services is twice as high among ethnic minorities. Specifically, 52 per cent of Asian and 50 per cent Black respondents have faced discrimination when accessing local services – compared to 19 per cent of the white population.

The Savanta ComRes research also found that the police and justice system, as well as the UK government, are viewed as unsupportive by Black and Mixed populations. A quarter of Black respondents and a fifth of respondents from mixed ethnic backgrounds said that the police ‘actively make my life more difficult’, compared to just nine per cent of white respondents.

The report suggests that these higher levels of discrimination and mistrust could be a factor in higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minorities. The RSA says that among those who are vaccine hesitant, 59 per cent say they have suffered discrimination when accessing local services in the past, versus 33 per cent for those who are not.

This is in addition to general issues faced by ethnic minorities during the pandemic. The research shows that 46 per cent of Asian respondents, 41 per cent of those with mixed ethnic backgrounds and 39 per cent of Black respondents say they have struggled or been unable to access government support, despite being eligible for it.  

Anthony Painter, chief research and impact officer at the RSA, said: “The evidence from our research casts serious doubt on the idea that institutional racism is not an issue in the UK. People from ethnic minorities are much more likely to have experienced discrimination in public services, and we saw some evidence that this is linked to ‘vaccine hesitancy’.

“Too often, we talk about why ethnic minorities are less likely to trust those delivering public services, which puts the onus on those communities, rather than serious service failings. In the future, public services also need to look beyond ‘engagement’ or ‘outreach’ with ethnic minority groups, and instead look at the systemic and institutional reasons they are not trusted. We need to reinvent public services to work around their communities they serve. This means devolving more power locally, funding public services adequately, and creating more spaces for citizens to collaborate with one another.