50 years after the first anti-discrimination legislation in the 1960s, the UK government has made significant efforts to ascertain the degree of racial discrimination and harassment over two generations. The first anti-discrimination laws were drawn up based on the PEP survey of racial discrimination. Their approach and methods were rudimentary by modern standards, and the focus was squarely on jobs and housing.
This study builds on a long tradition of empirical observation and analysis of discrimination and harassment using the very large and sophisticated longitudinal dataset in Understanding Society to probe the health impacts that arise when people experience harassment, adding fresh insights for such research. The mental health aspects of this are especially important to understand, pointing to a variety of further impacts that matter for individuals and for social cohesion.
The research, carried out by Alita Nandi and Renee Luthra, has demonstrated a high prevalence of ethnic and racial harassment and a strong association between experiencing ethnic and racial harassment and mental health. Experiencing ethnic and racial harassment, or fearing it, is more strongly linked to poor mental health than unemployment.
Informing the practice of investigators at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)
The research found that ethnic and racial harassment is severely underreported in police statistics: around 10 per cent of ethnic minority people reported experiencing ethnic and racial harassment in the past year. Further, almost twice as many ethnic minority people felt unsafe or avoided public places due to their religion, ethnicity, race or nationality.
Widespread experiences of ethnic and racial harassment are likely to complicate interactions between ethnic minority clients and authorities, including police. Firstly, because ethnic minorities are likely to be mistrustful of authorities in the face of widespread personal experience of harassment, and second because of the fact that experiences of ethnic and racial harassment will result in ethnic minority clients who are more anxious and depressed. Awareness of this general context is necessary when handling cases involving ethnic minorities, regardless of the specific grounds for the complaint.
Of specific interest to the IOPC was our finding that the risk of ethnic and racial harassment differs across individuals and local areas. Ethnic and racial harassment is more commonly reported among ethnic minorities who are younger, more highly educated and male. This risk is also more likely to occur in areas of high white concentration, areas with a higher proportion of UKIP or BNP voters, and more deprived areas. However, this risk is not higher in areas which are high in other types of crime. Ethnic and racial harassment therefore is a common experience among ethnic minorities and may be a factor even in cases where it is not expected: among more advantaged minority members and in areas of low minority concentration.
We shared our findings with investigators at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, giving direct training to over 40 investigators in London and developing bespoke training materials for dissemination throughout the entire organisation.
IOPC Regional Director Sarah Green said: “The Institute for Social and Economic Research presented their findings on the impact of racial harassment at two IOPC staff workshops. We welcome such research which helps to develop our understanding of issues of public concern that are relevant to our work to improve policing and the complaints system.”
Providing robust evidence for policy makers and the third sector
The research findings were published as written evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee inquiry into hate crime and its violent consequences and used in the government’s 2017 Race Disparity Audit, and subsequently in the Women and Equalities Committee’s inquiry into the results of that audit.
In the House of Lords, Baroness Whitaker cited the research in the context the Department of Health and Social Care’s inquiry into the mental health of travellers, and Lord Hunt of Kings Heath referred to it in the November 2017 debate on mental health services for black and minority ethnic health communities.
The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) requested the materials used in the House of Lords debate, cited in Chamber.
The researchers have also recently presented the findings to third sector groups and health professionals supporting ethnic minorities in Bradford, as well as to schools, mental health professionals at the NHS’ EPUT Secure Mental Health Services, and to community groups.