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Racism ‘part of daily lives’ in Britain, major study finds

  • The research found that more than one in three people from minority backgrounds have experienced racially motivated physical or verbal abuse
  • One in six also reported suffering racism from neighbours while 17 per cent said they had property damaged in racist attacks

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People walk over Westminster Bridge near the Houses of Parliament in London. More than 14,000 people from 21 ethnic groups were questioned for the Economic and Social Research Council-funded survey. Photo: Reuters
Ethnic and religious minorities in Britain are suffering “strikingly high” levels of abuse, according to a major survey into race equality.
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The research by the universities of St Andrews, Manchester and King’s College London found more than one in three people from minority backgrounds have experienced racially motivated physical or verbal abuse.

Released this week in a book called Racism and Ethnic Inequality in a Time of Crisis, the two-year research – which has been seen by The Guardian – discovered widespread inequality and racial discrimination at work, education, housing and dealings with police.

The study was headed by Nissa Finney, professor of human geography at St Andrews, who said it proved racism was “part of daily lives”.
People are reflected in a puddle as they walk through Chinatown in London last month. Photo: AP
People are reflected in a puddle as they walk through Chinatown in London last month. Photo: AP

“The UK is immeasurably far from being a racially just society,” she said. “The kinds of inequality we see in our study would not be there if we had a really just society.”

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