Prejudice ‘persistent’ discovers survey of ethnic minority Scots

More than one third of blacks and other ethnic minorities living in Scotland have experienced discrimination in the past two years, research has found.

The findings – in line with similar studies published in 2015 and 2017 – suggest discrimination levels north of the Border have remained persistent over a six-year period, despite political action to address the issue.

More than one quarter of those surveyed by the University of Edinburgh and pollsters Survation said they felt incidents of discrimination in Scotland have become more frequent.

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar, chairman of Holyrood’s crosspartygroupontacklingislamophobia, described the findings as “deeply concerning”.

He added: “Scotland is not immune from hatred and prejudice, and this research shows how much work we still have to do.

“Every Scot should look at this data and recognise that the fight against discrimination is a fight for all of us.”

Researchers asked a statistically representative sample of more than 500 black and ethnic minority people in Scotland a range of questions exploring whether they had been affected by racial discrimination.

Of those who had experienced discrimination, 25 per cent said it had happened when applying for a job, while 18 per cent said it had affected their promotion chances and another 18 per cent their attempts to seek equal pay.

Instances of discrimination may include name calling, the use of inappropriate language, incidents on public transport and prejudice in the workplace.

Lead researcher Professor Nasar Meer, of the university’s School of Social and Political Science, said: “This survey builds on others in previous years and points to a persistent trend of racial discrimination against black and ethnic minority Scots.

“It is encouraging that black and ethnic minority Scots still have faith in Scottish institutions to tackle racism, but this trust has decreased over time.

“Although levels of nonreporting have improved, they still remain high so more targeted support is needed.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Racism and discrimination have no place in a modern and successful Scotland and we will continue to take decisive action to tackle it, including our campaign with Police Scotland to tackle hate crime.”