Racism in the UK – How apparent is it and how does it affect individuals? Can we help?

Racism is a topic in today’s society that is hugely spoken about and advocated for, it is an issue in society that many individuals have experienced just because of their ethnicity or colour of their skin. Racism is the oppression and marginalisation of individuals based on the colour of their skin, ethnicity, nationality, and citizenship. It is a form of prejudice, hatred, or discrimination against a person because of their skin colour and/or ethnicity and it largely affects individuals from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic backgrounds as well as individuals from mixed-heritage backgrounds. Racism can be a difficult topic to discuss for many as it affects millions of people around the world, it is a universal issue regarding inequality in society. However, it can be argued that racism has improved significantly in the last few decades, especially in westernised countries like the UK, but is it enough for it not to still be a prevalent issue?

Statistics in the UK

In the United Kingdom According to the Census 2021 data a total of 18 percent of the UK population belong to a black, Asian, mixed, or other ethnic group, compared to a huge 81.7 percent of the UK being white citizens. This statistic is highlighting the huge minority of black and Asian communities compared to the majority number of UK white class citizens, which is a huge factor to why racism occurs so frequently. Furthermore, in 2022/23 there were 101,906 racist hate crime incidents recorded by the police service in England and Wales alone, compared with 109,906 in the previous reporting year. While there were around 76,070 reported incidents in 2019/2020. The term “hate crime” used within these statistics refers to crimes typically involving violence that is motivated by prejudice and hate based on one’s ethnicity religion or sexual orientation. Therefore, these huge numbers of crimes that have occurred in the last year are because of racism and inequality that black individuals face in the UK.

Mental illness and Racism

Over the past decade mental illness being linked to racism and discrimination has been very apparent. Many individuals suffer with mental health issues because of the hate and discrimination they receive, through verbal abuse, to indirect racism such as being given less opportunities in life compared to other races. “The Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities provided UK evidence of a cross-sectional association between interpersonal racism and mental illness. A nationally representative sample of 5196 persons of Caribbean, African and Asian origin were asked about racial discrimination in the preceding year. Those who had experienced verbal abuse were 3 times more likely to be suffering from depression or psychosis. Those who had experienced a racist attack were nearly 3 times more likely to suffer from depression and 5 times more likely to suffer from psychosis and those who said their employers were racist were 1.6 times more likely to suffer also from psychosis”. (Karlsen & Nazroo, 2002). This study highlights how racism can negatively impact one’s mental health, through institutional racism in the workplace to violent verbal or physical attacks on the street. Furthermore, it has also been found that “depressive symptoms or frank depressive disorder are positively associated with racism on 39 from 52 occasions. Several models have explained this phenomenon, with the common pathway often identifying racial stress as both a vulnerability factor and a stressful life event. Community based studies have found a higher prevalence of depression in minority ethnic groups than in the dominant population”. (Chakraborty & Lambri, 2013, p.133). Racism can be for many a stressful reoccurring life event that they face with any new aspect of their life, mental health highlights this and the way in which racism affects individuals personally and the huge impact it can have on an individual’s life.

Solutions

It is evident that racism in the United Kingdom is still very prevalent and a big issue in society today, so what are the types of things we can do to help and prevent it as much as possible? One solution to helping tackle discrimination is recognising and understanding your own privilege. Racial privilege plays out across social, political, economic, and cultural environments. Checking your privilege and using your privilege to dismantle systemic racism are two ways to begin this complex process. Another strong way to tackle racism is to validate the experiences and feeling of people of colour. Engaging in tough conversations about race and injustice helps us to understand how racism still exists in our society. Furthermore, by us understanding we can offer support and help take action. Lastly another way we can help stop racism is by calling out racist jokes or comments, that are not okay. Let people know if you are unconfirmable with jokes that are made, don’t be afraid to educate them further why it is not right.

Academic References

Karlsen, S. & Nazroo, J. Y. (2002) The relationship between racial discrimination, social class and health among ethnic minority groups. American Journal of Public Health, in press.

Apu Chakraborty, L. P., & Lambri, M. (2013). Racism and Mental Illness in the UK. Mental Disorders-Theoretical and Empirical Perspectives, 119.

Izzy Baker