During the past year, 1 in 5 people living in Australia was a target of racial discrimination (around 4.6 million people). This is an increase from 1 in 8 the previous year (Source).
1 in 5 people living in Australia has been a target of verbal racial abuse (Source). Verbal abuse is the most common form of racism (Source).
Nearly half of all Australian residents from a culturally and linguistically diverse background have experienced racism at some time in their life (Source).
7 in 10 teenagers have experienced racism (Source).
3 in 4 Indigenous Australians regularly experience racism (Source).
Denial of racism in Australia
Australia has a culture of denial when it comes to racism. We’ve created an infographic to explain this simply. It is based …show more content…
Conversely, increased awareness and acknowledgment of racism reduces it (Source). Speaking up reduces racism by helping perpetrators understand that their views are in the minority (Source), making them less likely to engage in prejudice and stereotyping behaviour (Source).
Half of us are positive about cultural diversity
While five in ten of us are positive about cultural diversity, four in ten are ambivalent about cultural diversity. One in ten have racist attitudes (Source).
One in seven people living in Australia are against the concept of multiculturalism (Source).
Three in ten people do not believe that immigrants make Australia stronger (Source), and one in three believe there are some cultural groups that do not belong in Australia (Source: VicHealth 2007).
How does racism in Australia affect us?
Cross-cultural tension affects everybody in our society.
A range of health problems including high blood pressure and heart disease, depression, anxiety, low birth rate and premature birth can all be caused directly by people’s personal experiences of racism