Racism inquiry criticised for including anti-white abuse

Academics and student leaders have criticised the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for featuring examples of harassment against white students and staff in their report on racism and racial harassment at universities in the United Kingdom, writes Eleanor Busby for the Independent.

The inquiry found that nearly a quarter (24%) of ethnic minority students experienced racial harassment at a UK university since starting their course, compared to 9% of white students. The report – which criticised universities for being “oblivious” to the racial harassment occurring at an “alarmingly high rate” on their campuses – also highlighted examples of anti-English sentiment.

Fope Olaleye, the black students’ officer at the National Union of Students, claimed that the commission had ignored pleas for anti-white harassment to be excluded from their report. Speaking to the Independent, she said: “By conflating xenophobia, anti-English sentiment and prejudice alongside the racism faced by students of colour in the EHRC report, it has done a disservice to the work currently being done on race equity in the UK.”
Full report on the Independent site