The UK’s first survey on the impact of Covid-19 on the lives of ethnic and religious minority people will be led by St Andrews University.
Researchers hope to learn more about issues around employment, education, health, housing and policing, as well as discrimination and racism, during the pandemic.
The study will consider the full range of ethnic and religious minority groups, including Gypsy, Traveller and Roma people and Jewish communities, across Scotland, England and Wales.
Reserchers from Ipsos MORI will be quizzing people until May 2021.
The St Andrews team will be working in partnership the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE), the University of Manchester, and the University of Sussex on the Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS).
Dr Nissa Finney, EVENS’ lead and Reader in Human Geography at St Andrews, said the intention was to spotlight the key problems of disadvantage and inequality for particular groups and suggest ways to address them.
He said: “Disadvantages of ethnic and religious minorities have been highlighted and exacerbated by the period of austerity, followed by the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning there is an urgent need to act to mitigate growing inequalities.
“EVENS will give us a unique and authentic representation of the lives of ethnic and religious minority people in Britain during the current crisis.”
The data will be made available to activists and policymakers, as well as a range of non-governmental organisations.
Professor James Nazroo, Deputy Director of CoDE and EVENS’ Co-Lead, said the “ground-breaking” study would help influence the future narrative on ethnic and religious inequalities in modern Britain.
“We will ask about work and health, caring and housing as well as experiences of racism and discrimination,” he said.
“Practitioners and policymakers are crying out for robust and comprehensive scientific evidence that they can use to understand and address the inequalities faced by ethnic and religious minority people.
“EVENS will provide that evidence.”
For more, visit
https://evenssurveyinfo.ipsos-mori.com
