Women bear brunt of Islamophobia in Australia, study finds

A protester holds a placard in Sydney in one of several rallies across Australia. (Reuters)

DUBAI: Women, especially those wearing veils, have been the main targets of Islamophobia in Australia, with more than one in three instances the female victims had their children with them at the time of the attacks, a study has found.
A staggering 98 percent of those reported Islamophobic cases were committed by ethnically Anglo-Celtic perpetrators, usually lone males.
The research, considered the first study of its kind anywhere in the world, covered 243 cases of verified Islamophobic incidents reported to the Islamophobia Register of Australia between September 2014 and December 2015.
The paper’s authors described Islamophobia as a special form of racism that reveals “indiscriminate negative attitudes or emotions directed at Islam and Muslims.” An Islamophobic incident is any act comprising of abusive hatred, vilification and violence inflicted on Muslims going about their daily lives.
Of the Islamophobic attacks, almost half occurred in crowded public spaces that were frequented daily, with shopping centers and train stations were the most common. However, bystanders intervened in only a quarter of the cases.
New South Wales had 60 percent of the reported cases being committed there, while over a quarter of cases where from Victoria.
Queensland was notably high considering the relative small population of Muslims in that state, according to the Islamophobia in Australia study, which involved several universities, the Islamic Sciences and Research Academy of Australia and the Diversity Council Australia.
Study co-author Dr. Mehmet Ozalp, from Charles Sturt University, said Islamophobia was often a reaction to anti-Islamic rhetoric and media coverage of terrorism.
“Over time people associate Islam and Muslims with terrorism and violence – and they lash out in anger at that,” said Dr. Ozalp.
“But it is these innocent Muslims – mainly women – that are visible in public.”
Dr. Ozalp enumerated three possible responses to the report: explain Islamophobia as the unfortunate outcome of international conflicts, threat of terrorism, and radicalization; ignore it; or take the findings seriously and invest in further research and policy development.
“The reality is that victims have nothing to do with international conflicts, terrorism or radicalization. They are simply at the receiving end of the anger and rage caused by the Islamophobic generalization that something is inherently wrong with Muslims and Islam,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr. Ozalp said recognizing Islamophobia “does not diminish the achievements of Australian society and the success of its multiculturalism.
It will merely highlight a social problem that cannot be ignored or downplayed any longer.”
He added that the study is an opportunity for Australia to openly discuss the issue to that strategies can be implemented to counter it.
“Ignoring Islamophobia will only entrench the problem more deeply,” Dr. Ozalp said.