Muslim neighbours face extra discrimination

Nearly half of people (47%) in Great Britain say they would not want to live next door to a Muslim person with mental health problems. 

This shocking finding of extra discrimination, from a survey released by mental health charity Rethink to mark World Mental Health Day on October 10th, clearly shows that Muslim people with mental health problems face even more discrimination in society than their non-Muslim counterparts.

The research, carried out by YouGov, found:

• 29 per cent would not be happy living next door to a person with mental health problems
• 47 per cent of people would not be happy living next door to a Muslim person with mental health problems
• 13 per cent would be happy living next door to a Muslim person with mental health problems
• 19 per cent would be happy to live next door to a person with mental health problems

It was also revealed that 89 per cent of those surveyed think that people are more suspicious of Muslim people today than they were ten years ago while 81 per cent accept that the way we treat each other affects our mental health.

These findings tie in with further research by Rethink which examined the Pakistani community’s view of mental health. In this study - the Aap Ki Awaaz (Your Voice) project - carried out in Birmingham, it was found that nearly two thirds of respondents felt that the current perception and media publicity of Muslims was affecting their mental health.

Respondents said that the negative portrayal can make them feel scared, lower their self-esteem, and lead to stress and mental health issues.

One interviewee said:

“We feel anger at [the] media’s injustice against Muslims – feel frustrated and unequipped to make a difference. All this can affect our mental health”.

Ajaib Khan, the Rethink service manager who led the Birmingham research, said that the findings from both surveys made for disappointing reading:

 “People with mental health problems, from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, encounter discrimination, but these figures show just how bad it is for Muslim people. The fact that society’s behaviour towards Muslim people can contribute to mental ill-health in the first place is unacceptable.”

Khan runs an outreach service for people with mental health problems from a mosque in Birmingham. The service works primarily with the Pakistani and Mirpuri communities.

Sadiq Khan the MP for Tooting, who took an active role in the passage of the Mental Health Bill said: “The greater discrimination that minority communities face in getting access to mental health services is a really serious problem.
 
“The Rethink research clearly demonstrates this and also highlights how society’s changing perception of the Muslim community can seriously affect people’s mental health. I back Rethink’s call to tackle discrimination and also urge health authorities to ensure that they implement the Government’s 2005 action plan, Delivering Race Equality (DRE) in mental health care.”

Rethink, in partnership with Mind, Mental Health Media and the Institute of Psychiatry, has launched the four-year £18 million Moving People initiative which will work to eliminate the discrimination faced by people with mental health problems, including those from black and minority ethnic communities.