Four-fifths of Muslims in Scotland have directly experienced Islamophobia, according to a new report.

A major new report has said Islamophobia is on the rise in Scotland and the main victims of it are Muslim women. The report by the Cross Party Group on Tackling Islamophobia found that 75% of Scottish Muslims said Islamophobia is a regular or everyday issue in society; and 78% said that Islamophobia is getting worse, with this figure rising to 82% for those with a Glasgow postcode.

The CPG on Tackling Islamophobia based the survey on 447 respondents who completed the online survey and 15 written submissions received from organizations and agencies in Scotland. Of all respondents, 31% said they had experienced Islamophobia at work, 18% at school

and 13% at college or university. Of those aged 29 years and under, 45% recalled incidents of Islamophobia at school while this fell to 29% at college or university. 83% of Muslim respondents said they had experienced Islamophobia directly. Verbal abuse was the most frequently mentioned form of Islamophobia with Muslim women more likely to encounter Islamophobia than men.

Women respondents to the survey, and some men, referred to women friends and family who had a specific fear of having their hijab pulled off in public. Women also worried about being physically assaulted in public or abused specifically because of their hijab.

Source: 5Pillars UK