New survey: ‘Sikhs encounter unacceptably high levels of discrimination in their daily lives in public spaces’

The findings from the UK Sikh Survey 2016 which asked over 4,500 respondents on their views concerning identity, education and representation.

The survey found that fourteen per cent of Sikhs (or 1 in 7) have directly experienced discrimination in the workplace in the last 12 months. 

One in 6 Sikhs that keep uncut hair (men and women) have faced the highest levels of discrimination in the last 12 months closely followed by turban wearing Sikhs.

Eighteen per cent of Sikhs (nearly 1 in 5) have encountered discrimination in a public place (such as a store, airport, sporting venue etc.) in the last 12 months.

The Sikh Network developed and managed the survey.

Jas Singh of the Sikh Network and one of the authors said: “"We have had a very positive response and interest in the UK Sikh Survey findings from government officials, public bodies and statistical organisations. 

“We have met with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) about the survey and will be following up with a more detailed discussion around the results especially around identity and ethnicity for the Census 2021.”

“We have also been in contact with a number of interested government departments including the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the Home Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for Education (DfE) and a number of police forces.

“The purpose of these meetings will be to discuss in more detail the specific findings with a positive intent to inform policy and decision making as well as approaches and changes in recording and tackling crimes against Sikhs".

Here are some notable findings from the survey:

National identity is a matter important to the identity of Sikhs, much as it is to a large part of the British population. 

In the Citizenship Survey of 2011, 48.2 per cent of respondents thought that it was “very important” to their sense of who they were, and another 37.9 per cent considered it “quite important”.  

The  Survey 2016 shows 62% of Sikhs aged 16 and over are born in the UK.

The last ONS Census in 2011 showed 57% of Sikhs were born in the UK, compared to 47% of Muslims and 33% of Hindus.  

At the last Census Sikhs had one of the youngest age profiles with over 34% of Sikhs under the age of 24. 

Given most Sikhs under 16 will be born in the UK this suggests an estimated 69% of all Sikhs are born in the UK. By the Census 2021 around 75% of Sikhs are expected to be born in the UK.

Eighty-nine percent of Sikh respondents to the survey aged 16 and over described their nationality as British.  Adjusting for those under the age of 16 this rises to just over 91%. 

19 out of 20 Sikhs reject being described as ‘Indian’ or ‘Asian’
Given the number of Sikhs born in the UK and those with British nationality it is not surprising that when asked how they identity themselves 94% of respondents to the survey aged 16 and over choose Sikh rather than Indian or Asian.  

If Sikhs under the age of 16 were also asked the same question this percentage would no doubt increase further indicating 19 out of 20 Sikhs reject being called ‘Indian’ or ‘Asian’.

93.5% of Sikhs responding to the survey aged 16 and over have said they would welcome the inclusion of a separate ethnic tick box for Sikhs in the Census 2021.  

More than 94% of all Sikhs responding to the UK Sikh Survey 2016 responded to say they would welcome a Statutory Code of Practice for the 5K's and Sikh turban despite nearly 75% of respondents not being Amritdhari or practising Sikhs who are required to have the 5K’s and 58% of respondents not wearing the turban.  

Sikhs encounter unacceptably high levels of discrimination in their daily lives in public spaces

18% of Sikhs (nearly 1 in 5) have encountered discrimination in a public place (such as a store, airport, sporting venue etc.) in the last 12 months.  

The most common example given is airports (UK and abroad), others include public transport, sporting events, shopping, at school, in restaurants and coffee shops, in cinemas, at theme parks, at tourist attractions, at the doctors, in hospital or simply walking on the street.

The turban and Kirpan appear to be the key triggers.  

The percentage of Sikh men encountering discrimination is almost 21% compared to 15% of Sikh women.

Interestingly those aged 20-40 experience the highest levels of discrimination as they probably have the greatest interaction in all aspects of the British way of life.

Discrimination towards minority groups, like Sikhs, has existed in society for decades, and though in recent years these negative attitudes should have declined, many barriers and disadvantages clearly still exist for those belonging to different visible cultures.  These barriers occur in day-to-day activities and interactions with people and also in their access to services. 

8% (or 1 in 12) have experienced discrimination when dealing with public officials (such as local government officials, police officers, health workers, teachers etc.) in the last 12 months.

The most common example quoted was police officers, but also included teachers and lecturers, doctors, nurses, local council staff, and not surprisingly security staff at airports and immigration officers.

The percentage of Sikh men experiencing discrimination is almost 9.5% compared to 6% of Sikh women.  In terms of age the highest percentage were Sikhs in their twenties.
More than 1 in 5 or 21% of those taking part in the survey have personally experienced race hate crime i.e. verbal or physical abuse in the last 12 months.

The percentage for turban wearing Sikhs is higher at 27%.

30% under the age of 40 indicate being targeted to covert to another faith 
25% of Sikhs over the age of 16 taking part in the UK Sikh Survey 2016 have been personally or know a friend or relative who has been targeted or experienced conversion to another faith.

This rises to 30% when examining responses from those under the age of 40.
More than 1 in 7 of Sikh women indicate being targeted by grooming gangs 
13% of Sikhs over the age of 16 taking part in the UK Sikh Survey 2016 have themselves or know a friend or relative who has been a victim or a target for sexual grooming.  This rises to 15% when considering responses from Sikh women and 17% when examining responses from Sikhs under the age of 30.

90% feel not enough is being done to tackle sexual grooming and forced conversions
90% of those aged 16 and over taking part in the UK Sikh Survey 2016 feel not enough is being done to tackle sexual grooming and forced conversions.

The percentage hardly varies between genders and for different age groups, although those aged 20-40 had the highest percentages of discontent.

Sikhs twice as more likely to have a degree or higher qualification compared to the average for the population.

The 2011 Census showed 27.2% of the population aged 16 to 74 had a degree or equivalent or higher qualification.  

The 2001 Census showed that, of all religious groups, Muslims are most likely to have no qualifications (23%) followed by those of Christian faith (22%).  

Conversely, only 8% of Sikhs had no qualifications. 

The latest UK jobless rate is at an 11-year low of 4.8%, but the UK Sikh Survey shows the figure for Sikhs is 2.7%.  

According to ONS analysis of 2011 Census statistics; Sikh, Jewish and Hindu households are the most likely to own their home (outright or via a mortgage) at 82%, 77% and 74% respectively.  
  
The average annual charitable donation per person aged 16 and over in the UK in 2014 was £168. The UK Sikh Survey indicates the average charitable donation for Sikhs is more than 6.5 times higher at £1,095.  

Responses to the UK Sikh Survey indicate 22% and 34% had a family member serve in the First World War and Second World War respectively, At the beginning of the First World War, 35,000 Sikhs has enlisted and this rose to over 100,000 by the end of the war in 1918.  

More than four out of five that responded to the UK Sikh Survey think the UK Government has not done enough in the 2014-2018 period to recognise Sikh sacrifices in the First World War, such as allocate a site for a permanent monument in central London.

10.1% of respondents to the UK Sikh Survey indicated they were members of political parties.   This suggests Sikhs are five more times more likely to be members of political parties.  

Over 72% of those who responded to the UK Sikh Survey believe their local MP has been either ineffective or not very effective since the May 2015 General Election on Sikh issues.  

The level of dissatisfaction is similar between Sikh men and women, but higher for those under 40 years of age at 76%, compared to those over 40 years of age at 67%.  

Regionally Sikhs in the Yorkshire and Humber region are most dissatisfied at 76.7%, although the percentages for other regions with large numbers of respondents is little better – East Midlands (75%), London (71.6%), West Midlands (71.4%) and South East (70.1%).