Sussex helps document the lives of ethnic and religious minority people during pandemic
By: Sean Armstrong
Last updated: Wednesday, 26 May 2021
Dr Laia Becares
The University of Sussex is playing a key role in the UK’s first ever survey documenting the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic and the policy response of lockdowns on the lives of 17,000 ethnic and religious minority people.
The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) aims to transform the policy landscape, inform work and campaigns for racial justice, and create a data legacy by providing robust evidence on a comprehensive range of issues facing ethnic and religious minority people during the pandemic.
Among the topics surveyed by the project are employment, finance, education, economic wellbeing, health, housing, policing, identity and experiences of discrimination and racism.
Dr Laia Becares, Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Science at the University's School of Education and Social Work, is the project’s main researcher shaping the content of the questionnaire.
Dr Becares said: “EVENS will capture key information to help us understand the extent of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the lives of ethnic and religious minority people and their families. A key part of the survey asks about experiences of racism and discrimination that people may have experienced over time, to document how lifetime experiences of discrimination and oppression lead to the stark ethnic inequalities we see in the UK. We will also ask questions on sexual orientation and gender identity, which will help us to understand how different social identities that people have intersect to pattern the differential impact of the pandemic across groups in society.”
Led by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE) in partnership with the University of Manchester, the University of St Andrews and the University of Sussex, EVENS is being conducted by Ipsos MORI and has been translated into 14 languages.
The 30-minute survey targets the full range of ethnic and religious minority groups, including Gypsy, Traveller and Roma people and Jewish communities, across England, Scotland and Wales. Individuals can complete the survey online or by calling 0808 1296800. The survey closes on Wednesday 30 June.
EVENS is partnering with a diverse range of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, including Operation Black Vote (OBV), the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), The Ubele Initiative, the Stuart Hall Foundation, EYST (Wales), Migrants’ Rights Network, BEMIS (Scotland), the Race Equality Foundation and Business in the Community, who is assisting with the recruitment drive.
EVENS covers the following subjects:
- Demographic characteristics. Including age, gender, sexual orientation, household composition, tenure and type of accommodation, marital status.
- Socioeconomic characteristics. Including current economic activity, number of hours worked, employment characteristics related to Covid-19 (such as being a key worker), personal and household income, use of benefits, training and education, and financial worries.
- Ethnicity and migration. Including ethnic and religious identity, country of birth, year of arrival to UK, nationality, feelings of belonging to England/Scotland/Wales.
- Racism and discrimination. Including experiences of racism and discrimination, anticipation of discrimination, and coping mechanisms.
- Health. Including general health, long-term illnesses, mental health, social isolation, Covid-19 related symptoms, Covid-19 vaccination and experiences accessing the NHS.
- Black Lives Matter. Including participation in protests, support of movement, and opinion of the impact of BLM on society.
- Caring and volunteering. Including caring activities not related to Covid-19, Covid-19 related caring, volunteering in the community, and receipt of care.
- Social cohesion. Including feelings of belonging to neighbourhood and to local area.
- Attitudes towards the police. Including confidence and trust in the police, experience of stop and search, being stopped in relation to lockdown, and overall sense of police activity in the community.
- Political participation. Including trust in government and politicians, political interest, and political affiliation.
Findings from the project will be made available at: EVENS | Evidence for Equality National Survey.