Living Black at University 37 6 EXPERIENCES OF RACISM 6.0 Experiences of racism 37 6.1 Wider HE sector context 37 6.2 Experiences of racism in 38 student accommodation 6.3 Summary and key findings 41 Living Black at University 36 Previous research has offered data on the level of racial harassment and microaggressions experienced by students at university and how it affects them. The findings of this research sit within that context, and indicate both the level and the impact of racism experienced by Black students in student accommodation. According to the report on racial harassment conducted by UUK 16 , there is very little consistent data collected on the nature, scale and prevalence of racial harassment; however, the report found that almost a quarter of students from minority ethnic backgrounds reported experiencing racial harassment at university. In the study, half of staff who had experienced racial harassment described incidents of being ignored or excluded because of their race, and nearly a third had experienced racist name-calling, insults, and jokes. Both staff and students report regular experience of microaggressions, i.e. subtle, less ‘overt’ forms of racism. Racial harassment occurred in a wide variety of settings and from multiple harassers. Whilst this does not specifically relate to student accommodation, it does provide evidence of the scale of racism that takes place within the higher education sector. The EHRC 2019 inquiry into racial harassment in higher education institutions 17 found an underreporting of incidents of racial harassment. The reasons cited are a lack of trust in institutions to listen, to take the reports seriously, to investigate and make appropriate changes, and fear and concern that the victim of the racial incident may face severe personal consequences for reporting it. This mirrors the findings of this research as set out in section 5. POLICY AND PROCEDURES . The failure of the sector to support victims contributes to the severe physical and psychological effects of racial harassment on both students and staff. The EHRC recognised that racial harassment affects mental health, wellbeing, sense of belonging, educational outcomes, and career progression. The report showed that depression and anxiety were widespread, with 8% of students who had experienced racial harassment reporting that they had felt suicidal as a result. The impact was similar among staff where three in 20 members of staff left their jobs because of racism. 6.0 EXPERIENCES OF RACISM 6.1 WIDER HE SECTOR CONTEXT 16 Universities UK, Tackling racial harassment in higher education (2020, UUK) 17 Equality and Human Rights Commission, Tackling Racial Harassment: Universities Challenged (2019, EHRC)