Perceived discrimination
Definition
The proportion of people aged 18 years and over who perceived selected groups as being the targets of "some" or a "great deal" of discrimination, as reported in surveys commissioned by the Human Rights Commission.
Relevance
The freedom from unlawful discrimination is a core principle of democratic societies. Surveys on perceived discrimination towards groups of people provide one indication of the level and type of discrimination in New Zealand. As they do not measure actual levels of discrimination, it is not possible to conclude whether levels of discrimination have increased or decreased.
Current level and trends
In November 2007, 68 percent of respondents to the Human Rights Commission Survey 2007 thought Asian people were subject to a great deal or some discrimination, the highest proportion for any group. This was followed by recent immigrants, people on welfare and people who are overweight (all 62 percent). Perceived discrimination against Asians and recent immigrants has decreased since February 2006, by 4 percentage points and 8 percentage points respectively. There has been little change in perceived discrimination against people on welfare and a slight increase in perceived discrimination against people who are overweight.
Table CP3.1 Proportion (%) of survey respondents who perceived selected groups as being subject to a great deal or some discrimination, December 2000–November 2007
| Group |
Dec 2000 |
Dec 2001 |
Jan 2003 |
Jan 2004 |
Feb 2006 |
Nov 2007 |
| Asians |
73 |
73 |
79 |
78 |
72 |
68 |
| Recent immigrants |
– |
68 |
77 |
72 |
70 |
62 |
| People on welfare |
75 |
70 |
68 |
66 |
63 |
62 |
| People who are overweight |
72 |
65 |
65 |
68 |
59 |
62 |
| Refugees |
– |
68 |
72 |
70 |
63 |
56 |
| Gays and lesbians |
74 |
65 |
61 |
58 |
57 |
54 |
| People with disabilities |
61 |
55 |
53 |
55 |
53 |
52 |
| Pacific peoples |
71 |
65 |
65 |
57 |
54 |
51 |
| Māori |
70 |
62 |
57 |
53 |
51 |
48 |
| Older people |
53 |
48 |
49 |
46 |
44 |
46 |
| Women |
50 |
44 |
41 |
38 |
38 |
39 |
| Men |
– |
– |
– |
– |
30 |
29 |
Source: Human Rights Commission (2008)
Over half of the survey respondents in 2007 thought refugees, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities and Pacific people were the target of a great deal or some discrimination. Just under half thought Māori and older people were discriminated against.
Between December 2001 and November 2007, the perception different groups were subject to some or a great deal of discrimination fell for all groups. The biggest falls in perceived discrimination were for Māori and Pacific peoples, both declining by 14 percentage points between 2001 and 2007. There was also a big drop in perceived discrimination against refugees and gays and lesbians over the same period. |
