CHANGING THE CULTURE | Page 27

previous year. The following week saw a 58% increase on last year to 1,787 recorded incidents.54 Following the result on 24 June 2016, the Muslim Council of Britain also compiled a dossier of reported racist and anti-Muslim incidents. The impact of this single event highlights the need for universities to be aware of, and responsive to, geopolitical events, and how particular student communities may be affected by them. Intersectionality 54. It is also important to remember that violence against women, harassment or hate crime can take place on the basis of a number of protected characteristics. Being aware of the intersectionality that may characterise incidents affecting students is important to ensuring an effective response. For example, evidence was submitted to the Taskforce which highlighted that some women students are targeted for sexual harassment on the basis of their ethnicity, race and faith. Understanding how these interactions contribute to unacceptable behaviour can assist in responding to and preventing such incidents, as well as highlighting where particular problems may arise. 55. There appears to be a limited amount of robust evidence on intersectionality in relation to the higher education sector. The major area that has been highlighted is the risk for Muslim women. Evidence submitted to the Taskforce suggested that a rise in religious and race hate crime, exacerbated by a wider climate of anti-Muslim hate crime and harassment, means that female Muslim students are at greater risk of attacks. The NUS Black Students’ Campaign also stated that ‘72% of Muslim women have experienced verbal abuse and threatening behaviour relating directly to their visible Muslim presence’.55 This echoes some of the findings of Tell MAMA outlined earlier. 54 55 http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/tackling-hate-crime-remains-a-priority NUS Black Students’ Campaign. 26