the rise of islamophobia, anti-arab & anti-palestinian racism
In the last 3 months of 2023 CAIR received 3,578 complaints of Anti-Muslim and Anti Palestinian bias, an increase of 178% from 2022. The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) incident types as of Dec 2023: 33.94% First Amendment Issues, 22.38% Employment Issues, 16.97% Hate Crimes and Hate Speech, and 14.08% Education and Bullying.
In 2023, between April and October there was a 6% increase in Arab Americans who reported experiencing discrimination. 59% of Arab American Americans reported experiencing discrimination. 74% of Arab Americans ages 18-34 & 70% of Arab American Muslims report facing discrimination. Half of all Arab Americans feel concerned about facing discrimination at school, work, and their local community due to the recent violence in Palestine & isr**l. 2 out of 3 expressed concerns about publicly expressing views in support of Palestinian rights and fear personal safety or acts of discriminations.
Mental Health Impact: Racial stress is the psychological response to experiencing racism, that when compounded can develop into racial trauma. Racial stressors can include (but are not limited to): hate crimes, verbal and physical assault, hostile work environments, discrimination and harassment, denial of access to places or resources, POC subjected to traumatic police assaults and encounters, racial profiling, incarceration, perpetuating tropes, or stereotypical treatment.
Mental Health Impact: Racial trauma is the result of cumulative experiences of racial stress throughout a person’s Life, a psychological injury directly related to experiencing racism, and is often compounded by historical trauma. research on race-based traumatic stress was pioneered by dr. Robert t. Carter who mapped out classes of racism (individual, institutional, cultural, or systemic) and whose work centers the experiences of black & brown Americans.
Where you can report Anti-Arab Racism & Discrimination: CAIR & ADC
S O U R C E S
Carter et al.. (2013), Initial development of the race-based traumatic stress symptom scale; Carter (2021) What is raced-based stress traumatic stress injury? In a time of racial unrest; Wiliams et al., (2022), An evidence-based approach for treating stress and trauma due to racism; CAIR Press Release (2024); Arab American Institute (October, 2023) Special Poll.
