Hawzah News Agency- The research, led by academics from Federation University Australia, the University of Sydney, the University of Notre Dame Australia, and Western Sydney University, in partnership with the Australian Islamic Medical Association, was conducted in 2024 as an anonymous cross-sectional study.
A total of 358 healthcare professionals participated across the country. Of those, 85 per cent were Muslim, and 83 per cent identified as a member of a culturally and linguistically diverse community.
Federation University Australia Professor Dr Muhammad Aziz Rahman, one of the academics who led the research, said it was one of the first Australian studies to systematically explore how Islamophobia, religious discrimination, and cultural bias affected those working in the healthcare system.
"This research clearly shows that Islamophobia and discrimination are experienced by healthcare workers regardless of their faith or background," Professor Rahman said.
The study showed Muslim women had been some of the most impacted by Islamophobia. The study showed female Muslim professionals faced "additional layers of discrimination related to gender, religious identity, and physical appearance".
"Being a visibly Muslim woman in healthcare means I'm constantly navigating judgment sometimes from patients, sometimes from peers'', Dr Mohd said.
Islamophobia in Australia had increased in assaults, abuse and threats based on reports to the Islamophobia Register Australia between January 2023 and November 2024.
According to a March report by the Register, Muslim women and girls were targeted in 60 per cent of physical assaults, 79 per cent of verbal assaults and all spitting incidents — almost all of which were committed by men.
That's more than double the incidents when compared to previous reporting period averages, according to the report.
Source: NEWS
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