Key Points
- Abuse against Muslims in Australia more than doubled between January 2023 and November 2024.
- Women accounted for 75 per cent of all Islamophobic incidents during the research period, according to the report.
- Researchers hope the statistics and stories highlighted in the report will urge politicians to take action.
Incidents of abuse perpetrated against Muslims in Australia more than doubled between January 2023 and November 2024, according to a new report by the Islamophobia Register of Australia.
The report, compiled by researchers from Monash and Deakin universities, found 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.
They examined data from hundreds of reports made to the Islamophobia Register of Australia. They also studied 18,000 social media posts shared on X.
A quarter of all incidents recorded in the study account for abuses against people who visibly represented pro-Palestinian sentiment, following the .
Islamophobia has 'reached crisis levels in Australia'
Dr Nora Amath, executive director of the Islamophobia Register Australia, said the data shows the issue cannot be ignored by authorities.
"The evidence is irrefutable, Islamophobia is not only real but has reached crisis levels in Australia," she said in a statement.
Over 60 per cent of Islamophobic incidents were classified as verbal intimidation/harassment, while approximately 9 per cent were categorised as written intimidation/harassment or physical assault.
In total, the report estimated there were 309 in-person incidents over the study period.
The majority of Islamophobic incidents took place in NSW, followed by Victoria and Queensland, according to the report. Source: SBS News
A quarter of incidents were recorded in Victoria, and 12.3 per cent occurred in Queensland.
The report's authors said more cases were submitted but were not included in the data due to challenges in authentication.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has written to the prime minister about escalating Islamophobia, urging the government to address the issue.
"It is deeply troubling that Muslim women have overwhelmingly been the targets of the sharp rise in Islamophobia," she writes, urging the government to fully fund the national anti-racism framework in the upcoming budget.
"I am disturbed by the the lack of urgency from your government to address anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism.
"This is the time to combat Islamophobia as the emergency it is, not attack those bearing the brunt of this searing hatred."
Majority of victims were women and girls
Dr Susan Carland, one of the authors of the report from the School of Social Sciences at Monash University, said there's a gendered aspect to the findings, with women accounting for 75 per cent of all victims.
Women accounted for 75 per cent of all Islamophobic incidents during the research period, according to the report. Source: SBS News
"Someone called a Muslim school and said they were coming to the school with a knife to specifically target the school girls that wore a hijab."
Muslim women and girls also experienced "distressing" verbal insults and threats, Carland said.
"Those nearly 200 verbal insults included threats of murder and rape. These are distressing things that were being said to people."
Carland also raised concerns about safety in the workplace, where Muslim women can be underrepresented.
"There were more than three times the number of these Islamophobic incidents at workplaces," she said.
"We know from previous research that Muslim women are underrepresented in the workforce compared to Muslim men.
"So there are far fewer numbers of Muslim women in the workforce than Muslim men, and yet they're still reporting three times the number of Islamophobic incidents in workplaces."
Verbal intimidation or harassment was the most common type of Islamophobic incident recorded over the past two years, according to the report's findings. Source: SBS News
'We don't leave the house unless it's necessary'
The report also shared stories of people who have been impacted by Islamophobia, including a mother of five who was allegedly assaulted in a shopping centre.
"I was sitting in the food court in a shopping centre with my five kids when an unknown lady yelled out 'F--- Muslims' and punched me in the head, knocking me out in front of my kids," a woman's complaint quoted in the report states.
"I was admitted to hospital, where a CT scan showed my nose was broken. Me and my kids are seeing a psychologist for the trauma as my kids are very much traumatised.
"We don't leave the house unless it's necessary as we have a fear that it will happen again."
What can change?
The report makes a number of recommendations for government, law enforcement, educators, and the media:
- Recognition of Islamophobia as a form of gender-based abuse requiring targeted intervention.
- Mandatory Islamophobia awareness training in educational settings.
- Specialised police training for responding to Islamophobia incidents.
- Media guidelines for responsible reporting on issues affecting Muslim communities.
- Public transport and retail sector bystander intervention programs.
- Dedicated funding for culturally appropriate mental health support.
LISTEN TO
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Amath hopes the statistics and stories highlighted in the report will urge politicians to take action.
"The unity of Australia depends on addressing Islamophobia as the serious, documented phenomenon it is.
"Political leaders must move beyond denial to meaningful action.
"The costs of inaction are not just the continued suffering of Muslim Australians, but the erosion of Australia's social fabric and its promise of a fair, inclusive society."
