Racial and ethnic discrimination in Spain has worsened in the past few years, especially in housing and education, the Equality Ministry said on Monday, fuelled by far-right politicians and fake news.
In its 2020 report, the ministry said almost one in three Black or ethnic minority respondents said they had experienced discrimination while house-hunting, starting with real estate and housing agencies and extending to landlords. This was double the levels reported in the previous 2013 study.
"The media noise about squatters mean people associate North African, Latino and Sub-Saharan people with over-crowding and squatting," said study coordinator Anabel Suso."People don't want to rent to them, and real estate agencies reflect that." Discrimination in the educational sector also increased, by more than 50% from 2013, with one in five respondents saying they had endured insults, assault and racist jokes from fellow students, and been excluded from games and activities.
"Racially-motivated hate speech against determined groups is surging, gaining traction through social media," the report said. "The growing fake news trend...creates alternative outlets which publish xenophobic images and create a negative public perception towards migration flows and minority groups."