Informe de evaluación al sistema de control interno del hospital

This research study focuses on the specific experience of youth which affects and shapes the identity of young British Muslims. The 2001 Census showed that Muslims were the largest religious group in Britain after Christians (ONS, 2004). Overall, there were 1.6 million Muslims living in Britain in 2001, which counted for 3 per cent of the total population and over half (52 per cent) of the non-Christian religious population (ONS, 2004). In 2001, about three quarters of Muslims (74 per cent) living in Britain were from a South Asian ethnic background.

The migration paths and the larger family sizes explained the particular young age profile which characterises Muslims in the UK compared to other religious groups. In 2001 Muslims were actually the youngest group with about 34 per cent of them under 16 years old. This compared to 25 per cent of Sikhs and 21 per cent of Hindus with less than one in ten aged 65 years within these three groups. The 2001 Census also shows that, amongst those aged 16-24 years old Muslims were the most likely group to live with a partner as a married couple (19 per cent of them), while people with no religion were the most likely to be cohabiting (16 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds). Young Muslim adults (16-24 years old) were also the most likely to be married (22 per cent) compared

82 to Christians and those with no religion who were the least likely to be married (3 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds in each group) (ONS, 2004, p.9). This pattern was found across all age groups but as most marked among young adults aged 16 to 24.

Research has highlighted the implications of urban neighbourhoods and urban spaces on children and young people’s experiences of growing up (Christensen & O’Brien, 2003; O’Brien, M. Rustin, & M. and Greenfield, 2000). The 2001 Census indicates that Muslims often live in high deprived areas, which has a negative impact on the life of children and young people. In London, young Muslims tend to be spatially very concentrated and are more likely to live in inner rather than outer boroughs (GLA, 2006, p.36-38). For instance, Muslims made up 8 per cent of the overall London population concentrated in deprived inner boroughs, counting for 36 per cent of the population in Tower Hamlets and 24 per cent of Newham, which were amongst the most deprived local authorities in the UK in 2001. The high level of deprivation of the areas most populated by young Muslims, negatively affects their lives and opportunities and it impacts on their likelihood of being involved with crime or being the victim of discrimination. The number of Muslim prisoners has increased by almost three times between 1993 and 2003 from 2,106 to 6,136 (Spalek, 2005) and Prison Service statistics also indicate that almost 10 per cent of the prison population is Muslim, two-thirds of whom are young men aged 18-30 (Source: Prison Service statistics, 2004 in Spalek, 2005). Spalek explained that the high number of Muslim prisoners is a consequence of the young age group and the level of deprivation of the areas where they live. As mentioned before, Muslims have the youngest age profile amongst all different religious groups in Britain and the young age increases the chances of offending, with a peak age been identified at 18 years old for males and 15 year old for females. Other sources of disadvantage which affect offending include high rates of unemployment amongst the Muslim population, which are also the most likely to have never worked (Spalek, 2005).

In addition, Muslims have been the object of negative stereotyping and victim of racial and religious discrimination. According to a survey by the Federation of Student Islamic Societies 47 per cent of Muslim students reported having experienced Islamophobia (FOSIS, 2005). Another survey for the Youth Justice Board (2004), (based on a sample of 4,715 young people aged 11 to16 in mainstream education, and another sample of

83 687 young people aged 11 to 17 who were excluded from mainstream schools and attending a special project), found that young Asian people were the most concerned about being victims of racism: 53 per cent of them were concerned compared to 42 per cent of black young people and 25 per cent of white young people (MORI, 2004). Moreover, Home Office statistics show that between 2001 and 2003 there was a 302% increase in ‘stop and search’ incidents among Asian people, compared with 118% among white people (Home Office, 2004).

Educational performance, unemployment and social exclusion

Social exclusion is a multi-dimensional factor which is either structural, as defined by the socio-economic system or social, as it involves and affects the social relationships between people. It is therefore marked by socio-economic factors, such as educational underachievement and higher unemployment but, particularly in the case of British Muslim, social exclusion is triggered by Islamophobia and discrimination. The report ‘Living Apart Together’ emphasises the class-dimension of social exclusion, tracking back its origin on parental background including parents’ country of birth, educational attainment, cultural traditions and ‘financial capital’ which have a significant impact on the inclusion and access of resources in society (Mirza et al., 2007, p.68).

It is widely recognised that Muslims are experiencing disadvantage on different grounds compared to other groups. Particularly, low educational attainment and their employment situation are markers of their subordinate status. According to the 2001 Census, Bangladeshi and Pakistani children were amongst the least likely groups to obtain five A-C GCSE (Mirza et al., 2007, p.69). Concerns about the ethnic minority pupils educational attainment in Britain started growing as a consequence of the influx of migrants during the 1960s and 1970s (Wilson, Burgess, & Briggs, 2006) but it only became an issue in the 1980s, when The Swan Report (1975) officially recognised, for the first time, the unequal performance of students from different ethnic backgrounds particularly showing Bangladeshi underachieving (Haque & Bell, 2001). The ONS report on Religion (2004) shows that in 2003-2004 almost a third (31 per cent) of Muslims had no qualifications compared to around a quarter (23 per cent) of Sikhs and 15 per cent of Christians. Being born in the UK, however, increased the likelihood of Muslims

84 gaining higher qualifications: in 2003-2004 among those under the age of 30, UK-born Muslims were twice as likely to have degrees in as those born elsewhere (ONS, 2004). Educational attainment impacts on the labour market opportunities and data from the Labour Force Survey (2003-2004) showed that young Muslims were subject to labour market disadvantage compared to any other religious group, for either men or women and across all age groups (ONS, 2004, p.13). Particularly, young Muslims aged 16 to 24 years old had the highest unemployment rates of all religious groups. For instance, they were twice as likely as Christians of the same age to be unemployed (22 per cent compared with 11 per cent) (ONS, 2004, p.13).