This indicator examines how many people are experiencing discrimination in a community. This can be as simple as asking people to identify if they have experienced any form of discrimination in the last 12 months, or involve identifying more detailed information about the types of discrimination experienced and frequency.

A person can experience many types of discrimination. These include (but are not limited to) discrimination related to:

• Cultural background, race, or appearance
• Gender
• Age
• Sexual orientation
• Disability
• Religion and spiritual beliefs
• Political beliefs
• Family and carer status
• Criminal record
• Membership of particular groups or organisations.

Discrimination can be direct (a person experiencing exclusion or negative treatment directly) or indirect (rules or procedures that establish circumstances that exclude some people and favour others, such as having public transport that cannot be used by a person who relies on a wheelchair).

There is a strong association between experiencing discrimination and poorer wellbeing. This is particularly the case for children, and for people who are experiencing disadvantage (Schmitt et al. 2014). Simply put, experiencing discrimination has a significant negative effect on a person’s wellbeing that is often long lasting. People who experience discrimination are at higher risk of psychological distress, social exclusion, lower standard of living, and poorer physical health.

Schmitt, M.T., Branscombe, N.R., Postmes, T. and Garcia, A., 2014. The consequences of perceived discrimination for psychological well-being: a meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin, 140(4), p.921.

Pascoe, E.A. and Smart Richman, L., 2009. Perceived discrimination and health: a meta-analytic review. Psychological bulletin, 135(4), p.531.

Advantages: This indicator provides important insight into an experience that directly impacts on a person’s wellbeing. It can help identify if particular groups are experiencing marginalisation and exclusion on a regular basis.

Disadvantages: Care is needed when reporting findings on discrimination. There can be a risk that publicly reporting findings will further contribute to the stigma experienced by some groups, or trigger disagreement in a community with not all people recognising the experiences being reported as valid. To ensure this doesn’t happen, work with the groups experiencing discrimination to identify appropriate ways of reporting that they feel respect and share their experiences without risking increasing stigma and exclusion.

This indicator is measured using surveys that ask people to report their experiences of discrimination. For examples of surveys currently doing this in Australia, see:

• The Scanlon Institute’s Mapping Social Cohesion survey tracks how many Australians experience discrimination
• The Australian Reconciliation Barometer collects nationwide data every two years and includes question on experiences of racial discrimination by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports on experiences of discrimination drawn from data collected in the General Social Survey, as well as a number of other surveys, in the Experience of discrimination indicator forming part of the Measuring what matters Australian wellbeing framework
• The ACT Wellbeing Framework, which reports how many Canberrans experienced discrimination in the last year as part of its ‘Sense of belonging/inclusion’ indicator, and breaks this down by group so it is possible to see if people of different gender, cultural background, sexual orientation and living with different caring responsibilities and disability are at differing risk of discrimination

No single survey provides data on experience of discrimination for smaller geographic areas in Australia. This means that to produce local data for a specific rural community requires collecting your own data. The examples above provide links to the types of questions you can include. One commonly used measure is the Everyday Discrimination Scale.