UK launches landmark survey to investigate racism in the veterinary sector

A landmark survey launched on Tuesday(19) to investigate racism and its impact on the mental wellbeing of black, Asian and minority ethnic(BAME) people working or studying in the UK veterinary sector.

The ‘Race Together’ survey - open for participation until 31 March 2021 - will examine both overt and ‘everyday racism’ in the veterinary profession, a statement said.

The survey will be conducted by researchers from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society (BVEDS), Oxford Brookes University and London South Bank University, and will be led by by Dr Victoria Crossley at the RVC and Navaratnam Partheeban, co-founder of the BVEDS.

It will be funded by the RCVS Minds Matters Initiative - Sarah Brown Mental Health Research Grant, which was set up in honour of a veterinary professional who tragically passed away in 2017, with the aim of funding researching focusing on mental health and wellbeing within the veterinary profession.

“This anonymous survey is open to all BAME people working or studying in the veterinary sector, not only vets and veterinary nurses, and we would like to encourage people to take part and tell us about their experiences of racism, however ‘major or minor," said the project’s Principal Investigators.

“We hope that our project will increase awareness and understanding of the issues that BAME people experience while working or studying in the UK veterinary profession, and our findings will be used to inform the design of evidence-based interventions to promote diversity and wellbeing, and the monitoring of their effectiveness.”

Lisa Quigley, Mind Matters manager, said: “We are very glad to be able to support this important project, the first of its kind to look at the mental health impact of racism and discrimination in the veterinary professions.

“Diversity, equality and inclusion is a key strategic priority for the RCVS and hopefully this study will help identify some of the barriers and negative experiences that impact Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic veterinary professionals and develop the appropriate interventions both to tackle discrimination and improve mental health outcomes.”

For more details, click here.

The RVC is the top veterinary school in the UK and Europe and ranked as the world’s second highest veterinary school in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2020.