More Muslim students have reported being bullied, having their hijabs pulled off and harassed at school because of their religion in the past two years, according to a report released Monday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
“The key findings were unpleasant and shocking,” said Hanif Mohebi, executive director of CAIR San Diego.
The latest report follows similar studies conducted by CAIR California in 2012 and 2014. Findings in the new survey were from surveys taken in 2016 by 1,041 students ages 11-18 from San Diego, Los Angeles, Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay Area.
Of those participating, 152 were from San Diego, 400 were from the Greater Los Angeles area, 161 were from Sacramento Valley and 161 were from the Bay Area.
The report can be found online at ca.cair.com/downloads/2017_CAIR-CA_School_Bullying_Report.pdf.
San Diego Unified School District has adopted an anti-bullying policy that addresses bullying against Muslim students in a number of ways, including creating a greater understand of Islam among all students.
A group of parents and the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund sued the district in May because of the district’s actions, which they saw as unconstitutional and giving greater attention to students of one religion. The district since has stressed that its policy is to protect all students from bullying, and it is working with the Anti-Defamation League on a program to create a safe environment on campus for all.
In the latest CAIR report, 36 percent of students who responded and wear a Islamic head covering known as a hijab said other students had tugged it, pulled or offensively touched it, a 7 percentage point increase from 2014. Five percent said it happens weekly and 7 percent said it happens once a month.
The study found 69 percent of Muslim students said they feel safe, welcome and respected in their school, down from 83 percent in 2014.
Sixty-one percent said they were comfortable in class discussions about Islam and Muslims, down from 76 percent in 2014, and 77 percent said they felt comfortable letting students know they are Muslim, down from 83 percent.
Nineteen percent of students said they had been physically harmed or harassed at school, up from 9 percent in 2014, and 26 percent said offensive comments had been directed at them through social medial, up from 19 percent.
Fifty-three percent of students said someone at the school has been made fun of, insulted or verbally abused for being Muslim, including 10 percent who said it happened weekly and 8 percent who said it happened every month.
The report noted that the 53 percent figure was more than double the national statistic for students who say they had been bullied at school.
While the study shows an increase in the percentage of Muslim students who were bullied or felt uncomfortable at school, it does not give raw data to show the number of students who responded to specific questions or indicate how many incidents were in San Diego.
Among the criticisms of the San Diego Unified’s anti-bullying policy stated in the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund lawsuit was the argument that there were not enough incidents to call for the policy. A board report had noted seven incidents of bullying because of religion between July 1 to Dec. 31, 2016, but did not specify which religion was targeted.
Mohebi and others who spoke at a CAIR San Diego news conference Monday morning said the number of incidents could be higher than reported because Muslims who are harassed for their religious often are fearful to come forward.
He and Islamic Center of San Diego Imam Taha Hassane said they hope CAIR can continue to work with San Diego Unified and other districts in making schools safe for Muslim students.
“I’d like to call upon all the authorities in our school districts, superintendents and school boards, to work with CAIR San Diego to address this,” Hassane said.
Mohebi said CAIR has been working with a few school districts in the county to help protect Muslim students, and he said he hopes the group will keep working with San Diego Unified to create a model for others.
Noemi Villegas, program manager manager for the counseling and guidance department at San Diego Unified, said CAIR is a partner in developing a comprehensive program to create a safe environment for all students.
“I strongly believe we are promoting anti-bullying efforts for all students, including Muslim students,” she said. “You can’t separate students. All students need to have safe, inclusive spaces.”