Reports of racial abuse on the rise, say experts

MORE people are reporting racist incidents such as verbal abuse or assaults, according to an independent expert body which receives an average of 50 such reports in any six-month period.

The National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) is encouraging more people to report incidents including workplace discrimination, verbal abuse and harassment or the distribution of offensive, racist material on the internet.

"Between May and October 2004, we noted a significant increase in the number of incidences reported to our office," said Jacqueline Healy, information and communications officer with the NCCRI.