BAME families ‘subject to structural racism’ amid Covid-19 response

Speaking at the Early Intervention Foundation's conference earlier this week, Michelle Lee-Izu, corporate director of development and innovation at the charity, said that although all children had suffered heightened anxiety due to the pandemic, those from BAME or religious backgrounds were more negatively impacted due to issues such as a lack of adequate support, financial difficulty and increased racist and religious abuse.  

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She reported that Muslim families were targeted by abusers on social media, and a Chinese family had their home petrol bombed. Children who were victims of these attacks reported feeling “afraid to leave their homes”.   

According to Lee-Izu, children from BAME backgrounds displayed increased anxiety if they lived in multi-generational homes, worrying about bringing the virus home from school and giving it to elderly family members.

BAME families were among the worst hit by the employment crisis, making up over a fifth of those who lost their jobs the furlough scheme was wound down. Black and Asian people are also at greater risk of contracting Covid-19.

In September this year, Barnardos launched Boloh, the UK’s first helpline for black, Asian and minority ethnic children and their families as a response to the increased need for support in such communities. The helpline was funded by a £900,000 grant from National Emergencies Trust (NET).  

Even when help was available, Lee-Izu said it “didn’t always meet [family’s] religious needs”. Food support packs given to Muslim children who were entitled to free school meals, for example, contained inappropriate food items like pork products, she told the conference.  

Lee-Izu praised BAME grassroots organisations working with Barnardo’s See, Hear, Respond Partnership, launched in June and funded by the Department for Education (DfE). 

The partnership is an alternative referral process which aims to provide early intervention support for children before they reach the statutory threshold for local authority services.

She said: “BAME families reported that these organisations understood their needs and were at the heart of communities.”  

"Black people are four times more likely to die of Covid-19 compared to white people and the pandemic and recession are worsening existing inequalities. As a result, children are suffering bereavement, mental health problems and fear for the future on an unprecedented scale."

"These examples show just how crucial it is for services for children and young people to be co-produced with and informed by the needs of black, Asian and minority ethnic children and young people and their communities."

Children’s minister Vicky Ford also praised the campaign at the conference telling attendees that it had offered support to over 39,000 UK children “who may otherwise have remained invisible”.