Scotland’s view on refugees 75 years after UN Convention
"75 years ago the UK government was one of the first countries to sign the UN Refugee Convention. They made a promise that people fleeing war and persecution would be protected. 75 years on, this promise is under threat.To mark this anniversary, we asked Scots about their views on refugees and found that there is a huge gap between the public’s assumption and reality.
Most respondents massively overestimate how many of the world’s refugees are in the UK. In reality, it’s less than 1%, but a third think it is over 10%.
77% overestimate how much people seeking asylum get to live on, or just don’t know.
Contact with refugee communities is one of most powerful ways to break down prejudice. But with 77% of people never having met a refugee, more needs to be done to help heal division and bring communities together."
