Showing posts with label social cohesion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social cohesion. Show all posts

Thursday 16 November 2023

Mapping Social Cohesion Report 2023 - 17th annual survey by Scanlon Foundation Research Institute - social cohesion in Australia has declined by 13 points since November 2020

 


"Trust in government and concern for inequality are contributing to a declining sense of national pride and belonging....Social cohesion has declined in almost all

domains over the last year." [Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, Mapping Social Cohesion Report 2023, pp. 8, 13]



Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, Mapping Social Cohesion Report 2023, Executive Summary, 14 November 2023:


Social cohesion in Australia has been remarkably resilient through the challenges of recent years. However, we continue to face difficult national and global circumstances, global conflict, economic pressures and uncertainty and division over issues such as the Voice referendum.



As a result – and while we remain connected – our social cohesion is under pressure and declining on some fronts.

Our sense of national pride and belonging has been

declining for some years, discrimination and prejudice

remain stubbornly common, while in more recent years,

we are reporting greater financial stress, increased

concern for economic inequality and growing pessimism for the future. However, in the strong connections we have in our neighbourhoods and communities and the way we increasingly embrace our differences and diversity, there is reason for optimism that we can respond collectively to the challenges we face and restore and strengthen our social cohesion.



Mapping Social Cohesion 2023


The Mapping Social Cohesion 2023 report comes

at a crucial time – a time to take stock and consider

the challenges ahead. In 2023, almost 7,500 people

participated in the Mapping Social Cohesion survey,

making it the largest survey in the series. As has been the case since 2018, the 2023 survey was administered to the Social Research Centre’s Life in AustraliaTM panel.



In preparing this year’s Mapping Social Cohesion report, we have taken extra steps to ensure we are reflecting the views of all Australians, particularly in view of our vast ethnic and cultural diversity. To do this, 251 targeted surveys were conducted with people from Indian, Middle Eastern and African backgrounds in four different languages (including English). We also conducted 55 in-depth qualitative interviews with people who have migrated to Australia over the years. This adds to the growing body of information on the attitudes and experiences of migrant Australians collected through the main Life in AustraliaTM survey, providing a greater, more in-depth and nuanced understanding than ever before.

More information on the surveys and interviews are

provided in the Appendix of this report.



Social cohesion in Australia is under pressure

and declining


In our 2022 report, we remarked that social cohesion

appeared to be at an important juncture. Our indicators

suggested that cohesion had been declining after a

COVID-related spike in 2020. While there were some

signs to suggest that cohesion was returning to a

pre-pandemic normal, declines in our sense of national

pride and belonging, increasing financial strain and a

weakening sense of social inclusion and justice were

warning signs of further weakening in our social fabric.

The results of Mapping Social Cohesion 2023 reinforce

these concerns and underline the precarious and

uncertain social environment of Australia in 2023.

In the last 12 months, the Scanlon-Monash Index of social cohesion declined by four points to 79, the lowest score on record. Since a peak in social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic in November 2020, social cohesion has declined by 13 points.



Read and download the full report at:

https://scanloninstitute.org.au/mapping-social-cohesion-2023