FED:Assaults on Indian students not racial

AAP General News (Australia)
08-11-2011
FED:Assaults on Indian students not racial

CANBERRA, Aug 11 AAP - Indian students are less likely to be assaulted than the general
Australian population, new statistics show.

However, they were more likely to be victims of robbery, but these crimes were more
likely opportunistic than racially motivated.

The Australian Institute of Criminology analysed the rates of assault, robbery and
theft of international students from 2005 to 2009 after media attention suggested Indian
students in particular were being targeted.

The institute looked at almost 15,000 reports of crimes against students from India,
China, South Korea, USA and Malaysia - the five largest groups of student visa holders.

Director Adam Tomison said the data available did not allow specific analysis of racial
motivation.

"That said, there was nothing in the overall findings that lends support to the view
that Indian students have been singled out primarily for racial reasons," he said.

Rather, the higher rates of robbery against Indian students could probably be explained
by the fact they were more likely to work in jobs that involved working late night shifts
alone.

The study found a quarter of robberies against Indian students happened at retail locations
and almost two in three of these happened at petrol stations.

"By comparison, only 12 per cent of Chinese students who were robbed at a commercial
location were robbed at a service or petrol station," the report says.

The institute said further research was needed to understand which risk factors were
most influential in crimes against international students.

It said any such research could help improve the safety of students who came to Australia.

AAP klc/cb/jnb

KEYWORD: STUDENTS

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