The ACT's young people have experienced racism not just from their peers but also from their teachers, a new report has revealed.
Released by the ACT Human Rights Commission, the report was put together based on survey results from over 2,000 young people aged up to 24.
Though more than 81 per cent of respondents were aged between 11 and 17.
The report includes descriptions from survey participants, who detail their experiences with discrimination.
"Some of my teachers treated me differently to other students in class. I've been facing discrimination because of my hijab," one student said.
The report also found students felt scared to go to school because of the racism they were enduring.
"One teacher of mine is actually racist, said Australia was lucky white people came to settle it as Indigenous people were savage before they came," another student said.
"Maths teacher said Indigenous people should never have been born. I said 'Bro, you can't say that'. I nearly whacked him," another said.
The report's executive summary was written by 17-year-old Karam, who said he had been the recipient of racist treatment since his migration to Australia at the age of nine.
"I have also noticed that racism has actually increased a lot recently and sadly all the efforts made to help stop it have not been very successful," Karam said.
Karam said he believed more needed to be done to give young people from diverse backgrounds a voice.
"The general best solution to solve this problem and possibly kick out racism towards children, is opening up more pathways and communities for children to speak up and share their opinions," he said.
The Human Rights Commission agreed, saying there was currently a lack of "child-centric evidence and practice regarding experiences of, and responses to, racism," the report said.
Over seven months, they consulted with 2,456 children and young people, including by meeting them in person and conducting online surveys.
"It is important to note that this consultation was never intended to be statistically representative but instead aimed to create spaces for children and young people to tell their own truth about their experiences and perspectives."
Racism occurring 'everywhere'
Of those surveyed, those who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, 11 out of 12 said they had experienced racism.
That rate dropped to 41 per cent when accounting for all participants.
The report not only canvassed young people for their experiences of racism, but also how they coped with it.
"I know I'm most likely to survive if I keep my head down and turn the other cheek," one respondent said.
Others said it was also hard to see others treating them differently because of their background, but not actually turning to overt racism.
"There's too sides," one said.
"People who are really racist and people who walk on egg shells around you."
Another said they believed some people just needed to be better educated on how racism could manifest.
"It can also be when someone doesn't realise they are being racist," said one participant.
"They just need to be informed about what can be offensive.
"Sometimes comments about appearance even saying 'I love African people's hair' can be offensive."
Many reported on experiencing discrimination at school, but the survey showed that racism was happening "everywhere".
"We also heard multiple stories of children and young people being followed in shops and questioned when they go to purchase things," the report said.
"This again seemed to be more of an issue for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people than their peers."
Incidents on public transport also featured heavily.
"A drunk adult said 'Do you go to special school because you are black?'" one young person said.
"I told the bus driver but he said he can't do anything about it."
Adults need to take further action, report finds
The report highlighted a perceived lack of action from adults, in particular school officials, with regard to these incidents.
"My school doesn't treat racism as seriously as bullying so kids deal with it themselves, and get into fights," one participant said.
Some students said that because schools would sometimes simply urge them to ignore racism and bullying, instead of taking further action, the situation would escalate and become violent.
Parents were not always told about the incidents, the report said, for multiple reasons — these included fear of upsetting them, and also a belief the parents would not be sympathetic.
"Tell your parents and they tell you to 'suck it up','" one child said.
The commission said it would use the report's findings to better advocate for children and young people.
It said it would develop strategies to promote anti-racism, improve discussion, and create safe spaces for young people to speak freely about their experiences.
"Schools and sporting bodies should be required to develop and implement anti-racism policies and procedures, in consultation with children and young people, and people with lived experiences of racism," they concluded.
"All ACT schools should be required to develop comprehensive and age-appropriate classroom resources.
"Similarly, sporting bodies must ensure coaches, referees and other volunteers have appropriate resources and the knowledge and skill to identify racism and respond appropriately."
