According to a study conducted by Nielsen Admosphere, half of Czechs active on the internet believe that national minorities in the country enjoy, at least in some cases, better conditions than most, with the Roma being the most favored. Every fifth Czech thinks that this is unconditionally true.
Specifically, 51 percent of respondents think that national minorities in the Czech Republic enjoy greater benefits than Czechs. According to 31 percent of respondents, this happens at least in some cases, while according to another 20 percent, this is the case in general.
Almost two-fifths of Czechs also agree with the statement that national minorities have more or less equal conditions in the country. At the same time, however, one in four believes that there is still room for improvement when it comes to minorities. Only about one in ten respondents think that national minorities have worse conditions in the Czech Republic than other citizens.
According to 63 percent of Czechs active on the internet, the Roma minority, in particular, enjoys better conditions. On the contrary, 23 percent of the respondents think that the Roma are disadvantaged. Also, 12 percent of people believe that the Arab minority has more favorable conditions, while 14 percent of respondents are of the opposite opinion.
Besides the Roma, respondents stated that the Ukrainian or Vietnamese minority is exposed to disadvantageous conditions the most. However, 51 percent of respondents said that they do not consider any particular national minority to be disadvantaged.
Respondents also answered the question of whether the issue of racism in the Czech Republic is sufficiently addressed. More than two-fifths of respondents do not think so, while more than a third are of the opposite opinion. Meanwhile, every tenth person thinks that racism does not exist in the Czech Republic.
The authors of the study pointed out that opinions varied in different social and demographic groups. For instance, more men — 45 percent versus 27 percent of women — thought that racism was adequately addressed in the Czech Republic.
More men — 14 percent versus 6 percent of women — also believe that the issue of racism does not exist in Czechia.
Title image: The Roma minority in the Czech Republic (Hans Štembera)
