Understanding extremism in Scotland: research findings - summary

Experiences of extremism in Scotland

Most members of the public and public sector practitioners had not experienced extremism, but a significant minority indicated that they had.

• 33% of the public reported having experienced or observed extremism online or in person in the last five years
• Younger people and people living in Glasgow were the most likely to report an experience that they considered to be extremism
• 39% of public sector practitioners reported having ever had an experience of extremism at work
• Practitioners in the local authority sector were most likely to report an experience, followed by those in the prison and police sectors

Participants interpreted the term extremism in wide-ranging ways, and this was reflected in the types of experience that were reported. Many of the experiences that participants reported involved intra-Christian sectarianism or racism, which would not necessarily be considered extremism in conventional understandings of the term. However, smaller numbers had experienced other forms of extremism, such as right-wing or Islamist extremism.

Behaviours commonly mentioned included extreme views being expressed, protests and verbal abuse.