The number of discrimination reports at the University of Manchester has risen by 700% over the last eight years.
In 2017, there were 35 cases of reported discrimination, with this number rising to 280 in 2024.
The data, revealed by a Freedom of Information request, shows that in 2025, as of April 7, there have been 73 reports at the University of Manchester (UOM) – an average of 17.3 per month, compared to 2.9 per month eight years ago.
This rise has accelerated significantly over the last three years, as shown by the graph below, with a 449% increase between 2021 and 2024 alone.
Tife Ogunmodede, the President of the University of Manchester’s African Caribbean Society, says he was “initially not very surprised” by this rise.
He explains: “But not necessarily because I think discrimination at UoM is getting worse, more so because I feel like people are likely getting more comfortable officially reporting incidences of discrimination.
“At the same time, looking at the raw number of 280 cases, I am sure there are many many many more cases than that.”
Racial discrimination was the most cited type in all years since 2017, including in the early months of 2025.
Tife feels that the rise is “more due to people (especially those who have not been exposed to many minorities – in my case, black people) carrying racist tendencies and preconceptions into university”.
In 2024, religious discrimination was cited in 74 reports, despite being mentioned just five times in the year before.
Religious discrimination was therefore the second-most referenced discrimination across 2024 reports.
Across the first four months of 2025, gender discrimination has been cited 25 times, placing it second behind racial discrimination as the most named.
Disability discrimination was the second-highest cited in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Despite this, Tife feels there is “an improving environment on campus”.
He explained: “But I think it’s more due to people developing out of it over time in a big, progressive city like Manchester.
“I have also felt that my voice, which could be seen as one of the most “powerful” voices to represent the thoughts and feelings of the black population at our university, has not been sought after, acknowledged or respected.
“If I can struggle to find a platform to voice my opinion on a race-related issue as the ACS President, I can only imagine how hard it would be for black students at the university.”
Dr Simon Merrywest, Director for the Student Experience at UOM, said: “Over the last few years, we have worked hard with our Students’ Union to make people aware of how to report any issues and give them access to the support they need.
“Reports liable for investigation and disciplinary outcomes remained broadly similar over the time period.
“We are aware that wider events, including internationally, stimulate reporting, and we have been working closely with students to support them.”
UOM uses an online report and support platform for reporting incidents both on and off campus.
Individuals can choose multiple answers when describing the discrimination therefore, the total number of reports may not be equal to the total number of incidents that have occurred – for example, a person can report both racial and gender discrimination in one report.
Image credit – Szymon Shields via Pexels
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