Refugee charities face tough battle for public attention, survey warns

The UK public’s interest in refugees and asylum seekers has dipped markedly in the last five years leaving the charities that support them struggling to attract attention, a survey has warned.

NfPSynergy surveyed the British public for their views on the refugee crisis in Syria and the Middle East and the role of charities in 2015.

Five years on they put the same questions to the public to see how sentiment had changed.

“Unfortunately it’s not a pretty picture,” according to the think tank, adding that “overall concern has declined significantly”.

Only around a half (52%) of the public are concerned with what the refugee crisis means for the UK and EU, compared to around three quarters (72%) in 2015.

Around a third (36%) have described the refugee crisis as an important issue to them, down from just under half (46%) in 2015.

“Public sympathy for these vulnerable groups has also slightly decreased over the past five years,” NfpSynergy also found.

It added: “Perhaps one of the most difficult tasks for UK domestic and international refugee and asylum charities is getting their communications to cut through the loud right-wing press.”

The UK public is also less likely to want to accept refugees into the country, despite the impact of Covid-19.

“Post-Brexit global disconnect, border closures and a heightened sense of ‘helping our own’ is reflected in recent data with 55% of the British public believing that fewer refugees should be accepted, the highest figure recorded in five years,” said the think tank.

In addition, just over a quarter (27%) of the public believe the UK government should take in more refugees.

When asked to rank the charity beneficiaries they think have been most impacted by the Covid-19 health crisis, refugees and asylum seekers as well as those supported by aid charities were ranked second and third to last.

The impact of the pandemic on animals was recognised by 5% more of the public.

Environmental organisations are among other charities struggling for attention, according to a survey by the Garfield Weston Foundation last year.

This found they are “struggling to communicate” the value of their work to the public.