'Tip of the iceberg': Islamophobic attacks in Australia soared after sickening Christchurch mosque massacre, report shows

Islamophobic attacks surged in Australia in the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

Reporting of in-person Islamophobic incidents increased at least fourfold, while reports of online hate increased by 18 times in the two weeks following the far-right terrorist attack by Brenton Tarrant which killed 51 Muslims, the Australian Islamophobia Register said.

The group's report was released on the third anniversary of the massacre, in which the self-proclaimed white supremacist murdered worshippers - including children and the elderly - at two mosques in Christchurch.

"Islamophobia is not a 'Muslim' problem but a social cohesion risk. It requires national engagement if Australia is to live up to its multicultural legacy," the register said, urging public authorities and media platforms to take on more responsibility to prevent hate offline and online.

On the anniversary of the #Christchurch Terror attacks we launch our 3rd Islamophobia in Australia Report authored by .@deryainer
In partnership with .@CharlesSturtUni .@ISRA_Academy_
Thank you @ChinTanRDC for launching it #Auspol #Islamophobia
Link 👇🏾https://t.co/WW8w56R1Z0 pic.twitter.com/yhm9R9PyBq

— IslamophobiaRegister (@IslamophobiaReg) March 15, 2022

The report - which is the Islamophobia Register's third 'Islamophobia in Australia' report - analyses 247 verified Islamophobic incidents that occurred from January 2018 to December 2019.

A total of 138 of the incidents occurred in person and 109 occurred online, according to the register. Twelve percent of all physical cases and 65 percent of all online cases were reported within the first two weeks after the Christchurch attacks.

The report also revealed that 78 percent of perpetrators were identified as men, a rise from 73 percent in the 2014-2016 report; while 82 percent of victims were women, an increase from 72 percent in the previous report.

The Islamophobia Register highlighted that cases analysed are just the tip of the iceberg as Islamophobia is "consistently underreported".

Christchurch attacker Tarrant was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in August 2020 after pleading guilty to 51 charges of murder. However, last November his lawyer said the attacker was considering appealing his jail term.