Scottish Household Survey Annual Report

14 Forty-five per cent of all adults reported that they did not experience any neighbourhood problems in 2019. Those living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to experience neighbourhood problems. The neighbourhood problems that were perceived as most common were ‘animal nuisance’ (32 per cent) and ‘rubbish or litter lying around’ (31 per cent). Another Scottish Government population survey, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), also collects information on perceptions of a range of neighbourhood issues, including feeling of safety, how common specific crimes are believed to be in the local area, alongside respondents’ views on neighbourhood cohesion and community support. As questions are asked in a different survey context, any similar measures should not be directly compared to SHS findings. The majority of people (83%) said they felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark, and this is similar to when this question was previously asked in 2017. There is however a clear association between how adults rated their neighbourhood and how safe they felt in their communities. Eighty-five per cent of adults who rated their neighbourhood as very/fairly good, said they felt safe walking alone at night, compared with just 38% of adults who rated their neighbourhood as very poor. One in 13 adults (8 per cent) reported that they had experienced discrimination and one in 17 (6 per cent) had experienced harassment in the last 12 months. Some groups were more likely than others to report having experienced discrimination or harassment in Scotland, for instance ethnic minorities, people who are gay/lesbian/bisexual and those who belong to a religion other than Christianity. The reasons cited as a motivating factor for discrimination include the respondent’s sex/gender or nationality (both 16 per cent). The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), also collects information on experiences of harassment and discrimination. As questions are asked in a different survey context, any similar measures should not be directly compared to SHS findings. The majority of households in Scotland (65 per cent) reported that they have not thought about, or made any preparations for, events like severe weather or flooding.