Young Chinese Aussies say they face highest levels of discrimination

Racism is still pervasive in Australian society, but it's alarming how many young people say they're on the receiving end of it.

Chinese Australians report the highest levels of discrimination due to their race and cultural background, according to Mission Australia's 2016 Youth Survey.

The survey of teenagers, commissioned by the charity, covers 22,000 respondents between the ages of 15 to 19 years of age.

It found 88.7 percent of Mandarin speakers reported discrimination, followed by speakers of Cantonese (80.6%) and Filipino/Tagalog (80.4%).

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When it comes to young Indigenous Australians, one in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents say they've experienced discrimination on the basis of race or cultural background, which is more than three times the number of non-Indigenous young people.

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Religious discrimination was cited by 43 percent of young people who speak Arabic, followed by Filipino/Tagalog (28.6%) and Spanish (26.4%).

Half of women who reported discrimination said they did because of their gender.

"These levels are simply unacceptable and we must ask ourselves what we can all do to change these results," Catherine Yeomans, CEO Mission Australia, said in a statement.

"We have to challenge stereotypes and explicit discrimination when we see it. And this needs to be addressed by governments, businesses, sports and other institutions as well as in the media and at schools," she added.

Despite the findings, discrimination wasn't listed as the biggest concern among young Australians in the survey. Alcohol, drugs and mental health topped the list of concerns.

Mental health concerns have doubled in the last six years; with stress, school and body image having the biggest impact.

It's not always easy being a kid.