Racially motivated violence and verbal abuse in NSW rose significantly in the months following the US 2001 September 11 attacks according to a report based on the records of a telephone hotline set up at the time for victims.

Released on anniversary of the attacks, a monograph from the report has been prepared by the University of Technology, Sydney Shopfront program for the Community Relations Commission For a multicultural NSW (CRC). It offers vital insight into the likely impact of more recent events such as the Bali and London bombings on acts of racial vilification within the community.

The CRC hotline recorded 248 acts of violence, abuse, harassment, discrimination and vilification targeting Muslim, Arab and Sikh communities in NSW. The report relates that these incidents produced a climate of fear and insecurity, which continues to impact these communities, and denies them the chance to enjoy a true sense of Australian citizenship.

UTS Shopfront Research Manager Dr Tanja Dreher said the hotline records showed that events far distant from our shores can prompt serious impacts on community relations here in Australia, leading to violence against and rejection of minority groups that identify themselves as Australian.

"In many cases, particularly for refugees, people have come to Australia to escape danger, persecution and sometimes the risk of death, only to find that they then face mistrust and hatred here in Australia," Dr Dreher said.

"Does this situation reflect the ideals of democratic Australia? Clearly not. There is in fact evidence of a serious gulf between the myth of 'a fair go' Australia and the reality. As a society we need to start taking responsibility for the intolerant and frequently ignorant nation we have become."

According to Dr Dreher we must take a measured and realistic stance as a society with regard to this event and others like it, to ensure that fear and distress do not lead to the persecution and exclusion of innocents in Australia.

"Individuals and communities subjected to racist incidents are undertaking a range of responses to counter these attacks and they need to be supported though collaborative partnerships with all levels of government," she said.

"Fostering a sense of inferiority and exclusion among minority groups here in Australia, because of events overseas, may yet prove the fastest way to grow resentment among the communities being singled out.

"A failure on the part of 'a fair go' and 'democratic' Australia may in fact be the greatest risk we face for future unrest."