In England, Bangladeshi men are amongst the lowest number of people referred to primary care NHS Talking Therapies services and amongst the most likely to have deteriorated (NHS Digital, 2020). Factors related to culture, religion and gender influence stigma and help-seeking (Robinson et al., 2011). Furthermore, a lack of knowledge from services and professionals on cultural understandings of mental distress facilitate a failure to fully understand the needs of individual populations (Faheem, 2023). The aim of this research study was to qualitatively explore stigma and help-seeking for mental health difficulties, within British-Bangladeshi Muslim men in London. Recruitment consisted of men aged 22–59 years, experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression but not accessing formal support. Ethical approval was obtained from Royal Holloway, University of London. After an online screening questionnaire, individual semi-structured video interviews were completed between May and October 2020. Reflexive thematic analysis presented six over-arching themes: ‘different understanding of mental health’, ‘traditional cultural expectations’, ‘fear and loss’, ‘coping resources’, ‘barriers to access’ and ‘community outreach and collaboration’. Many factors were highlighted as barriers accessing support, such as stigma and trust in services. Key practice implications are highlighted for services and practitioners. Professionals must understand the factors which impact the wellbeing of Bangladeshi men, how to better meet the needs of the community, and remove barriers to help. Participants also suggested initiatives to raise mental health awareness and reduce stigma, as an inclusive approach is needed with greater listening to communities and partnerships with local authorities.

Here, we offer a synthesis of recent evidence and new developments in relation to three broad aspects of Black and minority ethnic (BAME) students’ participation in UK higher education (HE). First, we examine recent trends in ethnic group differences in rates of access to, success within, and positive destinations beyond HE. Secondly, we examine the nature of UK universities as exclusionary spaces which marginalise BAME students in a myriad of ways, not least through curricula that centre Whiteness. Finally, we consider the impact of the marginalisation of BAME students on mental health. We argue that progress towards race equality in each domain has been hampered by white-centric discourses which continue to identify BAME students and staff as ‘other’. We highlight the important roles that academic communities and HE policy-makers have to play in advancing ethnic equality in UK universities.