Most incidents of hostility towards Muslims involve the targeting of women, often in public with their children, and three out of four times no one intervenes, new research suggests.

A study released by Charles Sturt University on Monday analysed 243 verified reports to the online Islamophobia Register of Australia from September 2014 to December 2015.

Islamophobia was defined as a type of racism that included "various forms of violence, violations, discrimination and subordination" and went beyond mere criticism, the authors said.

The report found of 130 cases where the victim's gender was reported, women were targets in 88, men in 27 and both genders in 15.