Bystander Anti-Racism Project

Bystander anti-racism is action taken by 'ordinary' people in response to incidents of interpersonal or systemic racism. Obstacles to bystander anti-racism include fear of becoming a target themselves and a lack of knowledge about what to do and how to do it. People lack a sense of what tactics, rhetoric and tenor are likely to be effective. Research in this area is underdeveloped, particularly on the enablers and barriers to organisational readiness of bystander anti-racism. This project produced a strong empirical understanding of bystander anti-racism (its nature, potential, merits, benefits and constraints) as a means of countering racism in Australia. This was achieved through four specific aims:

1. Identify outcomes, including personal and social cost/benefits, of bystander anti-racism in response to racism for targets, perpetrators, other bystanders, organisations and wider society.
2. Identify the enablers and obstacles to bystander anti-racism
3. Identify how the setting and function of racism both influence the form and outcomes of bystander anti-racism
4. Develop and disseminate evidence-based findings in order to inform policy and practice aimed at increasing effective bystander anti-racism among ordinary Australians.

What type of action do people take?

• Confronting or disagreeing with the perpetrator
• Calling it "racism" or "discrimination" (if it is safe or productive to do so)
• Interrupting or distracting perpetrator
• Comforting the person(s) targeted
• Expressing upset feelings
• Seeking assistance from friend, teacher, manager, coach etc.
• Reporting the incident to authorities

What helps people to intervene when they witness racism?

• Knowledge of what constitutes racism
• Awareness of harm caused by racism
• Perception of responsibility to intervene
• Perceived ability to intervene
• Desire to educate a perpetrator
• Emotional responses to racism: empathy, expressing anger, disapproval etc.
• Self-affirmation
• Anti-racist social norms

What stops people from intervening when they witness racism?

• Seeing the target of racism as belonging to a different group that you are not responsible for (exclusive group identity)
• Fear of violence or vilification, being targeted by perpetrator
• Perception that action would be ineffective
• Lack of knowledge about how to intervene
• Concern that confrontation would be seen as aggressive or not 'feminine' (gender role prescriptions)
• Impression management
• A desire to preserve positive interpersonal relations
• A desire to avoid conflict
• Freedom of speech/anti-political correctness
• Social norms that are tolerant of racism

Bystander Anti-Racism Campaign Videos

The real-life incidents described in the incident report forms became the basis for the production of bystander anti-racism campaign materials. Based on the survey responses, four scripts were developed reflecting prominent cases of racism and anti-racism. These scripts were tested with cultural experts and community representatives (African-Australians, Middle Eastern, Indian and Aboriginal) to ensure the content was not offensive. The scripts were also tested, in both script and storyboard forms, with three focus groups (The Country Woman's Association and Western Sydney University student groups). Four bystander anti-racism campaign videos have been produced (see below). It is hoped that these videos will educate the public on action they can take as witnesses of racism.

Publications

Nelson, J. K., Dunn, K. M., & Paradies, Y. (2011). Bystander anti-racism: A review of the literature. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 11(1), 263-284.

Pedersen A, McWhae L, Paradies Y. 2015. Bystander antiprejudice on behalf of Muslim Australians:  The role of ethnocentrism and conformity, Australian Community Psychologist, 27:6-20.

Pedersen A, Paradies Y, Barndon, A. 2015. The consequences of intergroup ideologies and prejudice control for discrimination and harmony, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 45: 684-696.

Perry R, Paradies Y, Pedersen A. 2015. Religious ambivalence: Suppression of pro-social attitudes toward asylum seekers by right-wing authoritarianism, International Journal of Psychology and Religion, 25(3): 230-246.

Pedersen A, Redmond J, Paradies Y. 2014. Psychosocial predictors of anti-racist bystander action towards Indigenous Australians, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. 20(4): 474-490.

Stewart K, Pedersen A, Paradies Y. 2014. It's always good to help when possible BUT...": Obstacles to bystander anti-prejudice. The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities, and Nations. 13(3): 39-53.

Pedersen A, Paradies Y, Hartley L, Dunn K. 2011. Bystander anti-prejudice: Cross-cultural education, links with positivity towards cultural "outgroups" and preparedness to speak out. Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology 5(1): 19-30.

Thomas, E., & Pedersen, A. (2015). What psychology says about how to respond to racist behaviour. The Conversation, 5th August 2015.

Hynes, M. (2016) "Indifferent by Nature: a posthumanist reframing of the problem of indifference", Environment and Planning A, 48 (1), 24-39.

Sharpe, S. and Hynes, M. (2016) "Black-faced, Red Faces: the potentials of humour for anti-racist action" Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39 (1), 87-104.

Project Team

• Prof Kevin Dunn (Western Sydney University)
• Prof Yin Paradies (Deakin University)
• Dr Anne Pederson (Murdoch University)
• Dr Scott Sharpe (University of New South Wales)
• Dr Maria Hynes (Australian National University)
• Dr Jacqueline Nelson (University of Technology Sydney)

Project Partners and Funding

This project, "An exploration of the outcomes, enablers and constraints of bystander anti-racism", was funded by the Australian Research Council. The Australian Human Rights Commission, Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and VicHealth were also sponsors of this project.