NCJ Number
202267
Journal
International Review of Victimology Volume: 10 Issue: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 1-17
Date Published
2003
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article examines the prevalence and impact of racism for minority ethnic groups living in rural parts of England.
Abstract
The findings of a study of racist victimization in rural Suffolk, a county in the east of England with a small minority ethnic population, are analyzed. The study examined the nature, extent, and impact of racist victimization; motivations for reporting and not reporting racist incidents to organizations; and ways in which agency responses to victims could be improved. Both qualitative and quantitative methodological tools were employed, including interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups. Even before the issue of different communities living in rural Suffolk had been raised with White focus group participants, a host of prejudicial comments was made during the course of general group conversation. Although most of the participants labeled themselves as “open minded,” these comments reflected the attitudes and stereotypes that may be prevalent among established White communities unfamiliar with cultural difference. Interviews with victims of racial harassment lent further credence to the argument that the presence of minority ethnic groups in established rural communities are often regarded as an unwelcome intrusion. Racial harassment is a perpetual problem for the minority ethnic population. Each of the families interviewed appeared to have encountered racism in a variety of forms, contexts, and manifestations during their time in Suffolk. The most common forms of racism were “low-level” types such as verbal abuse and name calling. These types of racism were experienced by 81 percent of respondents to questionnaires. Nearly one in five of the respondents had experienced actual or attempted damage to property and one in seven actual or attempted physical assault. “Letting go” or “turning a blind eye” was commonly regarded as the easiest and less inflammatory methods of dealing with victimization. Only a third of those that had experienced an incident of racial harassment during the previous 12 months had reported the incident to the police. The importance of effective agency responses that support victims and challenge racism cannot be overstated. 1 table, 11 notes, 24 references