Bystander anti-racism- research findings and new directions

Abstract (English)

Bystanders play a potentially important role in intervening in incidents of racism, but they often fail to act. Much research has focused on investigating facilitators and barriers to bystander behaviour, but mainly in the context of sexual violence. There is a dearth of research in the context of racism, especially outside the English-speaking world. In this presentation, I will compare findings of our qualitative online studies on racism and bystander responses to racism in Colombia and Finland. In both contexts, bystander help depended on factors such as clarity of the situation, perceived consequences, bystander characteristics, social relations, and perceptions of the need and/or permission to act from the target of racism. However, there were also many important differences (e.g., the presence of authorities both as a bystander barrier and a facilitator in Colombia). I will highlight the importance of investigating each context carefully before devising suitable bystander interventions. In addition, I will briefly discuss some of our new initiatives on theatre for change in educating bystanders to intervene in racism.