Racial discrimination in Australia

Question: Discuss about the Racial discrimination in Australia. Answer: Introduction Scholars who have studied racism claim have found out that it is common in many societies and is experienced in the service industry areas like health, education and employment. This makes racism a controversial topic and an issue that needs to be addressed in the modern society. This is experienced by the gaps that exist between different groups within the society that is as a result of differential access to resources and facilities in the society. This has been fostered by social identity which has seen the society and people of different colours get deeper into their racist cocoons and make the reality of racism more prevalent (Fredrickson, 2002). Loosemore Chau (2002), argues that many countries and regions of the world have suffered the effects of racism that have been seen in countries like South Africa characterised by apartheid and USA characterised by Negro. These aspects have drawn sharp line between people of different colours in such like countries. On the other hand racism in Australia dates back to the historic migrations of people from Great Britain and Ireland. The arrival of migrants displaced the original inhabitants of Australia who were the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from their normal life. This made the communities suffer rapid collapse as a result of establishment of the British colony. Today aspects of racial discrimination are still being felt in Australia as a result of the historical factors that determined how this group thrived together in the prehistoric Australia (Hannaford, 1996). Statement of the Problem The modern word is said to have moved great steps in doing away with forms of discrimination like racial discrimination. Many countries have passed legislations that aim to cushion the underprivileged races within the society and further adopted affirmative action that is aimed at ensuring that the underprivileged races within the society are able to catch up with other groups that have moved ahead of others. However these legislations have not been effective since they have failed to address the underlying issues that are beneath the aspect of racism since the issues have been structured within the society. Today the society is facing a new aspect of racism that is called structural racism. This study seeks to determine the racial patterns within Australia (Winant, 2000). Research Questions What is racial discrimination? What are forms of racial discrimination? What are the causes of racial discrimination? What are the effects of racial discrimination? How can racism be prevented? Study Significance This research focuses on determining patterns of racial discrimination within the society. The findings will help determine the major areas that discrimination is common and propose mechanism that can be used to address the vice. Study Limitations This reserch will be limited within the Australian society and thus some aspects that may be proposed are found may not be fully generalised to other societies since racial discrimination patterns vary from society to society. LiteratureReview This part discusses the secondary literature based on the research topic. The chapter discusses what other researchers have gathered over the topic and what the views of previous research are. This will guide in determining the flow of the research. Definition of Racial Discrimination The experience of colour has been the greatest difference between different groups in the society. The world and people who live in were created with specific attributes and physical characteristics that differentiate them from other groups. The world has been divided into two major colours of black and white. This is the root of racism and how people have been discriminated. Racism is a widely discussed issue in many societies in the modern world. It is an issue that has been rooted in the western society as a symptom that is experienced daily in the modern society (Zong, 1994; McGuiness, 2000). The use Commission on Civil Rights, 1970 defines racism as any attitude or action that is aimed at subordinating an individual or a group based on colour. This therefore means that racism is not only based on attitudes but rather structures and actions that lead to racism. It is the notion that people of a given society posses certain physical characteristics especially those based on colour are more superior or inferior to another group. These believe is fostered by the notions that people of a particular race poses certain abilities that make them dominant over others. From a social perspective racism is the way in inferior people within the society experience discrimination based on their skin colour. Therefore racism is a form of prejudice where the opinions that people have on a particular race are based on actual experience or reasons that can be substantiated. This means that the individual subscribes to the notion of race through upholding erroneous beliefs about racial characteristics that have been used to label others. Racism is the belief that members of another race are more superior or inferior to your race. (Dunn, Forrest, Burnley, McDonald, 2004; Kobayashi Peake, 2000). This stems from stereotypes that exist within the society since they are used to justify opportunities based on the fact that an inferior group posses inferior abilities. Forms of Racial Discrimination Scholars who have studied racism have developed structural racism which focuses on normalizing and legitimizing the historical, interpersonal and institutional advantages that one group in the society has had over the other. An example can be in the US and Australia where the white population had better privileges as compared to the less privileged society. This therefore forms a system of hierarchy inequality and hierarchy that has been characterised by supremacy of the white population. This supremacy leads to differential treatment, power and privileges of the defined dominant race (Carlos 2012). On the other hand individual racism lies within the individual and the manifestations that the individual holds within the self. These may include prejudice, internalized oppression and the dominance culture of a particular race. Institutional racism lies within the institutions in the society. It is seen in the discriminatory treatment in terms of unfair policies and inequalities that ar e based race that is produced by institutions. Therefore a racist society is seen as a society where social policies, decisions and procedures that give privileges to one group of society while denying another group the same privileges. However there are other forms of racial discrimination that may include internalized racism where an individual feels self hatred for individuals of a particular group. In most cases this is normally by members of the superior group who feel hatred for people from a different race or group. However colorism is based on differential treatment of people based on their colour. Whites or light skinned people are treated differentially as compared to darker skinned people. Lastly reverse discrimination is being experienced by the white population as a result of affirmative action. The need to balance the society and remove limitations to privileges has led to the establishment of affirmative action by countries that have experienced this form of discrimination. This means that the minor race in the society will be favoured by the law in many opportunities and will not actively compete like any other group. This therefore leaves the superior race discriminated due to the reverse effect. Causes of Racial Discrimination Racism has been historically caused by an instinctive reaction for species protection. Human beings are social animals and thus will want to relate to those similar to them in colour and their physical characteristics. Therefore when a new group tends to intrude into social space and threatens to harm certain attributes that are important to the group like culture, family, identity or territory, then the reaction to this new group is the beginning of racism. The migration of the British and Irish people to Australia threatened the existing indigenous communities and thus the groups had to regroup due t inferiority. This fear of loss means the inferior group seeks protection makes the aces see a difference between themselves (Bonilla-Silva, 1997). However Symbolic interactionists argue that racism is constructed when two different groups meet for the first time. In the first contact due to different status between these two people, conflict arise where one group see itself as superior and the other inferior. Functionalist theorists argue that ethnicity and race are functional within the society and contribute to the stability of the society. Thus they argue that minority races or groups within the society need to be assimilated into the larger group so that they can get away from discrimination (Bergerson, 2003; Gillborn, 2006). In Australia racial discrimination is slowly fading due to the intermarriage between different races in the country. On the other hand symbolic interactionists suggest that social interaction reduces the inequalities that exist between groups. Effects of Racial Discrimination The biggest effect of racism is stigma which leads to racial discrimination within the society. Stigma is characterised by the failure of the inferior race in the society to progress in many areas of the society. This therefore gives birth to prejudice which further spreads racism within the society. This means that the effects of racism and stigma become embedded deep in the society making it difficult to address these effects. MacKinnon (2004) argues that racism is used in distribution of resources and marginalising one group over the other. Therefore racism should be understood as something that many people in the society go through daily. The Aboriginal population of Australia have been racially discriminated in many aspects of life. This is because the ideologies and social prejudices that are used to build racism do a lot of damage to those affected. Anderson, Attwood Howard (2004) argue that racism leads to stereotyping of groups within the society that affects them in several ways. In Australia the Aboriginal population has been associated with the negative characteristics like alcoholism, addiction and unemployment and violence. The Aboriginal population has thus survived in Australia based on their dependence on the federal government. This degrades and increases the stereotyping that the Aboriginal face within the larger Australia. This has further been increased by the Racism builds social hierarchies within the society that are based on the racial definitions and discriminations within the society. Smith (2001), suggest that throughout many societies, particular groups have been discriminated by others where Foucault stated that it can be expressed in simple ways like colonialism which deprives a particular race of its resources and opportunities. This affects the well being of the deprived groups Victims of racism have been characterised as being anxious, angry and bitter. In extreme cases these reactions lead to violence directed towards the groups that is seen as being superior to the other group being discriminated. These cases have been mostly reported in the US where the blacks have been reported as being violent and arrogant. The violence and arrogance is a result of inferiority complex and a way of protection. Furthermore these reactions lead to deep discrimination and treatment of the inferior races by institutions. This leads to racial profiling in some regions that is aimed at cutting down violence and crime. However racial profiling leads to the disproportional targeting of the inferior race in the society and thus making them to pay for actions that they may have not committed (Blair, 2008). How Racism can be Prevented Legislation through affirmative action has been seen as one of the best way that can be used to address racism. Since racism is attributed to social inequality and differential access to opportunities, then the best way to address these inequalities through affirmative action that will give the underprivileged a platform to compete with the superior race (Forrest Dunn, 2006). Bonilla (2006) argues that the best way to do away with racism is through adequate socialisation of different groups within the society. This is because in many societies where racism is still being reported, research has shown that the racism traits are deeply embedded in the social structure of the society which makes it difficult for them to e addressed through legislation. Barth (1998) further suggests that legislation may not be the ultimate solution since many cases of racial discrimination are not reported. Extreme cases of racism are dealt with by the individual through violence or any other form that can be used to counter. Due to lack of reporting, it means that the law cannot adequately protect those who are being discriminated. On the other hand the system of legislation may also be full of racism sympathisers who may respond as required on cases of racism. Reseach Designand Methodology Introduction This chapter looks at the methodology that will be used in carrying out the research. It analyses the research design to be used in the research, the target population, sample and sample size and then how the research will collect data. It will also look at methods of analysing the collected data. Research Design The research design adopted by a researcher is the overall summary of how the researcher will carry out research, how data will be collected and the sources and tools used in the research (Creswell, 2003). This research will use the survey design in carrying out research.. The cross sectional survey design will be adopted to enable collection of data from different categories of people and to describe the effects of racial prejudice and stereotyping within the society. The researcher will base on the views of the respondents from questionnaires and interviews backed up by secondary data to drive conclusions. Target Population The researcher targets 320 respondents that will be picked from different locations. The respondents will come from a diverse population to allow gathering adequate data. The respondents will be picked from open public facilities that have free access. Table one: Target population Categories of groups Frequency Percentage Young males 80 25 Young females 80 25 Old males 80 25 Old females 80 25 Total 320 100 Sample size A sample is part of the whole population that the researcher targets which is drawn from the larger population to ease data collection and analysis. In this case, a sample size of 30 people will be sampled. Thus 10% of the target population will be part of the research. Table two: Sample size Categories of groups targeted Target population Sample size percentage Sample size Young males 80 10 8 Young females 80 10 8 Old males 80 10 8 Old females 80 10 8 Total 320 10 32 Sampling Techniques Sampling techniques are used to ensure that the researcher eliminates biasness and gives an opportunity for the population to participate. This study draws samples from several groups of respondents who are involved in public recreation centres. According to research responses that are generated through self reports by respondents have generated accurate results and thus a questionnaire becomes the best tool for gathering data. (Allan Emma, 2007). The researcher will use stratified sampling and simple random sampling in data collection process. In stratified sampling the researcher will divide the respondents in four groups or rather strata that will be young males, young females, old male adults and old female adults. In each stratum the researcher will use simple random sampling to get the number of respondents to be part of the research study. Data Collection Instruments Various sources will be used to collect data. That is primary and secondary sources. The primary source will provide the first hand data directly from respondents. Information will carefully be chosen basing on respondents category to guard against biased information. The secondary data will include literature that will be gotten from published journals, books, and others. Internet based information available on different web sites was also used. Data collection methods and tools will include Internet based data; internet surfing and down loads from the available websites. Documentary based data include library reading and research from deferent text of different scholars, journals (Geoff .and Judy, 2007). Questionnaires are prepared and will be sent to selected respondents. The researcher comprehensively explains to the respondents the purpose of the study within the questionnaire. They are a mixture of closed and open ended and semi structured question. Validity and Reliability of Research Instruments. Content validity will assist the researcher to determine the validity of the data. The researcher will be assisted by the supervisor to review the research tools and suggest a few adaptations if need be. Content validity of the refined items including the modified items will be examined by my research supervisor to identify errors and gaps within the research. The researcher will evaluate the items to be used in the research to determine their validity and ability to deliver relevant data to the research. In testing reliability of a research instrument a pre-test method will be conducted whereby a few respondents will be selected and given questionnaires in order to detect, eliminate and to determine whether the questionnaires have the ability to provide desired results. Data Analysis The researcher will adopt both qualitative and quantitative analysis of data to understand the problem and draw conclusions. The data collected will be arranged and edited to ensure accuracy, relevance, consistency, reliability and completeness of the findings. 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