NaDiRa short study: Everyday racism from the perspective of those affected

Project team:

• Marvin M. Brinkmann
• Frederic Gerdon
• Simon Kühne
• Liva Aydin
• Melina World
• Ben Fritsche

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Project description:

So far, there is little systematically collected data comparing which people are affected by which kind of discrimination. We conducted an online survey between December 2020 and January 2021 asking almost 1,800 people with a migration history how they themselves perceive migration-related discrimination. All respondents lived in Germany and were at least 18 years old. The survey allows the comparison of different groups, but is not transferable to the population as a whole, as it is not a random sample.

Results:

People with a migration history report countless experiences of discrimination - significantly more than the "classic" survey instrument, the European Social Survey, records. Most often, those affected deal with discrimination by ignoring it. The interviewees also explicitly reported intersectional discrimination that they experience, for example, as a Black person and as a woman. The younger a person is, the more likely they are to report experiences of discrimination.

The interviewees describe different numbers and types of experiences of discrimination - also depending on their country of origin. For example, respondents with a Turkish migration history report a particularly high number of experiences of discrimination, especially if they have a higher education or belong to the second generation of migration. Our findings thus underline that the group of people with a migration history is heterogeneous and that differences and inequalities must be taken into account.

Surprising insights:

Surprisingly, migrants from the first generation are more likely to feel discriminated against by the question of where they come from than those from the following generations. In open questions, the participants very often name "school", "teachers", "police" and "work" as places and actors from which they are discriminated against. Physical violence is very present in the context of discrimination and racism. Respondents experience racism almost equally from Germans as from other migrants.

Relevance for practice:

Survey research in particular can use our data to better capture experiences of discrimination in more detail. In addition, the data can be used for further exploratory research that focuses on the perspective of (potentially) discriminated people in Germany and thus draws attention to the lived experiences of these people.

Short studies in preparation for the Racism Monitor:

In order to prepare a comprehensive Racism Monitor, DeZIM called on academics from the DeZIM research community in 2020 to develop innovative study ideas. These should extend existing research projects, pursue new and innovative approaches or build an infrastructure to research racism. By 2021, more than 120 researchers at the six locations of the DeZIM research community had conducted a total of 34 short studies. These are divided into six thematic priorities:

• Health system
• Education system and labour market
• Institutional racism
• Dealing with experiences of racism
• Participation and the media
• Racist ideologies and attitudes