Short expert report on reaction behaviour in the case of racist discrimination

The study systematically examined how people respond to experiences of racist discrimination—whether they resist, file lawsuits, submit complaints, contact the media, or refrain from reacting. It analyzed specific contextual factors of the discriminatory situation, including the life domain (e.g., work, education, public offices and authorities), the relationship between perpetrators and those affected, the form of discrimination (social degradation versus material disadvantage), the presence of solidarity from third parties, and the immediate reaction during the incident itself.

Previous studies have generally examined responses to discrimination without differentiating by specific discrimination characteristics, contextual factors, or sociodemographic backgrounds. This short expert report addressed this gap by systematically analyzing how concrete situational settings—such as hierarchical relationships, institutional contexts, or the presence of supportive bystanders—shape response behavior. It provides differentiated findings for groups by migration background, countries of origin, and gender.

The central aim was to generate empirically grounded insights into how people affected by racist discrimination can be better supported in enforcing their rights. The study sought to identify the structural and situational factors that encourage or discourage individuals from taking action against discrimination. Based on these findings, concrete policy recommendations were developed for politics, anti-discrimination counseling, and legal enforcement at the federal and state levels. Another goal was to highlight differences across life domains and affected groups.

The study consisted of two modules. Module I comprised a quantitative special analysis of the dataset “Experiences of Discrimination in Germany” collected by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (2015), including 2,528 cases of racist discrimination. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the effects of contextual factors on response strategies, reasons for non-response, and the consequences of taking action. Module II consisted of a workshop held in November 2020 with civil society actors from anti-racism initiatives and victim support organizations. The findings were jointly reflected upon and translated into practical recommendations that combine scientific evidence with hands-on professional experience.

For the first time, the study systematically examined how the specific situational setting of discrimination—such as hierarchical relationships or the presence of supportive third parties—influences response behavior.

To provide empirically grounded insights into how those affected can be better supported in enforcing their rights, and to derive policy and counseling recommendations from these findings.

The core of the project was a quantitative special analysis of 2,528 cases of racist discrimination (ADS dataset 2015) using logistic regression models. In addition, a workshop with civil society actors was held in November 2020 to reflect on the findings and to develop practical recommendations.

The study shows that the majority of people affected by racist discrimination take no action afterward (around 42%). Only about one quarter (24%) pursue strategic countermeasures, while approximately 18% seek support.

Key findings:

• Solidarity matters: Support from bystanders increases the likelihood of active confrontation by 22 percentage points (from 48% to 70%) and of strategic countermeasures by 9 percentage points.
• Life domains matter: Strategic responses are most common in education (33%) and healthcare, while discrimination in public offices and authorities is less frequently challenged (22%) despite formal complaint mechanisms. Support-seeking is more common in work and education than in leisure, public spaces, or housing.
• Form of discrimination: Social degradation more often leads to avoidance strategies than material disadvantage. Countermeasures are particularly common in cases of racist insults and denial of rights.
• Immediate reaction: Those who respond actively during the discriminatory incident are 19 percentage points more likely to take follow-up action.
• Consequences: Only 19% experience positive outcomes (e.g. apologies, redress), while 26% experience negative consequences, such as repeated discrimination. Positive outcomes are especially rare in cases of material disadvantage.
• Reasons for non-response: The main barriers are lack of knowledge about options (35%), fear of negative consequences (39%), emotional burden (34%), and low expectations of success (59%).