Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia
Racial discrimination is a pervasive global problem. Bystanders who observe racism can intervene to support the targets of racism, but they often fail to do so due to several context-specific barriers. There is currently little research on bystander behaviour in racism outside of English-speaking co...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Global Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17441692.2025.2453879 |
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| author | Minna Lyons Gayle Brewer Maria Ines Gandolfo Conceição Ana Lucía Jaramillo-Sierra Maria Fernanda Reyes-Rodriguez |
| author_facet | Minna Lyons Gayle Brewer Maria Ines Gandolfo Conceição Ana Lucía Jaramillo-Sierra Maria Fernanda Reyes-Rodriguez |
| author_sort | Minna Lyons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Racial discrimination is a pervasive global problem. Bystanders who observe racism can intervene to support the targets of racism, but they often fail to do so due to several context-specific barriers. There is currently little research on bystander behaviour in racism outside of English-speaking countries. We used mixed methods to explore bystander responses to everyday racism in Colombia. In an online survey, participants (N = 1,157) were presented with a scenario where they observed racist behaviour as a bystander. Subsequently, they were asked to respond to a series of open and closed questions. Quantitative findings suggested that knowledge on how to act was predicted by confidence and responsibility; responsibility was predicted by ethnicity (being non-mestizo), confidence, noticing the event, and feeling more uncomfortable; and confidence was predicted by noticing the event, feeling less uncomfortable and more responsible. In the analysis of the qualitative data, we identified six themes. These were (i) Bystander characteristics and circumstances; (ii) Bystander morality and attitudes towards racism; (iii) Clarity of the situation; (iv) Perceived need and deservedness; (v) Presence of authorities and other people, and (vi) Consequences of action: Safety to the bystander. We discuss these findings in relation to racism in the Colombian context. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-07fe4e03e9554f1eb9e62b833c4a0f36 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1744-1692 1744-1706 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-07fe4e03e9554f1eb9e62b833c4a0f362025-01-26T18:31:05ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGlobal Public Health1744-16921744-17062025-12-0120110.1080/17441692.2025.2453879Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in ColombiaMinna Lyons0Gayle Brewer1Maria Ines Gandolfo Conceição2Ana Lucía Jaramillo-Sierra3Maria Fernanda Reyes-Rodriguez4School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UKSchool of Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UKInstitute of Psychology, University of Brasilia, Brasilia, BrazilDepartment of Psychology, University of Los Andes, Bogota, ColombiaDepartment of Psychology, University of Los Andes, Bogota, ColombiaRacial discrimination is a pervasive global problem. Bystanders who observe racism can intervene to support the targets of racism, but they often fail to do so due to several context-specific barriers. There is currently little research on bystander behaviour in racism outside of English-speaking countries. We used mixed methods to explore bystander responses to everyday racism in Colombia. In an online survey, participants (N = 1,157) were presented with a scenario where they observed racist behaviour as a bystander. Subsequently, they were asked to respond to a series of open and closed questions. Quantitative findings suggested that knowledge on how to act was predicted by confidence and responsibility; responsibility was predicted by ethnicity (being non-mestizo), confidence, noticing the event, and feeling more uncomfortable; and confidence was predicted by noticing the event, feeling less uncomfortable and more responsible. In the analysis of the qualitative data, we identified six themes. These were (i) Bystander characteristics and circumstances; (ii) Bystander morality and attitudes towards racism; (iii) Clarity of the situation; (iv) Perceived need and deservedness; (v) Presence of authorities and other people, and (vi) Consequences of action: Safety to the bystander. We discuss these findings in relation to racism in the Colombian context.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17441692.2025.2453879Barriersbystander interventionColombiafacilitatorsracismSDG 3: Good health and wellbeing |
| spellingShingle | Minna Lyons Gayle Brewer Maria Ines Gandolfo Conceição Ana Lucía Jaramillo-Sierra Maria Fernanda Reyes-Rodriguez Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia Global Public Health Barriers bystander intervention Colombia facilitators racism SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing |
| title | Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia |
| title_full | Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia |
| title_fullStr | Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia |
| title_short | Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in Colombia |
| title_sort | barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention in response to racism in colombia |
| topic | Barriers bystander intervention Colombia facilitators racism SDG 3: Good health and wellbeing |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17441692.2025.2453879 |
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