Specifically, focusing on 'A Critical Review of ‘An ‘Invisible’ Problem? Uncovering the Nature of Racist Victimisation in Rural Suffolk’ by N. Chakraborti and J. Garland.' Over 1,500 words, complete with a full reference list.
A Critical Review of ‘An ‘Invisible’ Problem? Uncovering the Nature of Racist Victimisation
in Rural Suffolk’ by N. Chakraborti and J. Garland.
Word count: 1648/1500
This paper will be critically reviewing the article: ‘An ‘Invisible’ Problem? Uncovering the Nature of
Racist Victimisation in Rural Suffolk.’ by N. Chakraborti and J. Garland (2003) 10 which explores the
impact of power relations concerning race through the experiences and perceptions of members of
ethnic minority groups and white citizens in rural Suffolk. The predominant issue of interest being
racist victimisation and understanding, the extent to which racist victimisation is still an existent
ever-growing issue in society and why, in this context, it is constantly falling under the radar. The
article suggests that in recent years, many infamous attacks on members of BME groups, due to
racial disparities, has sparked social rebellion. Chakraborti and Garland determine to solely theorise
through their qualitative and quantitative primary research, how, despite the productive outcome of
potent race related policies, catalysed by events from the Stephen Lawrence case (1997) to the
Oldham riots (2001); many rural areas have been neglected regarding racial equality. The author
refers to these areas as a ‘white landscape’, too obscure to be prioritised in the political field, and
explores why they harbour such a mass of under-reporting and lack of peer support groups when
concerning victimisation. This paper will be reviewing how the article draws conclusions from its
research in distinguishing which factors contribute towards such toleration of victimised crime, as
well as its theoretical proposition on encouraging community cohesion and transparency among
victims.
The primary research was comprised of semi-structured qualitative interviews with victims and
perpetrators of racially aggravated offences and postal questionnaire surveys, producing descriptive-
rich data to understand the extent of racism and how the government and agencies are responding.
This helped ensure that the research is omniscient and non-biased as it gains credibility from serval
perspectives. The author tactfully uses this data as a foundation to formulate his argument that
there is an unrecognised unconscious racial bias, which has become so deeply ingrained in our
society’s structure. The findings support the hypothesis and white civilian interviews suggest racism
victimisation has begun to manifest into implicit racism.
The paper specifically revolves around the key theme of race and introduces the initial theory of race
related policies and implementations such as the publication of ‘The MacPherson Report’ (1999).
Debating, that although it did highlight the racial nature of many crimes, it is less impacting in rural
demographics as there is a lower population and therefore, less representation of those from a
minority ethnic background. There are various studies which support this theory, and suggest
contributing factors such as underfunding, lack of resources, “physical and social isolation, a lack of
support services for victims, rural culture and poor transport may all exacerbate its impact in rural
areas”3 (Lawtey et al, 2000) and ultimately increase the potential for racist victimisation.
The MacPherson Report, states that ““Institutional Racism” consists of the collective failure of an
organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour,
culture, or ethnic origin.” (Macpherson, 1999) 1 indicating a lack of available services advocating
cultural awareness and placing BME at a pre-existing societal disadvantage. The article reflects this in
the responses obtained in the interviews, with 75% of BME having experienced racial harassment.
This implants a “fear of racial harassment can restrict people's freedom in terms of their willingness”
as well as feelings of isolation which contributes to adopting mental health issues. The article
1
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