Identifying types of race-based discrimination
Activity
This activity provides the mechanism for participants to explore race-based
discrimination. The aim of this activity is to raise participants’ awareness of the
different types of race-based discrimination and the contexts in which race-based
discrimination can occur. The activity presents examples of obvious and hidden race
based discrimination, at interpersonal, societal and organisational levels.
This activity is adapted from training material produced by the Victorian Equal
Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) and is used with permission.
VEOHRC recommends that this activity is conducted by facilitators who have
experience in the delivery of anti-racism training.
VEOHRC can provide more information about people’s rights under the Equal
Opportunity Act 2010, the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 and the Charter
of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act (2006).
The Commission can be contacted on [email protected]
Activity objectives:
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
Participants will discuss hidden and obvious race-based discrimination (RBD).
Participants will explore the interpersonal, societal and organisational contexts
where race-based discrimination can occur and the connections between them.
Resources required:


Laminated worksheets
Coloured post-it notes scenarios
Suggested time: 25 minutes
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Five minutes for instructions and for forming small groups
Ten minutes for matching exercise
Five minutes for small groups to report back
Five minutes for larger group discussion and wrapping up
Facilitator instructions:
1. Participants are divided into small groups and given laminated sheets and
colored post-it notes scenarios.
2. Small groups are asked to match the colored post it note scenario to the
categories of race based discrimination on the laminated worksheet. Each
group is asked to nominate a representative who will report back to the larger
group.
3. When activity is complete, group representatives report back on how the group
matched the scenarios and the reasons for their decision.
4. Facilitator conducts whole group discussion around the similarities and
differences in the overall placement of the post it notes, noting the different
perceptions that may be present between the groups. To wrap up, the facilitator
summarises key messages and thanks participants for their contribution.
Key messages

Race-based discrimination happens in many different ways.
 Not everyone thinks or feels the same way about race-based discrimination.
 Sometimes race-based discrimination is against the law and people have rights
under the law.
 Hidden race-based discrimination can have the same harmful effects on people
as obvious discrimination.
Race-based discrimination can happen at all levels in daily life and requires different
strategies to respond to it.
Types of RBD
20 Questions
(race-based discrimination)

Societal
Organisational

Interpersonal
Obvious
Hidden
A local councillor says
to an African
community leader,
“You should be very
proud. You are a credit
to your race!”
The boss at a local
textile factory will not
read any job
applications from
people with African,
Indian or Asian
sounding names.
A son argues with his
mother because she
refuses to buy him an
expensive pair of shoes.
He says to her “you better
be nice to me, in
Australia, kids have rights
and I will move out”.
A resident at an aged
care facility refuses to
be cared for by a Karen
worker and shouts
racial abuse every time
he enters his room.
A local hospital asks a
9-year old grandson to
translate important
information about
treatment options
available to his
grandmother.
A real estate agent asks
a Karen family to pay 3
times the amount of
bond required, because
they have so many
young children who may
damage the property.
An Afghan man is
given all the worst
jobs at the factory he
works at because his
boss thinks the man
will do anything to
earn a living for his
family.
A newly arrived Tamil
refugee is told she is a
‘bad mother’ by a local
dentist who is treating
her child for dental
cavities.
A neighbour abuses a
newly arrived refugee
woman and her children.
She writes ‘Asians go
home’ on her window.
A Sudanese woman
with a double pram
and 5 children boards
a bus, and the driver
tells her she better
keep her “tribe under
control” or she will get
kicked off.
An Australian
storeowner, who has
Italian heritage, tells an
Eritrean customer that
the racism here is not
as bad as when his
grandparents arrived
50 years ago.
A woman speaks to a
customer service operator
and is told to get a friend
to call back later as the
operator cannot
understand what she is
saying.
A Vietnamese woman
is abused by another
passenger on a train.
Other people on the
train do nothing whilst
this is happening.
A sporting club’s
management and
coaches are from one
cultural background,
even though many of
the players are from
culturally diverse
backgrounds.
An Iraqi man works in
a factory and is called
“Saddam” by his
fellow workers. Their
manager doesn’t do
anything to stop this.
An Aboriginal woman
collapses on a busy
street. She is ignored
by other pedestrians
for five hours.
A six-year old Indian
student is told by her
classmates, “we don’t
want to play with you
because you have dirty
skin”
A newspaper headline
reads “Asian student
wins top maths awards
– again!”
Used with permission of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
Your use of this resource is subject to our Creative Commons License