When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime
Contrary to the image of Sweden as a tolerant, colour-blind and non-racial country, which is based on the narrative of a country for instance associated with solidarity with the so-called Third World; in this article we argue that racial attributes, e.g. visible differences, account for people’s dif...
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Cogitatio
2014-04-01
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doaj-d5da7daea1c7421388868b155d7c9dba2020-11-24T21:08:42ZengCogitatioSocial Inclusion2183-28032014-04-012111110.17645/si.v2i1.3114When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate CrimeBerit Wigerfelt0Anders S. Wigerfelt1Jenny Kiiskinen2Malmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, Malmö University, 205 06 Malmö, SwedenMalmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, Malmö University, 205 06 Malmö, SwedenMalmö Institute for Studies of Migration, Diversity and Welfare, Malmö University, 205 06 Malmö, SwedenContrary to the image of Sweden as a tolerant, colour-blind and non-racial country, which is based on the narrative of a country for instance associated with solidarity with the so-called Third World; in this article we argue that racial attributes, e.g. visible differences, account for people’s different life possibilities and circumstances in Swedish society. This article explores and discusses whether, and if so why, people who belong to the group that is categorised as “non-white”, with an emphasis on Afroswedes, and depicted as racially different, experience being targets of diverse variations of bias-based policing, harassment and hate crime. Theories relating to colonial stereotypes, racism, doing difference, the geography of hate, race/ethnicity profiling and intersectionality are used to analyse our material. Based on individual and focus group interviews with “non-whites”, this article discusses how visible differences are highlighted in different kinds of social contexts. The interview results show that people with dark skin are often targets of different kinds of private and public policing based on race- and ethnicity profiling that often occurs on or near borders/boundaries. When those who are targets of racial harassment and exclusion resist such treatment, e.g. by crossing borders/boundaries, they are at risk of becoming victims of hate crime.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/31bordershate crimeprivate policingpublic policingrace and ethnicity profiling |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Berit Wigerfelt Anders S. Wigerfelt Jenny Kiiskinen |
spellingShingle |
Berit Wigerfelt Anders S. Wigerfelt Jenny Kiiskinen When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime Social Inclusion borders hate crime private policing public policing race and ethnicity profiling |
author_facet |
Berit Wigerfelt Anders S. Wigerfelt Jenny Kiiskinen |
author_sort |
Berit Wigerfelt |
title |
When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime |
title_short |
When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime |
title_full |
When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime |
title_fullStr |
When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime |
title_full_unstemmed |
When Colour Matters: Policing and Hate Crime |
title_sort |
when colour matters: policing and hate crime |
publisher |
Cogitatio |
series |
Social Inclusion |
issn |
2183-2803 |
publishDate |
2014-04-01 |
description |
Contrary to the image of Sweden as a tolerant, colour-blind and non-racial country, which is based on the narrative of a country for instance associated with solidarity with the so-called Third World; in this article we argue that racial attributes, e.g. visible differences, account for people’s different life possibilities and circumstances in Swedish society. This article explores and discusses whether, and if so why, people who belong to the group that is categorised as “non-white”, with an emphasis on Afroswedes, and depicted as racially different, experience being targets of diverse variations of bias-based policing, harassment and hate crime. Theories relating to colonial stereotypes, racism, doing difference, the geography of hate, race/ethnicity profiling and intersectionality are used to analyse our material. Based on individual and focus group interviews with “non-whites”, this article discusses how visible differences are highlighted in different kinds of social contexts. The interview results show that people with dark skin are often targets of different kinds of private and public policing based on race- and ethnicity profiling that often occurs on or near borders/boundaries. When those who are targets of racial harassment and exclusion resist such treatment, e.g. by crossing borders/boundaries, they are at risk of becoming victims of hate crime. |
topic |
borders hate crime private policing public policing race and ethnicity profiling |
url |
https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/31 |
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