Characteristics of the Experience of Racial Discrimination among University Students

Abstract

The aim was to analyze the experience of racial discrimination suffered by university students. This is an exploratory, descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach and 751 participants. It was carried out in five public and private higher education institutions in the state of Ceará, Brazil, from September to December 2023. The instrument used was the Scale of Experiences of Racial Discrimination and the sociodemographic profile questionnaire. The identification and approach to the research took place online and in person. The majority of the participants were female, 52.5%; with an average age of 22.8; with a predominance of brown people, 58.5%; with a family income of one to two minimum wages, 36.9%; and the Catholic religion predominated, 59.4%. With regard to unfair treatment related to racial discrimination, it was observed that the participants said they took some action when they were treated unfairly, such as talking to other people. With regard to feeling unfairly treated and trying to do something about it, only 24.7% of the black population did something about it, while 21.5% kept this kind of treatment to themselves. In addition, experiences of racial discrimination among university students showed that 81.7% of the black population had experienced discrimination. Concerns about racial discrimination among students were observed at around 80.6% in the last year, with 91.4% expressing concern about the racial group and 90.3% showing self-concern about unfair treatment. In addition, 4.3% of the black population has already filed a police complaint, while 95.7% of the black population has never filed a complaint, a fact that shows that there are still major vulnerabilities currently experienced as a result of racial discrimination among university students.