1. ¹Research Fellow, Scarman Centre, University of Leicester; email: jgd@le.ac.uk
2. ²Research Officer at the Scarman Centre, University of Leicester; email: jgd@le.ac.uk

Abstract

Recent debates surrounding racialised disorder, integration and multiculturalism have resulted in increased scrutiny of the extent to which anti-racism is incorporated into statutory and voluntary agencies' working practice. However, the examination of agency responses to racism in a rural, as opposed to urban, context is often overlooked, as issues of rural racism tend mistakenly to be dismissed as relatively insignificant problems, due to the comparatively small populations of minority ethnic groups residing in rural parts of Britain.

This paper uses the findings of a recent investigation into the nature, extent and impact of racist victimisation in a rural English county to highlight the pressing need for effective intra- and inter-agency working to counter the phenomenon of rural racism. It is argued that agency responses to racist incidents in a rural setting can often be constrained by a tendency to prioritise other problems that appear more visibly in official figures, as well as by other factors that detract from the effectiveness of co-ordinated multi-agency strategies. Unless and until combating racism is seen as a central component of rural community safety work, the process of victimisation suffered by minority ethnic groups in rural areas will continue to be compounded.