Human Rights Familiarity and Socio-Economic Status: A Four-Country Study

SUR - International Journal On Human Rights, v. 11, n. 20, Jun./Dec. 2014

33 Pages Posted: 23 Jan 2015

See all articles by James Ron

James Ron

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities; Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) - Division of International Studies

David Crow

Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE)

Shannon Golden

University of Notre Dame

Date Written: January 21, 2015

Abstract

After decades of mobilization and advocacy, how familiar are ordinary people with human rights, and how is this familiarity shaped by socio-economic status? We explore these questions with new data from the Human Rights Perception Polls, representative surveys conducted in four countries. We find that public exposure to the term “human rights” is high in Colombia, Mexico and parts of Morocco, but more moderate in and around Mumbai, India. The public’s rate of personal contact with rights activists, workers and volunteers, however, is much more limited. For both indicators, moreover, socio-economic status is a meaningful statistical predictor. People who are more educated, wealthier, reside in urban areas and enjoy Internet access also tend to be more familiar with the term “human rights,” and to have met a human rights worker, activist, or volunteer. These findings should concern human rights strategists keen to promote ties with the poor. To address this challenge, human rights groups should develop more popularly oriented models of engagement and resource mobilization.

Keywords: Survey data, Human rights, Public opinion, Morocco, Mexico, India, Colombia, Elites, Grassroots

Suggested Citation

Ron, James and Crow, David and Golden, Shannon, Human Rights Familiarity and Socio-Economic Status: A Four-Country Study (January 21, 2015). SUR - International Journal On Human Rights, v. 11, n. 20, Jun./Dec. 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2553365

James Ron (Contact Author)

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities ( email )

Minneapolis, MN
United States

Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) - Division of International Studies ( email )

Mexico City
Mexico

David Crow

Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE) ( email )

Circuito Tecnopolo Norte 117
Col. Tecnopolo Pocitos II
Aguascalientes, 20313
Mexico

Shannon Golden

University of Notre Dame ( email )

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
100 Hesburgh Center for International Studies
Notre Dame, IN 46556
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
49
Abstract Views
497
PlumX Metrics