6 Upstanding and privilege
A great deal of violence – direct, cultural and structural – is identity-based. Developing peace competencies can equip children and young people to be upstanders for their own rights and those of others. The ‘Facing History and Ourselves’ website records how the term ‘upstander’ became included in the Oxford and Merriam-Webster Dictionaries (US versions) after a campaign by two US High School students (FHAO, 2015). The dictionary now defines an upstander as: ‘A person who speaks or acts in support of a cause, esp. one who intervenes on behalf of a person being attacked or bullied’ (OED, 2024).
The concept of privilege helps people understand the ways in which some people may gain an advantage over others owing to an aspect of their identity, such as race or gender. The book Know Your Rights and Claim Them: A Guide for Youth explains that:
Being aware of privileges, whatever they are, helps us understand difference and why some people don’t enjoy the same opportunities as others. It makes it easier to identify and challenge discrimination, which lies at the heart of many abuses of rights all over the world.
Identity is complex and multifaceted, and privilege works in different ways for different aspects of identity in different times and spaces. A critical and informed understanding of the ways that privilege works in different contexts can support upstanding, enabling people to actively recognise and counter inequalities and injustices which might arise in everyday life.