I’m working on a criminal justice discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

“…we may not even realize that the actions we are carrying out may be harmful”. I think this is true in many professional settings.

For example, in health care a majority group provider might not recognize the struggles that may influence a person of color differently from a majority group individual. “Put most simply, being without resources and the perpetual object of discrimination makes life more stressful and, in turn, increases the risks of disease, instability, and breakdown” (Diller, 2019, p. 219).  

A provider who does not face daily discrimination may not recognize that stress would be an underlying and constant issue for a person of color. The provider may agree with this concept, but they may not think of it when first working with a person of color. This automatically places this client ‘behind’ a majority group client, creating a disparity.  

As a future provider, how can we keep these disparities at the forefront of our minds to best assist our clients?  

Diller, J. V. (2019).?Cultural diversity: A primer for the human services?(6th ed.). Brooks/Cole.