Racism, Neuro Science and Human Dignity: understanding the impact of racism on mental health in the context of human rights and public policies

Abstract

This article investigates the impacts of racism on human dignity from the perspective of behavioral neuroscience and human rights, proposing reflections and guidelines for effective public policies. Using a literature review and interdisciplinary critical analysis, it addresses how racism affects the mental health, cognition and behaviour of racialized individuals. It asks how racism affects the human body and brain in a measurable way, and what the social and legal implications of these effects are in the light of human dignity and fundamental rights. The Hypothesis seeks to know whether racism produces neurobiological effects comparable to those of chronic trauma, to understand whether the experience of racism compromises cognitive and emotional development, especially in childhood, as well as whether specific therapeutic interventions, combined with public policies and restorative justice, can mitigate the effects of racism. The general objective is to mitigate the impacts of racism on human dignity from a neuroscientific, legal and political approach. To this end, the specific objectives try to identify the effects of racism on the central nervous system and the human body, the social and behavioral consequences of racism, evaluate public policies and therapeutic strategies in the fight against racism and promote an interdisciplinary critical reflection on the possible ways to repair and prevent racial violence. It discusses the role of restorative justice and innovative therapeutic practices, such as Ericksonian Hypnosis, in the treatment of trauma resulting from racial discrimination. The study concludes that racism is a neurobiologically impacting, socially destructive and intergenerational phenomenon, requiring urgent political and social action to eradicate it.