The Speak Out Against Racism (SOAR) project is the first large-scale population-representative study in experiences and attitudes to racism and racial bullying, and on bystander responses to racism and racial discrimination among Australian students in government schools in New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria.

SOAR consists of two components:

• a population-representative survey on the experiences, attitudes and intended behaviours of year 5–9 students in NSW and Victorian schools, and their teachers, in relation to racism and racial bullying, prosocial behaviour, bystander responses, health and wellbeing, and school connectedness

• piloting and evaluation of a school-based bystander intervention program to encourage students and teachers to act when they witness racism and racial bullying.

This report presents findings of SOAR’s first component.

SOAR was funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage grant. It is led by the Australian National University, together with Western Sydney University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Technology Sydney and Deakin University, in partnership with the NSW Department of Education, the Victorian Department of Education and Training, and the Australian Human Rights Commission.