Public Opinion: Human Rights Messaging Recommendations (2009)

How to Discuss Specific Social Justice Issues within a Human Rights Framework: Public Opinion Research Findings

Overview and Findings
The Opportunity Agenda completed in-depth public opinion research in spring 2009 to help advocates in building understanding and support for human rights at home. Through a series of focus group discussions, we examined attitudes toward human rights, and how to discuss a range of social justice issues within the context of human rights. Specifically, we looked at:

• Attitudes and effective messages on human rights in the U.S. and international treaties;
• The potential of utilizing a human rights framework in communicating on health care, due process, immigration, racial profiling, and life without parole for young people;
• Latent barriers to such communications including U.S. exceptionalism, confusion about treaties, and the role of government.

This project builds upon 2007 benchmark research for The Opportunity Agenda on Americans’ attitudes toward human rights (PDF). The audiences for these focus groups were identified from the 2007 project as being the most receptive to human rights messaging and likely targets for communications (see the cluster analysis for more - PDF).  For this latest round of research, we again contracted with Belden Russonello & Stewart to conduct 16 focus group discussions in eight locations to examine these audiences’ attitudes toward five social justice issues—immigration, health care, due process, life without parole for young people, and racial justice—within the context of human rights. The goal of the project was to examine the potential for using a human rights framework in communicating on these issues.

We found that these audiences generally see human rights as the rights you have by virtue of being born. However, as the discussions move from initial reactions to the phrase “human rights” to more in-depth discussions of applying human rights to a range of social justice issues in the United States, participants’ views of human rights become more complex. In particular, when members of the key audiences begin to distinguish between rights which are protected— freedom from torture, freedom of speech, etc.— from rights which are provided—health care, education, etc.—we begin to see some hesitation about calling the latter human rights.

Many of the participants also held a conditional view of who should have certain human rights. For example, undocumented immigrants, in the minds of most of the key audience members, have forfeited some of their human rights because they have broken the law to be in the United States. Therefore, many question, and even object to, undocumented immigrants receiving health care. There are some human rights, however, that most of the members of the key audiences believe should be guaranteed to all, including due process rights, freedom from discrimination, and freedom from mistreatment.

To request a copy of the report, e-mail contact@opportunityagenda.org. For other questions regarding the report, please contact Eleni Delimpaltadaki at eleni@opportunityagenda.org.

Downloads
Human Rights Cluster Analysis - PDF
Human Rights Messaging Recommendations Summary - PDF
Overview of Research Components - PDF

Key Social Justice Issues and Human Rights at a Glance

Issues	Human Rights Framework
Health Care	Health care, as a public good, is as essential as food and water and no one should have to go without this basic human right.
Juvenile Life Without Parole	The opportunity for rehabilitation is a human right that should be upheld for young people who commit crimes.
Racial Profiling	Violates the human rights to fair treatment and freedom from discrimination, and violates American values of fairness and justice.
Due Process	A human right central to the American justice system. American values of justice and fairness only stand strong when we uphold the human right to due process.
Immigrant Issues General (framework should be used cautiously with selected issues)	We need workable solutions to immigration issues that uphold our nation’s values and allow people who contribute and participate to live in the country legally with their human rights protected.