Culture of Silence

A characteristic of oppressed people in colonized countries who do not have a voice in their society. The dominant culture silences the oppressed through the cultural transmission of discourses in schools and other institutions that support its hegemony and through ignoring or demonizing other discourses that might challenge its authority. As a result, oppressed people learn to internalize negative images of themselves. Because they are not taught the tools of critical inquiry that would allow them to challenge these false representations, they remain passive and silent.

Reference

http://mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/~stevens/critped/terms.htm