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| home | news lThe many faces of violence committed against and within Aboriginal communities must be addressed19 May 2006 - The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association - Media Release - As a group of professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors we categorically defend our children’s right to be safe and protected. We urge our fellow Australians and Government to be constructive, careful and considered in responding to issues of violence against and within our communities. Over the last few days, we have been talking with our people across the country – our men, our women, our children and our elders, as well as our colleagues and peers. We are concerned by interpretations of Aboriginal violence in the media which could seem to suggest we need to choose between the protections of our children and the protection of our culture. This would be a false choice. In traditional Aboriginal culture ‘children are seen as a gift, they are precious and everyone in the community is responsible for nurturing and protecting them, as they are the direct link with our ancestors and our future’. Our culture deeply cherishes our children. Violence against children is NOT and never has been a part of Aboriginal culture. It is abhorrent and wrong and should be dealt with swiftly by the law. Aboriginal people have been calling on Governments and pleading for urgent action against violence for over twenty years. We have been a part of the taskforces, the summits and the working groups and we have contributed to the reports, the frameworks and recommendations. We have stood side by side with the leaders and elders. Our communities have tried to take responsibility. But the reports and recommendations remain on the shelves. And the police remain hundreds of kilometers away. What has triggered the media frenzy and government outrage this time around, when our people have struggled to have these issues recognised for decades? If this issue is so concerning to the Australian Government - why was it not a top priority in the 2006 Budget? Meanwhile our grandmothers and grandfathers, aunties and uncles are dying, disregarded and broken hearted. Aboriginal people have the poorest health and highest mortality rates of any Indigenous minority in a first world country and are dying nearly twenty years earlier than non-Indigenous Australians. Many Aboriginal people have barely had access to, let alone finished, basic schooling. And less than half the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population are in mainstream employment. Little more than thirty years ago, thousands of Aboriginal children were still being removed to institutions and foster homes, far from their families, their communities and their culture. As noted in the Bringing Them Home Report, 1997, many of these children were emotionally, physically and sexually abused in their new environments. The impact on the children, families and the communities has been far reaching and continues to be felt today.
What is being done to support community efforts to reconnect with Aboriginal men, many of whom are struggling to find their place in contemporary Australian society? Where are the programs that address the health, social and emotional well-being of Aboriginal men and boys and provide them with a good foundation for positive and healthy living? Where are the mental health services and resources to deal with alcohol and substance abuse? Those at risk of or experiencing abuse must be urgently protected at all costs. This is a non-negotiable requirement. Furthermore, what will be done to support communities to prevent these acts of violence from occurring in the first place? If we genuinely want to address violence within some of our Aboriginal communities, we have to come to terms with these broader social, emotional, cultural and political issues. Necessary reporting, protection of those that speak out and prosecution of those committing acts of abuse must occur. But these actions will not solve the deeper underlying issues. Aboriginal people recognise this and have been calling on governments to take action on violence and its underlying issues for decades. For example, in the: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Task Force on Violence Report, 1999 Failure to implement recommendations from the numerous reports and inquiries whilst continuing the stereotyping, marginalisation and criminalisation of Aboriginal peoples, the denigration of culture and the undermining of Aboriginal families is part of the ongoing destruction of our communities. This is the fundamental violence committed against Aboriginal people that breeds violence among Aboriginal people. Indifference to suffering and failure to act appropriately will result in the continuing implosion and devastation of our communities. Allowing this to continue perpetuates the destructive impacts of past policies. We cannot let this situation continue. Our children deserve to live happy, healthy, productive lives with the people they love, in families that protect and celebrate them, and in doing so, their culture. The time for action is now. Our organisation, the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA), is committed to working with others, in particular Government, to find solutions. Yaga Bugaul Dungun Source: Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA)
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