IAHA Media Release- Cultural Safety and Rights of Young people
Indigenous Allied Health Australia (IAHA) is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled
organisation working to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. IAHA makes the following statement in light of recent media reports in Canberra involving the negative experiences of a young Aboriginal person, and in the broader context of policing behaviours nationally.
IAHA stands with our communities, in Canberra and across the nation, to protect our young people
and call out institutional racism, racial profiling and freedom from systemic harm. All Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander children and people have the right to have their human rights respected. The
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Convention on
the Rights of the Child provide protections and affirmations for these rights. No child should live in fear
that they do not have appropriate legal protection or that their human rights will be violated.
Too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children experience racism and bias in their daily lives.
Racism in all its forms must not be tolerated. Racism impacts the social and emotional wellbeing of
our people. Negative experiences can impact young people’s self-esteem and confidence, as well as
their future educational, training and career outcomes.
It is critical to social and emotional wellbeing that culturally safe, trauma-aware and healing-informed
services and support are provided to our communities, and particularly our young people. Such
services must be culturally safe and responsive to the individual needs of young people and their
families.
In this context, it is imperative that this young person receives the required care and support to heal
from this experience. Health and social outcomes improve when young people have access to strong
cultural support, community connections and safe pathways, and this is especially important for those
who have had contact with the justice system. We stand with the family of the young person in their
request for access to trauma counselling and healing.
Priority Reform 3 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, commits all governments to systemic
and structural transformation to improve accountability and respond to the needs of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people. Despite this progress is slow, with data showing that experiences of racial
prejudice in Australia remains unacceptably high.
Donna Murray, IAHA Chief Executive Officer and proud Wiradyuri and Wonnarua woman, states:
“Our communities need to be safe. We need to know that our institutions are working hard to eliminate
racism, address bias and to increase cultural safety. Our children and families need to be able to trust
our systems and structures to protect and uphold their rights, including through a commitment to
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing.”
Investment across and within institutional structures and systems is urgently needed to reduce
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences of racism, discrimination and prejudice.
This includes significant and genuine commitment to develop and embed policies and procedures to specifically
address racism, prejudice and bias. This can no longer be an afterthought.
To be effective, these processes must be developed in collaboration with our communities and reflect
the self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Support must be provided to
the workforce to amend their practice and deliver on these commitments in a culturally safe way,
including through quality cultural safety training.
IAHA welcomes further engagement on these important issues under a collective commitment for
transformational change.
IAHA Statement – cultural safety and rights of young person
