The Leading Causes Of Racism In Indigenous Australians

Racism imposes additional health issues on people of color because it is an unnecessary stressor in their every day lives. “African Americans die earlier and have higher rates than whites of many chronic diseases across the social gradient” (Unnatural Causes, 2008). Increased cortisol levels, which are caused by stress have been linked to high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and other health problems.

Even though most studies would have discussed the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system, studies have actually found that in contrast with this, Indigenous Australians are not

The experience of racism will bring negative stress and emotion, and may have the risk to develop a range of psychological and physiological problems (Sherwood, 2013). Ferdinand (2013) reports the racism problems among Aboriginal Australian by using a survey. The outcome highlights that almost every Aboriginal who participated in this survey had experienced racism during daily activity, and they or their family members have all experienced a different level of stress when coping with racism. In spite of the anti-racist practice has improved the relationship between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people, but the ongoing forms of discrimination are still continuing and impacts on Indigenous mental health. Furthermore, Indigenous Australian has a higher prevalence of smoking, alcohol and drug intake. The psychological stress they experience may consequently lead to harmful alcohol and drug use, which also causes the mental health problem among Indigenous Australians. Bearing in mind the previous points, all those risk factors and issues for Aboriginal mental health have contributed the high rate of mental illness and also leads to suicide or self-harm behaviours among Aboriginal

Firstly, people who are being judged or decided on by their race can have a crucial effect on a person’s participation as a free citizen. Racism can also affect physical health and life expectancy. It can also affect what people

Further, low income, unemployment, racism, lack of education further deteriorate their quality-of-life and well-being (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007). Therefore “closing the gap” on indigenous disadvantage is crucial for archive equality in life expectancy, health status, education and employment between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Black & Richards, 2009).

Racism in Australia has always been a controversial element of our country and still continues on in today’s society. Our nation is a bigot country, and the history of Australia shows it continuously has been. Racism majorly impacts the health of Indigenous Australians. The impacts reflect on the life expectancy and mental health of the Indigenous Australians who are then racially criticised in our health system. This paper will explore the impacts that racism in Australia has on Indigenous Australians within healthcare, the life expectancy and the mental health.

When you think of discrimination, many words may appear in your head, but I know for me personally, racism is the first. Racism is the belief that one or many races are more superior than another. Racism usually involves negative acts of hatred towards the people of the ‘inferior’ race. Genocide is the deliberate act of systematic extermination of a mass number of people in a particular race or ethnic group. The effects of discrimination on the Indigenous people of Australia is not just

What might explain these statistics, or at least serve as correlations, are the determinants of health. If the reader is not familiar with the determinants of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) provides an explanation of them. In essence, these health determinants are factors that have significant impact upon one’s health. The main determinants for health are: socioeconomic status, where the rich and upper classes tend to be healthier; education, where low education is linked to stress, lower self-esteem and poorer health choices; environment, where purer air, cleaner water, healthier workplaces and better housing contribute to being healthier; health services, where access to services and proper equipment all contribute to health; as well as gender, genetics, culture and social behaviour (WHO, 2016). As there are so health determinants, where essays can be written on one alone, it is not within the scope of this essay to critically analyse each determinant for Indigenous Australians. With this in mind, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2014) documents an extensive list of data for Indigenous health, most of which discusses issues which are out-of-scope for this analysis. What is relevant, however, is outlined next. Across the board, in 2011, the Indigenous population was younger than the non-Indigenous population due to high fertility and mortality rates with those

We all know Australia is an amazing place where approximately everyone is laid back ( to some degree , it has a worthy parliamentary system as you do not need royal blood to be a leader, and you get paid considerably more compared to other countries. Although this continent is unfortunately not perfect as, in Australia there are two main types of racism. Aboriginal racism and multicultural racism. Racism is a terrible force as it has destroyed lives with verbal and physical abuse because they are of a different race. So we must change our ways. Examples of the soul crushing creature known formally as Racism are shown in the story "Tri" by Francs Echin and "Fifties Australia" by Phillip Knightley.

The over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system is a large problem in society and reasons as to why this may be occurring need to be examined (Walker & McDonald, 1995; AIC, 2013). Indigenous Australians make up less than three per cent of the overall Australian population, however Indigenous people are over-represented in Australian prison populations, with imprisonment rates that are around 12 times those of the rest of the Australian population (AIC, 2013). Rates of over-representation are even higher in juvenile detention, with a 10-17 year old Indigenous person being around 24 times more likely to be in detention than a non-Indigenous person of the same age (AIC, 2013; Cunneen & White, 2011). Indigenous Australians overrepresentation in the criminal justice system is usually due to offences pertaining to violence and public disorder (ABS, 2010; Hogg & Carrignton, 2006). This is endorsed by the fact that Indigenous Australians currently make up 40 per cent of those imprisoned for assault offences (AIC, 2013). The over representation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system may be attributed to a variety of reasons, known as risk factors (AIC, 2013).

Powerful texts have the ability to lead the responder to make discoveries that can challenge their previously held beliefs and cause their perceptions of the world around them to shift. The speech Racism is killing the Australian Dream by Stan Grant is one of those powerful texts, addressing the ways that racism has affected the Indigenous Australians and the ways in which it continues to affect them. Grant uses both vocal and language techniques to convey strong opinions about the content of his speech and allow the audience to make discoveries about what is being said.

Racism can affect an individual’s mental health and well-being (Hyman, 2009). In Canada, visible minorities and immigrants who experience discrimination and unfair treatment are more likely to experience emotional/mental problems that manifest as feelings of sadness, depression, and loneliness (De Maio & Kemp, 2010). Moreover, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and low self-esteem are a few mental health conditions that have been linked to racialized immigrants in Canada (Nestel, 2012). For example, Afghan immigrant youth in Canada can experience low self-esteem, fear, and anxiety due to regular racism and Islamophobia (Nestel, 2012). More specifically in BC, there is evidence that racial discrimination against immigrant parents can have negative effects on

After years of oppression and little change, internalized oppression is becoming detrimental to the growth of the next generation. Society leaves little room for change as these groups’ begin the cycle of self-hate and stereotypes that have been placed on them by society. The youth grow up surrounded by a world that is against them from the beginning. Racism, oppression, and discrimination have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing among these people. A study on how racism has affected the Aborigines in Australia, shows that this group experiences a substantial health disadvantage compared to the rest of the Australian population. Aboriginal youth who experience racism are at

“The land is my mother. Like a human mother, the land gives us protection, enjoyment and provides our needs – economic, social and religious. We have a human relationship with the land: Mother, daughter, son. When the land is taken from us or destroyed, we feel hurt because we belong to the land and we are part of it.” This quote was written by Djinyini Gondarra, an Aboriginal that is working to towards enhancing the health and well-being of his fellow aboriginal people. Over the years, aboriginal people have been mistreated and have experienced a large magnitude of discriminations that range from health to social inequalities, which have led to many health-related issues that have made it very difficult for Aboriginal people to break the stigma and prejudice they continue to experience.

Racism not only leads to social problems but it also causes mental illness and violence for example, self-harm, depression and the harming of others. In most cases the victim starts to feel helpless, isolated, depressed and irritated. Experiencing racism can change a victim’s life forever. Nearly half of all Australian residents from a diverse background have experienced racism at some time in their life. WHY? Only because they look different? On a Wednesday afternoon a well-dressed 54 year woman in a mustard jacket unleashed a lecture of abuse at other passengers on a Sydney to Newcastle train, it started because some young kids aged between four and ten didn’t automatically give up their seats