Bringing Them Home

This presentation explores the Australian report 'Bringing Them Home' which investigates the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. It discusses the impacts of this separation on the children's health and well-being, including intergenerational trauma and epigenetic effects. The presentation also highlights the health impacts on the children, such as PTSD symptoms and hyperarousal, and the long-term consequences of the Stolen Generation.

Bringing Them Home

Introduction
• Bringing Them Home is an Australian report that was published to
• investigate the matter of separated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children from their Families.
• Between 1905 and 1970s, the federal government separated a large
number of children from their families (Aguiar & Halseth, 2015).
• The total number of children was between 20 thousand and 100
thousand (Aguiar & Halseth, 2015).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Children
• These children were also known as the Stolen Generation.
• Later reports revealed that the children faced sexual abuse and
physical abuse during the foster care.
• This act of removing children is viewed as abusive, depersonalizing,
and cultural homicide.
• The children had to grow up without a family which was a deep blow
to their feelings and psychological well-being.

Intergenerational Trauma
and Epigenetics
• Usually, generations of Aboriginal people with such history show
individual symptoms that include:
• Depression and grief
• Addictions and drug abuse
• Anxiety and self-destructive behaviors.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is also a psychological problem that
can arise due to forcible removing of children from their children
(Lehrner & Yehuda, 2018).

Health Impacts on Children
• Children who have been removed forcibly from their families show the
following PTSD symptoms:
• Helplessness,
• Fear,
• And horror.
• Usually, children can re-experience the horrors of events later, in the form of:
• Flashbacks
• Reminders of events
• Distressing images.
• Hyperarousal is also a common occurring psychological condition in such
children.

Health Impacts on Children
• Hyperarousal in such children is characterized by some special
symptoms such as:
• Impaired concentration,
• Insomnia and excessive sleeping,
• Increased startle reactions,
• Hypervigilance.
• Intergenerational trauma has also been found to be associated with
high rates of family violence and domestic abuse.
• Trauma re-enactment is another major problem that is an addictive
behavior to cope with the trauma.

Conclusion
• Children who are removed from their families at young age become
vulnerable to
• psychological disorders
• and intergenerational traumatic issues.
• Some common problems that have been observed in children with
such past are:
• Increased abusive and violent behavior, leading to family violence and
domestic abuse.
• Lack of sleep and flashing images of distressful moments.

References
Aguiar, W., & Halseth, R. (2015). Aboriginal Peoples and
HistoricTrauma: The Processes of Intergenerational Transmission. Prince
George, BC, Canada: National Collaborating Center for Aboriginal Health
(NCCAH). Retrieved from
http://www.nccah-ccnsa.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/
142/2015-04-28-AguiarHalseth-RPT-IntergenTraumaHistory-EN-Web.pdf
Lehrner, A., & Yehuda, R. (2018). Cultural Trauma and Epigenetic
Inheritance. Development and Psychopathology, 1-15. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327942788_Cultural_trauma
_and_epigenetic_inheritance