Gap between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal People in Australia | Report

SOCIOLOGY
SOCIOLOGY
University Name
Name of course
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SOCIOLOGY
Description
Issue
One of the major challenge that the country of Australia has been facing is the existing gap
among the aboriginals and the non-aboriginal population. The gap refers to the wide life and
health expectation inequality among the indigenous and the non-indigenous Australian. The gap
signifies the effect of the colonisation and the discrimination that has been prevailing over the
lives of the indigenous community people. Some of the inequality includes shorter life
expectancy rates, higher rates of poorer health outcomes and infant mortality rates as well as low
level of employment and education. According to the data gathered from the Australian Institute
of Health and Welfare, the life expectancy rate of the non-aboriginal Australians are higher than
the aboriginal people.
Feelings
My feelings before understanding the issue as well as the existence of the gap among the
aboriginal and the non aboriginals, centred around a wrong impression regarding often used to
think that the aboriginal community people of Australia. I often used to think that people being
their sole owner of their decision of health habits and living standards, it is the aboriginal and
Torres strait islander people who have bad choices and decision of poor living standards. I had
the feeling that the current degrading health care status of the aboriginals are the result of their
poor life choices which basically made them vulnerable towards high mortality rate and diseases.
After learning about the existing gap among the aboriginal and the non aboriginal community
people, during my lecture classes, I realised how the factors of historical colonization, policies as
well as the statistics relates to poverty, unemployment, racism and the disadvantage among the
life and health status of the aboriginal community people in the current decade. Though I knew
about this social determinant of health, I never knew about the practical implications of these
over the lives of an individual.
Being fortunate enough of not having to see poverty, now I can feel the challenges faced by the
aboriginal community of people.
Critical evaluation
I realised that there are several factors which are diverse from self control of an individual and
which effects the living of an individual . This realisation made me reconsider my perception
over the choices of aboriginal. I realised that I had an entire wrong perception towards the
understanding and the beliefs I had regarding aboriginal people as well as my wrong tendency to
blame them.
The discrimination and racism that is still prevalent today have imprinted my thinking. I read the
current close the gap report and I realised how the life expectancy gap is not connected to the
health behaviours and there are other social determinants of health. These factors have been
negatively and unfairly way, influencing the life and the health expectancy of aboriginal people.