Impact of racism and race on Indigenous Australians health in Australia

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Impact of racism and race on Indigenous Australians
health in Australia
5/16/2019

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The essay brings about the discussion on the issue of racism and race in context to the
Indigenous Australians and the impact on their health within Australia. The aspect of racism
or race refers to the belief of considering one race superior over another, which often leads to
discrimination in the society. Therefore, the discussion will determine the significance and
impact of racism on the Indigenous Australians in the country (United Nations Human
Rights, 2018). The issue of discrimination due to racism will be illustrated with the relevant
laws and policies established in the Australian community. The issue of racism has been
faced by the community in their daily lives, which influenced their standard of living and
overall wellbeing. In the later part, the essay will also determine and explain the influence on
the health of these individuals living in Australia. Thus, the discussion through the essay will
explore the topic/issue and explain the readers about the prevalence and impact of racism
using scholarly literature and suitable examples.
The issue of racism in Australia includes both the aspect, i.e. historical and
contemporary racist community attitudes as well as non-compliance and negligence of the
government on incidents in Australia. Racism constitutes unfair and unavoidable disparities
or variances in reference to power, resources, and opportunities, based on the grounds of
ethnic, religious, and cultural differences (Fredrickson, 2015). Racism is one of the critical
issue in the modern society, and it can detain people from attaining their goals using
capabilities by affecting their self-worth and development leading to poor health (Bodkin-
Andrews & Carlson, 2016).
Indigenous Australians include the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in
Australia, usually called as ‘blacks’. According to the estimated data, half a million
population of the indigenous Australians is found as 2.4% of the total population of Australia,
and considered as the most disadvantaged group in the society. Discussing the prevalence of
racism, it has been found that atleast a third of indigenous adults experience racism once
during their lives (Australian Government Department of Health, 2018).
Indigenous Australians faced the issue of racism in the earlier years, i.e. populations
in the community faced discrimination on the grounds of their race. It has been found
through research that indigenous Australians suffer worse than others, i.e. non-indigenous
Australians. For an example, the life expectancy rate of these people is ten year less, rate of
unemployment is even higher and in context to education, indigenous Australians lag behind
their non-indigenous peers. A range of studies has mentioned that indigenous Australians

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faced discrimination due to race in context to common life settings such as education and
public places as in transportation services, shopping centres and others (Delgado & Stefancic,
2017).
Several recent national and international researches have represented a link between
the issue of racism and public health of the Australians. This further states the association of
racial discrimination with the anxiety, depression, suicide, posttraumatic disorder, physical
illness, and other diseases. Moreover, racial discrimination or racism has been found as the
major contributor of the ill health of the indigenous Australians. For these people, racism is
understood to be the main driver of health unlike whites and other groups of Australia.
Pathways from racism to the issue of ill health in respect to the indigenous Australians
include (Nelson et al., 2016).
Reduced and unequal access to indigenous groups for the societal resources, required
to maintain good health. These resources consist of the employment, education, housing,
medical care and others. It also includes increase in the exposure to various risk factors, such
as exposure to the use of toxic substances, causing harm to their physical and mental health.
Direct impact of the racism has been also observed on the health through the aspect of
racially motivated physical harm or assault, especially in the case of women (Jee-Lyn García
& Sharif, 2015).
Racism also leads to negative emotion reactions for indigenous peoples, which
contribute to their mental ill health, as well as affecting their cardio-vascular and other
systems in the body. These people also give negative responses to the problem of racism like,
smoking, alcohol, and the use of drugs, which affects their state of health. Moreover, it has
been found that racism also acts as barrier to the Aboriginal health improvement. A direct
and harmful impact has been found on the cardiovascular system which leads to the high
blood pressure and hypertension, from the discrimination within society (Salter & Maxwell,
2016).
To mention or state the impact of racism, it has been found that negative responses,
such as smoking amongst indigenous women are considered harmful during the period of
pregnancy. As it has been a fact that the tobacco smoking is one vital element causing risks to
the health of indigenous women and their babies. The impact of racism has been found major
affecting the health and wellbeing of the women in Australia (Gould et al., 2017).