Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health

This study discusses the impact of racism on the health of indigenous people in Australia. It analyses four media articles related to the topic and links the content to various models and recent debates. The study also provides personal reflections on each article. The subject is health and the course code and college/university are not mentioned.

Running head: IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note:

1IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
Introduction
Health of a particular population usually depends on the economic, social and
environmental factors. Furthermore, current and historical factors like discrimination, racism
and dispossession also plays a significant role in the physical and mental health of the
population. Recently, in Australia, racism is being cited very frequently to have a detrimental
effect on the health of indigenous people. A person can experience racism in many forms. It
can be encountered in systemic, internalised or interpersonal levels. The effect of racism in
indigenous health can occur in two ways: direct and indirect. Physical assault provoked by
racial belief is an example of direct impact whereas indirect effect leads to uneven access to
economic, medical, and social resources necessary for good health or well-being (Shepherd et
al., 2017). This not only affect the health of the indigenous people but also leads to
withdrawal from health related activities or healthcare. In the last decade, many research
article and media article is being published linking racism to the ill health of indigenous or
aboriginal people of Australia. Evidence also suggests that racism is part of daily life of
indigenous or aboriginal people (Herring et al., 2013). Racism affects both the physical and
mental well-being of the affected people. According to Ferdinand, Kelaher and Paradies
(2013), 84 percent indigenous people who took part in their survey have stated that they were
racially abused. Recently, lots of researchers are being done to study the effect racism has on
indigenous people. Not only that, mainstream media also focuses on the topic and lots of
media coverage are being done. Therefore, this study will discuss and analyse four media
article related to the impact of racism on the health of indigenous people. All four article will
be summarised and the content of article will be linked to various model and recent debate
related to the topic. Furthermore, each article will be incorporated with personal reflection.

2IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
Media Item 1 – “Aboriginal people face 'systemic' racial discrimination: report”
Donelly, B. (2015). Aboriginal people face 'systemic' racial discrimination: report. Retrieved
from https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/aborigines-face-systemic-racial-
discrimination-report-20151104-gkqlii.html
Summary and key facts
This article by Beau Donelly presented a report on how aboriginal in Australia faces
systematic racism in their day to day life. The author started the article mentioning that racial
abuse against the aboriginals is still very much in play even after 40 years of legislation
outlawing racism. In this article, it has been mentioned that Australian Human Rights
Commission reported many Australians still facing social exclusion, vilification and racial
discrimination. This report also summarised the findings of 130 government and community
group which fights bigotry based on colour, ethnicity and race. The article also provides
various example of different community facing racism including the racism faced by
aboriginal Victorian of the year Jack Charles. Author also contacted with various related
government authority and all of them acknowledged the presence and inevitability of racism
faced aboriginal people. Deputy chief executive of legal service’s admitted that aborigines
have been facing systematic racism which seems to be an omnipresent invisible barrier. In
one example, the author presented that one university educated aborigine woman treated like
an illiterate and were asked whether she could speak English. In a nutshell, the article is well
structured with data, examples and bites of government authority to support his argument
about the systematic racism faced by aboriginal Australians.
Current debate, models and approaches
Racism may occur in three theoretical levels and this article emphasises on a
particular model of the racism present in Australian continent which is systematic or

3IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
institutional racism. Systematic or institutional racism defines as where people faces unfair,
avoidable, and inequalities based on their racial or ethnic group (Kelaher, 2014). Keyword
search in Australian database shows that systematic discrimination or bias is very much
common in Australian literature. The article also links this systemic bias to the school,
government and workplace. However, use of the term institutional racism is much more
frequent in Australian literature. Sometimes institutional or systematic racism is referred as
an indirect racism in the literature (Ferdinand, Paradies & Kelaher, 2013). This article also
provides example where people from all minority group experience indirectly in the
institutional level.
Government approaches to tackle racism towards aboriginal Australians has also been
discussed in the article. It has mentioned the milestone legislation which outlaws all
discriminating behaviour towards a person based on the race, creed, colour or belief.
Australian government has passed this legislation in more than 40 years ago and act is known
as Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Gelber & McNamara, 2013).
This article also cites an example where aboriginal actor and Victorian of the year
were refused taxi service because of his skin colour. It also stated another example where a
university educated woman were held up in the airport because she belonged to the aboriginal
ethnicity. Thus, this article shows how aboriginal Australians and people from other minority
facing racism as well as presented data and statistics regarding occurrence frequency.
Personal reflection
The article published by Beau Donelly is very precise, well-articulated and to the
point. Author has presented the article well supported by data and statistics and examples. In
my honest opinion, the examples are the soul of this article which helps paints a picture in
reader’s minds about the real life situation faced by aborigines. The author has collected

4IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
bytes from government official about the situation, but nobody mentioned about any
preventive measure to stop racism. This is my only minor quibble about this article because it
did not suggest or delve into preventive measures to be taken or have to take to stop racism.
Media Item 2 – “Institutionalised racism' reason for fewer Indigenous kidney
transplants”
Davidson, H. (2015). 'Institutionalised racism' reason for fewer Indigenous kidney
transplants. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/27/institutionalised-racism-reason-
for-fewer-indigenous-kidney-transplants
Summary and key facts
In contrary to the previous article, this article focuses on a particular aspect of racism
faced by the aboriginal Australians rather than the overall broad view. Here, author discussed
on the institutional level racism faced by indigenous patients while applying for kidney
transplant. The author stated in this article that there is a vast gap between aboriginal and
non-aboriginal Australians receiving kidney transplant. According to a kidney specialist and
researcher, the aborigines are also less likely to put on a waiting list to receive treatment. The
author stated that reason behind this discrimination is systematic bias in institutional level
and misunderstanding of the challenges faced by indigenous patient. Indigenous people are
fifty times more prone to kidney disease compared to no-indigenous people. Non-indigenous
Australians assumed because of their bigotry that this happens because of alcohol abuse
while the real reasons behind this are low birth weight, socioeconomic disadvantages, and
poor nutrition during childhood. Lack of treatment centre also plays a significant role in this
case and because of which a huge number of aboriginal people are forced to relocate to
receive treatment. The Author, here, has also presented a statistics showing that while

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survival of indigenous dialysis patient have increased, the number of kidney transplant
decreased compared to non-indigenous people. To sum it up, the author presented a well-
rounded picture, supported by data and statistics, about the current situation facing by
indigenous people in terms of receiving kidney transplant and dialysis.
Current debate, models and approaches
This article states that choric kidney disease is a major health issue in Australia
especially in the remote area. According to Venuthurupalli (2018), resources, morbid
conditions and geographical locations limit the access of the specialist which mentioned in
the article as a significant factor for disparity between aboriginal and non-aboriginal
Australians. Along with that, cultural differences, lack of support from family and perceived
racism plays a hand in that matter. This leads to very low admittance in the renal clinics.
Thus the researchers suggested alternative care models to tackle the problem one of which
could be Telehealth (Caffery, 2017). The percentage of Chronic kidney disease in aboriginal
people is more than double compared to the non-aboriginal Australians (22% versus 10%)
(Hoy, 2014). Many researches and studies have been devoted to this disparity but none
provide a clear solution except social bias and prejudiced opinion of non-compliance. Many
studies have also found that the miscommunication or misunderstanding of cultural issue
hindering the proper care of the aboriginal people.
This article also referred at the suggestion or approaches how to confront this
particular predicament. Recently, the federal and northern territory government has risen their
funding to support dialysis services and accommodation (Kildea et al., 2016). As per Dr. Paul
Lawton, a renowned kidney specialist, set selection protocol related to kidney transplant and
a multi-pronged although expensive approach required to stem this problem.

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There is an ongoing debate amongst the specialist related to kidney transplant about
why the rate of kidney transplant is low in the aboriginal people in urban and remote area.
According to them, current system is in place for kidney allocation is not fair. Hence, they are
advocating for the better and just allocation system which will be fair to all Australians.
Personal reflection
During reflection on this article, I realized that the article depicts a very morbid
situation about the discrimination currently faced by aboriginal Australians regarding kidney
transplant. The very interesting thing about this article is that it interviewed a renowned
specialist of this field which helps to narrate an accurate and real picture of the problem. The
author also provides few recommendations on how to tackle the situation along with the real
scenario of the issue. As a whole, the article is very well articulated and very well structured
from top to bottom. In this context, I agree with all the author has discussed.
Media Item 3 – “Racism is a significant barrier to Aboriginal health improvement”
Racism is a significant barrier to Aboriginal health improvement | CAAC. (2015). Retrieved
from https://www.caac.org.au/news-events/media-releases/2015/8/racism-is-a-significant-
barrier-to-aboriginal-health-improvement
Summary and key facts
In accordance with the first article discussed, this article also discusses about racism
as barrier to improvement of aboriginal health. This article uses the treatment of Adam
Goodes as a foreword and develops the topic around it. According to the article, experience
of Adam Goodes is just the tip of the iceberg al other aboriginals are facing in their day to
day life. It has been argued in the article that Australian community can use the attention
caused by the treatment of Adam Goodes to learn about the harm caused by racism to
aboriginal Australians well-being and health. Almost 75 percent aboriginal Australians

7IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
encounters racism in their daily life (Cunningham & Paradies, 2013). The article stated that
nearly one-fourth of aboriginal children under 12 experiences racism which leads to
consumption of alcohol and marijuana by these under 12 years old. In a survey conducted by
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey showed that almost 40 percent
people said that they could not trust the hospitals which leads to immature discharge risking
their health (Cunningham & Paradies, 2013). Finally, the article comes to the conclusion that
it will take a strong commitment and action as a whole country to overcome the adverse
effect caused by racism to the indigenous Australians.
Current debate, models and approaches
This article lays emphasis on the effect racism has on health as a detrimental factor. In
Australia, racial prejudice is a crucial problem faced by aborigines compared to other
minority group. This detrimental effect in health can be seen in the statistics. The mortality
and morbidity rate of aboriginal people continue to rise at an unacceptable rate compared to
other Australians (Teng et al., 2014). Research has shown that the racism has harmful effect
to physical and mental health. A report showed that life expectancy of aboriginal people is 17
years less compared to non-aboriginal Australians (Phillips et al., 2014). Many aboriginals
did not avail the health service owing to the reason of distance, cost, transport, lack of
available services and cultural barriers. The issue of aboriginal children getting addicted to
the cannabis and alcohol at very young age highlighted in this article. Use of cannabis and
alcohol at young age can have very adverse effect on the health of children. Research has
shown that, this can particularly effect how brain develops in those children (DiGiacomo et
al., 2013). This article also delves in how to tackle the racism facing by aboriginal people and
its effect on the health of the concerned people. Researchers have established education as the
first strategy to handle the issue (Freeman et al., 2014). Also a better understanding of
aboriginal culture will help to understand the indigenous people and their behaviour. To

8IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
eradicate the issue government, policy makers and the whole population has to commit in a
multi-pronged approach to reduce racism.
This article started its discussion by mentioning the treatment faced by Adam Goodes.
Adam Goodes is a prominent indigenous AFL football player who was being booed by the
Australian football fans all over the continent. Situation was so derogating that a 13 year old
girl use racist word towards him. By using the example of Adam Goodes, this article has
depicted a real picture of indigenous peoples are facing racism now a days.
Personal reflection
Just like the first article, this also delves into the racial barrier faced by indigenous
Australians. Most interesting and important fact this article shows that the even famous
indigenous person can be subject of vicious racism. It shows that racial abuse does not
confined among the general aborigines. This suggests that the issue has far deeper root than
just social and economic disparity between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. This
article also discusses about how racial abuse affecting under-12 children which in turn leads
them to alcohol and cannabis addiction. In my opinion, this article could have done better to
provide specific recommendation to thwart racism instead of generic ones.
Media Item 4 – “Depression, racism and the need to open up on ‘R U OK? Day”
Blanco, C. (2016). Depression, racism and the need to open up on ‘R U OK? Day’. Retrieved
from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/09/08/depression-racism-and-need-open-r-u-
ok-day
Summary and key facts
This article by Claudianna Blanco has discussed about the racism experienced by
indigenous Australians and its effect on the mental health. Alongside that, it also discusses

9IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
about the campaign ‘R U OK? Day’ conceived to tackle the mental health conditions.
According to the article, a clear link is present between the racism experienced and risk of
mental illness like anxiety and depressions. This is concerning for the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people who suffers maximum level of discrimination in Australia. It has been
stated in the article that around 33 percent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have
encountered some sort of racist remark in the last twelve months and almost 60 percent
people have reported an experience of discrimination (Kelaher, 2014). With this regard, a
campaign named ‘R U OK Day?’ has been promoted to counter the mental illness suffered by
the indigenous people. Although, this campaign focusses all the Australians not just only
indigenous people. This campaign encourages indigenous people to share their feelings too
reduce mental health problems like suicidal thoughts, anxiety and depression. The article also
mentioned three behaviour which are omnipresent in suicidal people. These are lack of
belonging, lack of connection and burden to other’s life. The article also stated that 1 out of
10 indigenous young male stated extreme dissatisfaction towards life compared to 1 out of
100 non-indigenous young male.
Current debate, models and approaches
This articles gives particular stress on the effect racism has on mental health such as
anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. Researches have shown that racism has an adverse
and detrimental effect on mental health (Parker & Milroy, 2014). Racism can affect the
mental health in more than one ways. A clear link is present between racial attack and mental
illness. The more racial attack a person encounters, the more that person is prone to suffer
mental illness such as depression or anxiety. However, this is not always true. Sometimes
effect of a particular attack has done more damage than the number of frequency. Racism like
property damage can scarred a person much more than verbal abuse. People suffered racism
while searching new property has a great chance to have very high psychological distress

10IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
(Ferdinand, Paradies & Kelaher, 2015). Reducing the occurrence of racism is a significant
part to improve health of aboriginal people.
Interventions from various institution and organisation are needed to diminish racism.
This article also discusses such approaches by organisation to reduce mental health problem.
Two promotion has been provided as an example and those are: ‘R U OK? Day’ and ‘Our
Mob’. These are active all over Australia to provide support to the people suffering from the
mental health issue. One of the foremost suggestion provided by them is to be mindful of
one’s language as it has the potential to hurt a person’s emotion immensely. By publishing
their activity, this article has helped them to reach many more suffering person.
Personal reflection
Unlike all three media article discussed above, this article delves into the effect racial
abuse has on mental health. This article shows that even answering simple question like ‘how
are you?’ truthfully is harder for the indigenous people. This article also offers detailed
information about promotion and activity whose objectives are to lessen the burden of people
suffering from mental health. From my own point of view, I personally think that this article
has great job publishing about the activities which will now reach to much more people
needing the help.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be safely concluded that racism is a
significant barrier in the process of improving indigenous health. By analysing four different
media articles, it can be inferred that aboriginal Australians have been facing racism from all
direction. They are facing racism in their day to day life, office, school, government and in
healthcare system. This has a detrimental effect on health of the aboriginal people. Racial
abuse is neither confined to any particular settings nor to any particular community. It has

11IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
reared its ugly head in all over the continent and in every form like shadows to the light.
Similarly like shadows, it is always present but hard to eradicate. Only a commitment and
understanding from all the people can eradicate such vicious transgression to humanity.

12IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
References
Blanco, C. (2016). Depression, racism and the need to open up on ‘R U OK? Day’. Retrieved
from https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/09/08/depression-racism-and-need-
open-r-u-ok-day
Caffery, L. J., Bradford, N. K., Wickramasinghe, S. I., Hayman, N., & Smith, A. C. (2017).
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Strait Islander people: a systematic review. Australian and New Zealand journal of
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Davidson, H. (2015). 'Institutionalised racism' reason for fewer Indigenous kidney
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reason-for-fewer-indigenous-kidney-transplants
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discrimination-report-20151104-gkqlii.html

13IMPACT OF RACISM ON INDIGENOUS HEALTH
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