Segregation of Aboriginal Children | Report

Description of the Issue
Module 2 escalated a significant issue based on the segregation of Aboriginal children from
their families from 1910 until 1970 (Australians Together, 2020). The Australian
government’s policies and conventions during this year range focussed on assimilating the
Aboriginal children into the mainstream society. These conventions were formulated to
facilitate the superiority of While people on underprivileged Indigenous populations. The
mainstream society changed the names of the stolen children and forced them to adopt the
White culture. The stolen children were called as half-caste children based on their elevated
vulnerability and predisposition towards adopting the mainstream culture. Stolen generation
concept was formulated to counter the traditional customs and culture of the Indigenous
Australians while enhancing the domination of majoritarian societies.
Feelings
Feelings before exposure to the Issue
Before actually knowing about the issue, I had the impression that the separation of
Aboriginal children from their families was an attempt to revive the highly marginalised
Indigenous section of Australian society. I believed that the Aboriginal parents might have
failed to inculcate their children while lack of education and poverty elevated their
exploitation and stratification within the Indigenous culture. These thoughts had forced me to
believe as if the segregation of Indigenous children from their parents was a positive move by
the Australian government for the educational enhancement and quality of life improvement
of the Indigenous societies. I also believed that greater assimilation of the Aboriginal children
could probably improve their survival and well-being to an unprecedented level.
Feelings after acquiring Information about Stolen Generations
I have strongly felt the extent of a human rights violation by the Australian government
policies between 1910-1970 based on the child abuse episodes listed in the evidence-based
literature (Duff et al., 2014). I was in immense shock after knowing the level to which the
child protection conventions had been violated just to perish the traditional Indigenous
system of living. I strongly experienced and felt the integrational trauma encountered by the
Aboriginal families following the forced removal of their infants based on the Australian

government’s policies (O'Donnell et al., 2019). The extent of disparity and community rights
violations of the Indigenous Australians made my cry relentlessly after feeling their agony
and insurmountable pain.
Critical Evaluation
What is good or bad? Why do you think this way?
The good thing about stolen generations is that the issue proved to be an eye-opener for the
entire world since people realised the need for preserving traditional Indigenous culture and
the human rights of the exploited Aboriginal children. The issue forced the masses to
introspect their understanding of the Aboriginal culture to advocate the health and wellness of
the Aboriginal populations. Most importantly, the documentation of the traumatic
experiences of the Aboriginal families highlighted the sustained disruptions in the social
functioning and impaired health of the Aboriginal families (The Lancet, 2018). Ironically the
bad thing is that the innocent Indigenous children were forced to experience unprecedented
atrocities that potentially deteriorated their personal, educational, and socioeconomic
development.
How do you think you know what you have known?
I could easily track and identify the stereotypical thought processes and paradigms that
consistently targeted the identity and culture of the Aboriginal community. I arrived at these
conclusions through an open-eye on social media updates and personal observations.
What is your response to the matter based on its limited understanding?
I believe in the requirement of implementing an integrative approach while coordinating with
the mainstream masses to empathetically support the Aboriginal community. I personally feel
that merely ‘sorry’ is not enough to mitigate the pain and suffering of the Aboriginal
population. The mainstream societies need to feel the agony and losses of the Aboriginal
people and accordingly configure meaningful interventions in coordination with the
Australian government to close the potential gaps (Rosenstock, Mukandi, Zwi, & Hill,
2013).