The Importance of Aboriginal Cultural Safety in Community Services

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This essay explores the critical importance of Aboriginal cultural safety within the context of Australian community services. It highlights the historical marginalization of indigenous people, particularly following British colonization, which led to significant cultural and population depletion. The essay emphasizes the ongoing socio-economic disparities faced by Aboriginal communities, including high unemployment rates and limited access to essential services. It argues for an inclusive and culturally competent approach to community service design, advocating for government and NGO initiatives that respect and support indigenous cultures. The essay concludes by stressing the need for bridging the gap between mainstream society and Aboriginal tribes through collaborative efforts and culturally sensitive service delivery, ensuring that community services are both modern and respectful of Aboriginal heritage. Desklib provides access to similar essays and resources for students.
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Running head: ABORIGINAL CULTURAL SAFETY
Aboriginal Cultural Safety
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1ABORIGINAL CULTURAL SAFETY
Australia is the land of rich cultural and natural diversity. Along with the multiple
cultures and religions of the continent, the land is also home for several hundreds of indigenous
people. The indigenous or the aboriginal tribes are the primeval habitants of the country. These
aboriginal tribes held significantly rich cultural heritages. However, along with the growth of
human civilization, these tribes have been slowly marginalized. The British invasion and
colonization has aggravated the process of their extinction greatly. However, presently the
government of Australia and other social entities has been able to identify the needs to protecting
and securing the people of the tribes as well as their cultural heritages. The discussion hence will
focus on the various aspects that are playing influential roles in helping these tribes to obtain
community services.
During the time of British invasion and expansion in the country, it has been noticed that
the indigenous people were brutally depleted as well as forced out of their lands. During that
time, the differences in their lifestyles have played influential roles in segregating them from the
mainstream citizens. Within early 1900s, the population was slashed down to below 10% than
the original number (Hunt 2013). The situation raised severe concern as it indicated towards near
extinction of these people.
It has been noticed that though Australia presently belongs to one of the most developed
countries that offer high standards of living to its citizens, the condition of the Australian
indigenous people have not risen effectively. These people still belongs to the lower social and
economic strata of the society and are often deprived of the community services and programs
that are arranged to support the standard of living. Studies have pointed out that almost 23% of
the indigenous people are still unemployed (Fitzpatrick et al., 2015). The situation is worse when
it comes to the rate of education and health issues.
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2ABORIGINAL CULTURAL SAFETY
In order to overcome the situation the government should take up necessary actions. In
order to protect the indigenous communities and involve them in the community services, the
government as well as the NGOs should take up an inclusive approach (McGorry, Bates and
Birchwood 2013). Moreover, the community services aimed for these people should be culturally
competent with these tribes. As the indigenous people strongly believe in maintaining sticking to
their cultures, the community services should be modeled to support their believes and ideas.
Moreover, the government needs to adopt proper research and analysis in order to decide the
effective approach to the community services (Butler et al., 2013). Moreover, a highly structured
and cautious approach is to be taken up. It has been noticed that these communities presently are
suffering from severe problems that have intricately connected with the lifestyles of the
aboriginals. To overcome these issues the public as well as the private organizations should work
towards bridging the gap between the tribes and the mainstream.
To conclude it can be said that by involving the community members and identifying the
pressing needs of the communities are most important in order to support the indigenous people
of Australia. Moreover, the community services aimed at these people need to be adapted to the
modern approach while supporting the cultural heritage of the tribes.
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3ABORIGINAL CULTURAL SAFETY
Reference
Butler, J.R., Wong, G.Y., Metcalfe, D.J., Honzák, M., Pert, P.L., Rao, N., van Grieken, M.E.,
Lawson, T., Bruce, C., Kroon, F.J. and Brodie, J.E., 2013. An analysis of trade-offs between
multiple ecosystem services and stakeholders linked to land use and water quality management
in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 180, pp.176-191.
Fitzpatrick, J.P., Latimer, J., Carter, M., Oscar, J., Ferreira, M.L., Carmichael Olson, H., Lucas,
B.R., Doney, R., Salter, C., Try, J. and Hawkes, G., 2015. Prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome
in a populationbased sample of children living in remote A ustralia: The L ililwan
Project. Journal of paediatrics and child health, 51(4), pp.450-457.
Hunt, J., 2013. Engaging with Indigenous Australia-exploring the conditions for effective
relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
McGorry, P., Bates, T. and Birchwood, M., 2013. Designing youth mental health services for the
21st century: examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK. The British Journal of
Psychiatry, 202(s54), pp.s30-s35.
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