3.1 Racism in history
Racism is “a phenomenon that results in avoidable and unfair inequalities in power, resources, or opportunities across groups in society. It can be expressed through beliefs, prejudices or behaviours/practices and can be based on race, ethnicity, culture or religion” (Paradies et al., 2009, p. 7). And this definition of racism is mirrored in the history of Indigenous Australians in the more distant past as well as in contemporary Australia. To be specific, the colonial history shows a typical example of institutional racism, a discriminatory limitation against ethnic groups via laws, practices, and policies (Hampton & Toombs, 2013, p. 30). At the beginning of colonisation, Europeans believed that they were superior to Indigenous people. Based on such beliefs, the colonists controlled and regulated Indigenous Australians and denied them their fundamental rights. For instance, as mentioned earlier, Indigenous people were deprived of their traditional country and forced to move to farther westward. Indigenous Australian children were excluded from access to schools and forcibly separated from their families and communities in order to inculcate European values and work habits. Even Indigenous girls were forced to work to curb the reproduction of Indigenous people (Commonwealth of Australia, …show more content…
According to the Aboriginal Experiences of Racism surveys, almost all participants experienced at least one racist incident within a year and that mostly occurred in public places. Thirty percent of respondents experienced racial discriminations within health settings in particular. To be more specific, most of the racism in medical care setting was express in verbal communication such as racist names, jokes or teasing, or hearing comments that relied on stereotypes of Indigenous Australians (Keleher, Ferdinand & Paradies, 2014, p.
Racism is “a phenomenon that results in avoidable and unfair inequalities in power, resources, or opportunities across groups in society. It can be expressed through beliefs, prejudices or behaviours/practices and can be based on race, ethnicity, culture or religion” (Paradies et al., 2009, p. 7). And this definition of racism is mirrored in the history of Indigenous Australians in the more distant past as well as in contemporary Australia. To be specific, the colonial history shows a typical example of institutional racism, a discriminatory limitation against ethnic groups via laws, practices, and policies (Hampton & Toombs, 2013, p. 30). At the beginning of colonisation, Europeans believed that they were superior to Indigenous people. Based on such beliefs, the colonists controlled and regulated Indigenous Australians and denied them their fundamental rights. For instance, as mentioned earlier, Indigenous people were deprived of their traditional country and forced to move to farther westward. Indigenous Australian children were excluded from access to schools and forcibly separated from their families and communities in order to inculcate European values and work habits. Even Indigenous girls were forced to work to curb the reproduction of Indigenous people (Commonwealth of Australia, …show more content…
According to the Aboriginal Experiences of Racism surveys, almost all participants experienced at least one racist incident within a year and that mostly occurred in public places. Thirty percent of respondents experienced racial discriminations within health settings in particular. To be more specific, most of the racism in medical care setting was express in verbal communication such as racist names, jokes or teasing, or hearing comments that relied on stereotypes of Indigenous Australians (Keleher, Ferdinand & Paradies, 2014, p.