The purpose of this piece is to raise awareness of the ways in which Indigenous communities may be supported when confronting child abuse. Positive action involving long-term relationships and trust are crucial. It is important to note that the roots of issues in these communities include poor treatment by colonisers and their descendants from Europe. Before colonisation there were customs that kept behaviour more safe. The impact of contact with outsiders needs to be monitored, whether they are tourists or authorities like police and teachers. The motivations for different actions are also an integral part of this research.
On the 13th of July 2007, the Australian Psychological Society (APS) made a public statement about the Federal Government’s decision to place many Northern Territory Indigenous communities under the administration of outsiders. The APS statement suggested certain concerns. The communities involved would benefit less from the immediate intervention than they would from a more gradual development founded through trusting relationships (APS, 2007). Research into the treatment of Indigenous people and action in communities has shown that such a positive approach can be successful. It has also shown the different impacts that more reactive and restrictive approaches can have on the communities.
Among the issues that make Federal Government action appear necessary in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, is the occurrence of sexual assault against children. In certain cases it has been claimed that historical culture makes it acceptable for older men to force sex with girls. A specific example is when families have arranged the girl’s marriage to a man who raped her when she was 15. In a news report addressing this claim, Professor Judy Atkinson was quoted as saying that traditional Aboriginal customs were “bastardized and brutalized” (Shah, 2002, par. 9). The report states that Atkinson has written books about endemic violence against Aboriginal women. Here the report refers to colonisation by the British, when Aborigines were treated removed from their homes and families, leaving them unable to continue their way of life.
Before European contact, arranged marriage would mean that the girl usually had older co-wives to protect her and the open camp lifestyle would prevent acts of violence (Shah, 2002). However this culture, and the negative modern manifestation of sexual assault, is over-ruled across Australia by the legal age of consent. Young people under 16 years of age cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse with significantly older individuals in the Northern Territory (Through Young Black Eyes, 2005). When this law is violated and children are sexually assaulted, politicians will attempt to stop the criminal behaviour. This is logical, since politicians are meant to serve the people of the area.
The APS release criticised an “interventionist short-term approach” (2007, par. 1) like the Government’s current plan. It promotes trust and partnerships being built. This is quite different from the sudden increase in police numbers and government control. A success story in terms of helping build communities during intervention is the Mt Theo Program (Preuss & Brown, 2006). Mt Theo is an Indigenous Northern Territory community where many people were involved in petrol sniffing. The pastime is addictive and unhealthy, widespread through some communities in central Australia. 40 deaths have been connected to petrol sniffing since 1998.
It is said that the program taken up at Mt Theo worked for several reasons. A clear statement from the outset was that neither Aborigines nor outsiders could fix the problem without the other group. It was also believed that the people who would benefit from the program should be able to claim it as something they had done. They would be stewards of their program, giving them ownership and pride in it. A final major factor toward success was the design of the program to have continuing impact once the initial fix passed. The program gave the community a positive way to interact, encourage and strengthen the trust between locals, with partnership from outsiders.
A Perth study on the attitudes Australians show to minority groups outlined some false beliefs that are widely held by educated citizens. The researchers found that many Australians believe “Aborigines are more likely to drink alcohol than non-Aborigines” (Pedersen, Clarke, Dudgeon, & Griffiths, 2005, p. 171) and that Aborigines receive more government financial support. The conclusion drawn from the research was that many Australians from Perth hold a negative feeling toward Indigenous Australians (Pedersen et al.). False beliefs about Aborigines lead to a chance that they are not treated as well as others. When police are brought into Indigenous communities for sudden action against a problem, they may have false beliefs of their own. The APS suggests work towards trust and relationships. If false beliefs are strong, it will be hard for them to approach that work.
APS President Amanda Gordon states a need for prevention, not just reaction. Education can be a means toward the goal of prevention. To that effect, it is integral to know how teachers approach students in Indigenous communities. People studying to be teachers are found to have moderate positive and negative ideas of Aborigines (Bornholt, 2002). The positive student teachers generally had more effective responses for short hypothetical scenes read to them. Guilt in the listener also suggested more favourable intentions, and registering guilt suggested that a person would not act against Aborigines. It was mostly only those with negative false beliefs whose intentions were to act against Indigenous people. The conclusion should be that people working in any crisis intervention role with Indigenous communities should be free from negative bias.
It is reasonable to ask why Australia has such clearly defined people-groups that need strong motivation to work to any common goal. Mellor used interviews with a number of Aborigines to gather evidence of specific racism they had experienced, as racism defines people groups (2003). Their responses led Mellor to conclude that most racism was obvious and no different from racism in the past. Other psychologists had suggested that racism takes subtle, covert forms. This possibility may be a factor behind continuing separation of cultural groups. If a major form of racism was ignored because psychologists believed it had been surpassed, it may have continued to act as a divide. Racism appears very differently depending on the individual’s point of view. This example highlights the danger that could arise from only researching one side of a topic. It also shows the bias that comes from simply being on the dominant side of a cultural divide.
Parts of Central Australia are tourism hubs, and often these neighbour Indigenous communities which have gained attention from Federal government. Research with Panama Indians explored the ways tourism can impact on the lives and culture of Indigenous people (Snow, 2000). Environmental damage is assumed when tourists visit, and some cultures lose aspects of their identity. However some cultures use the tourism to refresh their social presence and unique life. Part of this is the money that can be injected into the local community. As Snow suggests, another reason is that tourists travel to see Indigenous cultures. As an incentive it can be argued for or against, but there can be value for Indigenous communities. In some cases, it could be worthwhile to encourage more outside visitor to the area. In others, the same idea could be highly detrimental.
Reconciliation is a concept used to describe a possible future understanding and trusting relationship between all people of Australia. At least three quarters of Halloran’s participants showed support for reconciliation in some form (2007). As with Bornholt (2002), Halloran found that collective guilt on the part of Australians suggested a stronger tendency to positive action and treatment of Aboriginal people.
The part that guilt plays, in beginning the plan for any action, is large. Issues that lead to the guilt can be as major as widespread child sexual abuse (APS, 2007). In the Northern Territory of Australia, the plan that is going ahead must be re-evaluated on a regular case-by-case basis. Each community will be different and will receive the Federal action in a unique way. In general, research suggests that those taking authority should build partnerships and foster trust in the community, including themselves in the process. The short-term intervention appears to be flawed, and this calls for a more extensive approach.
On the 13th of July 2007, the Australian Psychological Society (APS) made a public statement about the Federal Government’s decision to place many Northern Territory Indigenous communities under the administration of outsiders. The APS statement suggested certain concerns. The communities involved would benefit less from the immediate intervention than they would from a more gradual development founded through trusting relationships (APS, 2007). Research into the treatment of Indigenous people and action in communities has shown that such a positive approach can be successful. It has also shown the different impacts that more reactive and restrictive approaches can have on the communities.
Among the issues that make Federal Government action appear necessary in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory, is the occurrence of sexual assault against children. In certain cases it has been claimed that historical culture makes it acceptable for older men to force sex with girls. A specific example is when families have arranged the girl’s marriage to a man who raped her when she was 15. In a news report addressing this claim, Professor Judy Atkinson was quoted as saying that traditional Aboriginal customs were “bastardized and brutalized” (Shah, 2002, par. 9). The report states that Atkinson has written books about endemic violence against Aboriginal women. Here the report refers to colonisation by the British, when Aborigines were treated removed from their homes and families, leaving them unable to continue their way of life.
Before European contact, arranged marriage would mean that the girl usually had older co-wives to protect her and the open camp lifestyle would prevent acts of violence (Shah, 2002). However this culture, and the negative modern manifestation of sexual assault, is over-ruled across Australia by the legal age of consent. Young people under 16 years of age cannot legally consent to sexual intercourse with significantly older individuals in the Northern Territory (Through Young Black Eyes, 2005). When this law is violated and children are sexually assaulted, politicians will attempt to stop the criminal behaviour. This is logical, since politicians are meant to serve the people of the area.
The APS release criticised an “interventionist short-term approach” (2007, par. 1) like the Government’s current plan. It promotes trust and partnerships being built. This is quite different from the sudden increase in police numbers and government control. A success story in terms of helping build communities during intervention is the Mt Theo Program (Preuss & Brown, 2006). Mt Theo is an Indigenous Northern Territory community where many people were involved in petrol sniffing. The pastime is addictive and unhealthy, widespread through some communities in central Australia. 40 deaths have been connected to petrol sniffing since 1998.
It is said that the program taken up at Mt Theo worked for several reasons. A clear statement from the outset was that neither Aborigines nor outsiders could fix the problem without the other group. It was also believed that the people who would benefit from the program should be able to claim it as something they had done. They would be stewards of their program, giving them ownership and pride in it. A final major factor toward success was the design of the program to have continuing impact once the initial fix passed. The program gave the community a positive way to interact, encourage and strengthen the trust between locals, with partnership from outsiders.
A Perth study on the attitudes Australians show to minority groups outlined some false beliefs that are widely held by educated citizens. The researchers found that many Australians believe “Aborigines are more likely to drink alcohol than non-Aborigines” (Pedersen, Clarke, Dudgeon, & Griffiths, 2005, p. 171) and that Aborigines receive more government financial support. The conclusion drawn from the research was that many Australians from Perth hold a negative feeling toward Indigenous Australians (Pedersen et al.). False beliefs about Aborigines lead to a chance that they are not treated as well as others. When police are brought into Indigenous communities for sudden action against a problem, they may have false beliefs of their own. The APS suggests work towards trust and relationships. If false beliefs are strong, it will be hard for them to approach that work.
APS President Amanda Gordon states a need for prevention, not just reaction. Education can be a means toward the goal of prevention. To that effect, it is integral to know how teachers approach students in Indigenous communities. People studying to be teachers are found to have moderate positive and negative ideas of Aborigines (Bornholt, 2002). The positive student teachers generally had more effective responses for short hypothetical scenes read to them. Guilt in the listener also suggested more favourable intentions, and registering guilt suggested that a person would not act against Aborigines. It was mostly only those with negative false beliefs whose intentions were to act against Indigenous people. The conclusion should be that people working in any crisis intervention role with Indigenous communities should be free from negative bias.
It is reasonable to ask why Australia has such clearly defined people-groups that need strong motivation to work to any common goal. Mellor used interviews with a number of Aborigines to gather evidence of specific racism they had experienced, as racism defines people groups (2003). Their responses led Mellor to conclude that most racism was obvious and no different from racism in the past. Other psychologists had suggested that racism takes subtle, covert forms. This possibility may be a factor behind continuing separation of cultural groups. If a major form of racism was ignored because psychologists believed it had been surpassed, it may have continued to act as a divide. Racism appears very differently depending on the individual’s point of view. This example highlights the danger that could arise from only researching one side of a topic. It also shows the bias that comes from simply being on the dominant side of a cultural divide.
Parts of Central Australia are tourism hubs, and often these neighbour Indigenous communities which have gained attention from Federal government. Research with Panama Indians explored the ways tourism can impact on the lives and culture of Indigenous people (Snow, 2000). Environmental damage is assumed when tourists visit, and some cultures lose aspects of their identity. However some cultures use the tourism to refresh their social presence and unique life. Part of this is the money that can be injected into the local community. As Snow suggests, another reason is that tourists travel to see Indigenous cultures. As an incentive it can be argued for or against, but there can be value for Indigenous communities. In some cases, it could be worthwhile to encourage more outside visitor to the area. In others, the same idea could be highly detrimental.
Reconciliation is a concept used to describe a possible future understanding and trusting relationship between all people of Australia. At least three quarters of Halloran’s participants showed support for reconciliation in some form (2007). As with Bornholt (2002), Halloran found that collective guilt on the part of Australians suggested a stronger tendency to positive action and treatment of Aboriginal people.
The part that guilt plays, in beginning the plan for any action, is large. Issues that lead to the guilt can be as major as widespread child sexual abuse (APS, 2007). In the Northern Territory of Australia, the plan that is going ahead must be re-evaluated on a regular case-by-case basis. Each community will be different and will receive the Federal action in a unique way. In general, research suggests that those taking authority should build partnerships and foster trust in the community, including themselves in the process. The short-term intervention appears to be flawed, and this calls for a more extensive approach.
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1 comments:
Official Essay Feedback
Overall
A solid attempt at a topic that may have been difficult to outline all the social psych theories applicable- and mixing in theories on child abuse and child sexual abuse. It would have been good to see more theories outlined in your essay - and would also like to know more about the Mt Theo program.
Theory
Social psych theories are a little lacking. You cover racism, and the need to work in partnership - other theories you could have looked at would be in-group/outgroup (what happens when an out-group tries to instruct an ingroup - or vice versa?) Prejudice, attitude-change.
Research
More detail about the Mt Theo program would have been beneficial. How was the program set up? Who ran it? I like your research about false beleifs about indogenous people - and the importance of people working there to be more informed.
Written Expression
Your journal articles need to be italicised (sorry, it's the pedant in me). Your blog was to the right- which was a little difficult to read. Your essay overall is well-written.
Online Engagement
Great to get comments from non-psych students. Your posts are interesting - it's a good idea to keep copies of your posts to other blogs as I don't know you've been posting unless you attach them to your blog as well.
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