Research has found that Indigenous youths are more prone to experience mental health issues compared to their non-Indigenous peers. Indigenous communities in Bundaberg they are facing the hard reality of many their youth becoming at risk of anti social behaiviour. The increasing drug and alcohol use, poor housing and an overwhelming sense of hopelessness have been deemed as contributing factors.
Supporting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in Australia Bundaberg and surrounding areas is crucial to see some positive change. A growing consequence of at risk youths is the increasing number of youths ending up in Australia’s youth detention centres and prisons. The disproportionately high level of Indigenous juveniles (aged between 10 and 17 years) and young adults (aged between 18 and 24 years) in the criminal justice system is a major challenge confronting the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG’s) commitment to 'Closing the Gap'. Tragically, Indigenous juveniles and young adults are more likely to be incarcerated today than at any other time since the release of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody final report in 1991.
The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs notes:
…show more content…
We have reached the point of intergenerational family dysfunction in many Indigenous communities, with problems of domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, inadequate housing, poor health and school attendance, and a lack of job skills and employment opportunities impacting on the next generation of Indigenous Australians. Additionally, there has been a loss of cultural knowledge in many Indigenous communities, which has disrupted traditional values and norms of appropriate social behaviour from being transferred from one generation to the
Indigenous youth continue to be marginalised and oppressed. The marginalisation of the Aboriginal community is a result of colonisation. The Indigenous community lost their land and culture. This is reflected on today’s Indigenous youth as they are still feeling the effects.
The Aboriginal Legal Services was an Aboriginal organisation generated by these activists to defend Black People’s rights and of families who passed away in custody. Across the country there have been many alarming deaths in prison and police custody which caused a real distress in the early 1980s amongst the Aboriginal community. During an investigation conducted by the RCIADIC nearly 99 deaths occurred in police custody in one average year. The difficult interaction between CJS and Aboriginal’s into Aboriginal Deaths in custody according to the Royal Commission has had an essential impact of
Aboriginal women account for 24.9% of the general population and 32.5% of the incarcerated female population (Amey Bell, Shelly Trevethan & Nicole Allegri, 2004). Aboriginal female offenders are also responsible for violent crimes (Bell et al., 2004). Aboriginal female offenders have an adverse childhood; the childhood for Aboriginal women are centred around family violence, instability and substance abuse (Colleen Dell & Jennifer Kitty, 2012). The Canadian government is attempting to solve the over representation by implementing bills such as 718.2(e) (Gillian Balflour, 2012). This becomes a challenge to the correctional system since Aboriginal female inmates account for a great number of the prison population despite the bill 718.2(e).
Definition: Mental health has become a pressing issue in Indigenous communities. Often, a combination of trauma, a lack of accessible health resources, substance abuse, violence, and socioeconomic situations lead to high rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in Indigenous Peoples. This crisis is especially apparent in Indigenous youth, where there is a growing suicide epidemic but little mental health support and resources are provided. The increase in stigmatized and untreated mental illness has continued as trauma and systemic injustices remain unaddressed. Indigenous groups, governmental parties, and health organizations are involved.
Indigenous Australian’s health has been a focal point and topic of interest for many members of the government and policy markers. The reasoning for why this topic has been of popular interest for the government and policy makers is due to the startling and atrocious lack of health that Indigenous Australian’s suffer. Indigenous Australian’s are disadvantaged in the Australian healthcare system and have the poorest health out of all Australians. “Between 2004 and 2008, 66% of Indigenous deaths occurred before the age of 65 compared with 20% of non-Indigenous deaths.” (Red Dust, p.1) Indigenous Australian’s experience this major disadvantage and neglect in the Australian society due to the poor health care system and policies that haven’t been able to solve the issue. This essay will explore the significant and negative impact on the Indigenous communities and how policy decisions have impacted and continue to impact the Indigenous communities. This essay will also outline why there have been significant policy shifts over time, the current issues in delivering services to Indigenous Australian’s and why these issues have emerged.
Saman Khan states that “Aboriginal people have a holistic view of mental wellness” (2008) and Khan illustrates that this means “wellness means being in a state of balance with family, community, and the larger environment”. (2008) This means that Aboriginal people in general value family value more than a typical European. Which is the difference of European models of psychiatric care, which is to according to Khan is to remove the person from their surroundings. (2008) If you think about an approach foreign to aboriginal peoples shouldn’t work with aboriginal people who have different values in life. The mistreatment of Aboriginal people is not the only thing that is affecting their health. Aboriginal people live in remote communities that health care cannot be received in time to fight the illness and
This lead to a suicide increase from 10% of total Australian suicide in 1991 to 80% in 2010 (Australianstogether.org.au, 2018). For the other 20% of indigenous Australians a wide majority could not cope with the stereotypical people that discriminated and marginalised against the youth, which lead to them struggling with their identity and culture affecting many
Ever since the foundations of modern Australia were laid; there has been a disparity between the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and rest of the Australian community (Australian human rights commission, n.d.). This essay will discuss how this gap can be traced back to the discriminatory policies enacted by governments towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s throughout history. Their existing impacts will be examined by considering the social determinants of health. These are the contemporary psycho-social factors which indirectly influence health (Kingsley, Aldous, Townsend, Phillips & Henderson-Wilson, 2009). It will be evaluated how the historic maltreatment of Aboriginal people leads to their existing predicament concerning health.
There needs to be support systems for Aboriginal people, as urban Aboriginal residents often live in high rates of poverty, are unemployed, poor housing and little participation in education systems (Lithopoulos & Ruddell, 2016, p. 189). I feel that responses such as the First Nations Policing Program and the Aboriginal Justice Strategy are effective ways to involve Aboriginal people in the CJS and to have role models for aboriginal youth in the justice system. Unfortunately as shown by Lithopoulos & Ruddell (2016) there has been a failure by the federal government to make a long term finical commitment to the FNPP (p.194). Specifically for Aboriginal youth in the the CJS, I think there should be less incarceration since youth struggle to cope with prison and can be very effected by the inmate subculture (Bala & Carrington, 2016, p. 266). Youth are also susceptible to bullying within the prison system, according to Bala & Carrington (2016), "between 20 and 45 percent of prisoners in young offender institutions report they have been victimized during the course of their sentence" (p. 280).
Indigenous Youth & Criminal Law Institutions Introduction Indigenous Australian youth experience high levels of disadvantage and injustice in today’s society in a variety of areas. One area of significant disadvantage involves their contact with criminal law institutions. Indigenous youth come into contact with the criminal justice system (CJS) at a consistently higher rate than that of non-indigenous youth and are significantly over-represented in court cases and community detention, leading to fewer life chance in their future (Allard et al. 2010). Additionally, Indigenous youth’s social disadvantage in criminal law institutions has led to barriers that prevent indigenous youth from accessing and achieving justice.
Mental illness in australia is highest amongst youth aged 16-24 years and the number of sufferers in the age group continue to rise. As many as a quarter of young Australians are at risk of missing out on living healthy, productive lives. Although, mental illnesses can commence at any age, whether you are a child or an adult, this mental illness can be temporary or long lasting. There are many risk factors that provoke these mental illness. Although, there are many protective strategies a person could employ or develop to assist in reducing these factors.
The poor outcomes for Indigenous have been identified as being caused by socioeconomic and environment disadvantage, inadequate education, underemployment, racial prejudice, high risk health related behaviours and lack of accessibility to services. The unemployment rate for Indigenous Australians has always been significantly higher than their Non-Indigenous counterparts. For example, in 2016 it was 4.2 times higher than the rate non-indigenous people. Unemployed people have a higher risk of death and have more illness and disability than those of a similar age who are employed (AIHW 2016). This can contribute to Indigenous Australians having a life expectancy of around 10 years less than non-indigenous Australians between 2008-12.
Dudgeon, P., Walker, R., & Milroy, H. (2014). Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles (2nd ed.). Perth: Kulunga Research Network.
Poor living conditions are a major health determinant throughout the indigenous population. Most Indigenous Australians are known to live in rural parts of Australia which are commonly not close to major cities and services. People living in these areas generally have poorer health than others living in the cities and other parts of Australia. These individuals do not have as much access to health services and good quality housing. In 2006 roughly 14% of indigenous households in Australia were overcrowded unlike 5% of other households (AIHW, 2009a). Overcrowded and poor quality houses are commonly associated with poor physical and mental health between the people living in them. The indigenous are n...
Indigenous people around the world live isolated from rest of the society. Similar Indigenous Australian live in their own surrounding with lack of support , inadequate facilities for living, joblessness, poverty, lower living