Cultural slurs

There were appalling revelations on the news yesterday about persistent paedophilia centred around the community of Mutitjulu, near Uluru (Ayres Rock). As if young people there didn't have enough to worry about.

Of course, the news reports were insistent about the incidence of this problem being higher than average, in indigenous communities. Gosh, I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that as children, a generation of these people were forcibly removed from their families, raised on a flawed and racist theory of cultural assimilation, and subjected to on-going abuse from a prejudiced and fearful majority population?

I should not be surprised that in the accompanying soundbites, politicians declaimed the need to bring the perpetrator to justice. However for me the shock value of this news story is not in the crime, nor the fact that the abuser is still 'at large'; after all, just as paedophiles are found among groups of all ethnicities, so are cases of communities and family hiding the truth from themselves or from outsiders.

No, the way I see it, the real story here is the failure of Australian governments to provide the social services, justice and support necessary to help individuals and community overcome the cultural, societal and psychological disconnect that they have experienced. It seems that none of this is new - for example, the Bringing them Home report, based on National Inquiry findings, recommends "the provision of adequate funding to relevant Indigenous organisations in each region to establish parenting and family well-being programs", as well as culturally appropriate counselling, support and mental health care. I think we can safely say that those haven't been 'adequately' addressed. And what about tackling the presence of other causes of child abuse, related to poverty, safe housing, employment opportunities, and health education? It seems that such forward-thinking initiatives are beyond the capacity of Australia's elected leaders. Far better to continue to overspend on the incarceration of indigenous men than start to address the needs of damaged communities.

One phrase often used in this discussion really concerns me. A "culture of silence" was said to have prevented law officers and social services from bringing the abuser before the court. Yes, that phrase, "culture of silence" is common enough, and the culture referred to may be the habitual behaviour of a scheming political faction, cowed hospital staff or a group of naughty schoolboys. But it is clear that in this context, the word has another obvious association; the listener may well make a subconscious connection to indigenous cultural practice. To use that slippery word 'culture' in this context is, at best, irresponsible and, at worst, racial vilification.

You see, this all echoes recent suggestions, heard even from that champion of the indigenous people, Mal Brough MP, that violence and abuse are tolerated or swept under the carpet by indigenous culture and 'customary law'. In recent weeks, a picture of a 'culture of violence' has been built up, and connections made between the corporal punishments sometimes used under indigenous traditional laws, and the abusive violence which has begun to receive so much media attention. Less attention has been paid to the condemnation of sexual abuse and violence against women and children by indigenous leaders and at the Forum on Ending Violence in Indigenous Communities.

Now, it is implied that 'indigenous culture' is to blame for the fact that paedophiles in positions of authority are evading prison. Is 'White man's culture' to blame for those white paedophiles in religious or educational positions who were moved from parish to parish or institution to institution, despite repeated allegations? I would suggest not.

We are told that indigenous communities refuse to support the police, and the victims of abuse refuse to come forward to identify their abusers. Now, as any regular viewer of 'The Bill' will be able to tell you, witnesses who won't take the stand to testify in child abuse cases are a pretty common problem in any society, anywhere in the world. Providing survivors of abuse with the protection and support they need is a complex issue, which requires extensive resources - especially in a society where entire swathes of older generations are survivors of abuse. From what I understand, in some communities there is a serious lack of appropriate police resources. Judging from the limited scope of the NPY Domestic Violence Service I would guess that many have no access to the advocacy and protection services that white, urban, middle class Australians would take for granted. Why isn't this mentioned when they talk about the problems of getting people coming forward? Is it just that 'support services' and 'protection for survivors of abuse' don't make great soundbites?.

Call me a conspiracy theorist. But this cycle of child abuse and neglect has been playing out in indigenous communities for some years; why is this taking centre stage right now? Well, some might argue that it has something to do with the government's ideas for 'reform' of Aboriginal Land Rights Act in the Northern Territory (ALRA). There's a lot of spin about how these changes will enable indigenous Australians to buy their own homes with all that cash they've been hoarding... and of course it's just coincidence that it will make it easier for mining companies to move into certain areas they've got their eye on. Mr Howard's latest drive to secure economic progress at the expense of society's rights and security. The thing is that there are a few voters out there who still care about indigenous land rights and might kick up a stink. So, a bit of dirt-flinging to get people questioning the morality of indigenous laws which, after all, form the basis of Native Title and indigenous Land Rights - well, it certainly won't do the government's cause any harm, will it?

More links:
http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/2003-abuse/stanley.pdf - Child Sexual Abuse in Indigenous Communities, National Child Protection Clearinghouse, Australian Institute of Family Studies
http://www.antar.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=241&Itemid=106 - Rights of indigenous women and children must come first, byLarissa Behrendt, professor of law and director of research at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney
http://www.abc.net.au/message/news/stories/s1662086.htm - Aboriginal Cultural Violence or Violence of Aboriginal Culture a lecture by Lester-Irabinna Rigney
http://eherald.alp.org.au/articles/0606/natp20-01.php - 'Broughs myths must be dispelled' By Chris Evans, Federal Labor Leader in the Senate , Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs
http://www.darwinresearchcentre.com/feature001.asp?id=50 - A paper delivered to the Bennelong Society in Canberra by David Tollner MP, Member for Solomon
http://www.bennelong.com.au/articles/pdf/gandrews2006.pdf - Economic passivity and dependency in Mutitjulu:Some suggestions for change (from Mutitjulu Tjungu Waakaripayi Project ‘Working Together’)http://www.antarvictoria.org.au/documents/IndigenousPoliticsoppiece31May06.doc - Clueless White Males
By: Clare Land and Eve Vincent