Aboriginal Women's Perceptions and Experiences of a Family Violence Transitional Accommodation Service

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative study of Aboriginal women's perceptions and experiences of a transitional housing program in South Australia that was established to assist long-term homelessness and family violence. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences and service outcomes for Aboriginal women and their children and to identify both facilitators and barriers to the effective operation of the program. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 13 Aboriginal women and thematic analysis was used to report their collective stories. The women's stories showed individualised, flexible, and open-ended support as well as practical outcomes of stable, safe housing for themselves and their children were particularly valued. The women reported that these features of the program augmented feelings of strengthened confidence and self-efficacy. The authors argue the domestic and family violence sector has the opportunity to learn from the perceptions and experiences of Aboriginal women, particularly allowing time and commitment to working long-term with families.     

Aboriginal card gamblers and non-card gamblers: do they differ?

Many Indigenous populations engage in traditional gambling games, but little is known about their contemporary usage or the characteristics of people who participate. This paper presents the first quantitative study of traditional Indigenous Australian card gambling. The aim of this research was to compare Indigenous Australian card gamblers with non-card gamblers in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, gambling behaviour and motivations, gambling cognitions, gambling consequences, substance use while gambling and problem gambling severity. A gambling survey was conducted at Indigenous festivals, in several communities and online. Within a sample of 1001 gamblers, 414 people had gambled on traditional card games in the previous 12 months. Many card gamblers commenced gambling while young, were highly involved in both cards and commercial gambling and gambled because most of their family and friends also gamble. An important difference revealed here is that card gamblers gamble on more forms of commercial gambling than non-card gamblers. Gambling appears as a deep-seated habit in some participants' lives and although the proportion classified as problem gamblers is high in this sample the card gamblers held more realistic cognitions about chances of winning than did the non-card gamblers.     

Gendered Violence and Politics in Indigenous Communities

This article examines the depoliticization of violence against women in indigenous communities. It argues that there is a pressing need to examine the ways in which gendered violence is explained, addressed and often sanctioned in indigenous communities. The article draws on Crenshaw's concept of political intersectionality and examines responses to gendered violence in indigenous communities through two groups: Aboriginal women in Canada and Sámi women in Scandinavia.     

The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education

It may be argued that the emerging discourses focusing on the social, emotional, educational, and economic disadvantages identified for Australia’s First Peoples (when compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts) are becoming increasingly dissociated with an understanding of the interplay between historical and current trends in racism. Additionally, and if not somewhat related to this critique, it can be suggested that the very construction of research from a Western perspective of Indigenous identity (as opposed to identities) and ways of being are deeply entwined within the undertones of epistemological racism still prevalent today. It is the purpose of this article to move beyond the overreliance of outside-based understanding Western epistemologies, and to explore not only the complex nature of both racism and identity from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, but to also explore the role of education and research in perpetuating varying levels of racism and resistance to Indigenous identity(ies) from a contemporary insider-based standpoint. It is hoped this article will shed some light on the pervasive nature of racism directed at Indigenous Australians, and highlight the need for the continual acceptance, respect, and promotion of Indigenous voices and identities within the educational environment and beyond.     

Revising the Harris-Todaro framework to model labour migration from the Canadian Northern frontier

The Harris-Todaro model of labour migration was developed almost four decades ago, and since has become a classic method of migration analysis in less developed countries. This paper explores the applicability of the Harris-Todaro (HT) framework outside its traditional use, by modelling frontier-metropolis migration in Canada. If appropriate, the framework can potentially be used in other countries with similar regional dichotomies, such as Russia and Australia. The paper argues that the HT model is generally applicable in the context of migration from the resource frontier to large metropolitan areas of the Canadian south, although it requires several modifications. The classic HT model is extended to account for northern labour-force heterogeneity (Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal), the possibility of having or losing jobs in the declining and undiversified frontier economy, and living cost differentials. Further analysis is focused on Aboriginal migration from isolated northern communities. The plausibility of the modified HT model is demonstrated using an empirical test, in which the model is used to assess migration probabilities of Aboriginal labour migrants. These new insights into the mechanisms of frontier-metropolis migration could provide a better basis for developing planning strategies, aimed to sustain human capital in the Canadian North, and for optimizing welfare policies both in the North and in the South.     

Prevention of Mental Health and Behavior Problems Among Sexually Abused Aboriginal Children in Care

This agency-based study explored the preventive impact of a multi-method intervention program for children in care who had been sexually abused. Participants were Aboriginal children of the Stól:lö Nation in British Columbia, Canada. It suggested that such programs offered in child welfare contexts could actually prevent many mental health and behavioral problems that otherwise would be more prevalently experienced by such traumatized children in care.     

有关生物多样性的若干知识产权问题

知识产权制度与生物多样性有着密切和复杂的关系。为了充分利用和分享遗传资源带来的惠益 ,应当给予土著和地方社区的传统知识和做法以知识产权保护。在技术转让问题上 ,既要对有关技术实行充分有效的知识产权保护 ,又要防止违反 CBD公约目标的知识产权滥用行为。在授予生物技术专利权的问题上 ,要充分注意到生物技术的安全性 ,在技术所带来的利益和对环境的影响之间权衡利弊 ,做出合理的判断。     

种族暴力的揭示还是殖民主义的延续？——《猪女郎》中暴力呈现的伦理思考

2016年加拿大总督戏剧奖获奖作品《猪女郎》是白人女剧作家科琳·墨菲根据真实的连环杀人案创作而成,该剧因揭示加拿大原住民女性遭受高风险暴力的事实以及警察的冷漠而备受赞誉,然而该剧却引起了原住民群体的强烈反对和抵制。争议的焦点有二:其一是性侵与虐杀能否在舞台上直接呈现;其二是该剧的剧名是否涉嫌对原住民的公然侮辱。针对上述两种截然不同的反应,文章试图通过原住民艺术家在处理相似主题时普遍采取的方式,即以集体哀悼和集体治愈的形式凸显原住民的族群观来考察该剧引起的争议。文章认为,暴力主题不是艺术家不能逾越的禁区,但当涉及敏感事宜时,尤其是当强奸被白人殖民者视为殖民和种族灭绝的手段延续至今,其毁灭性创伤远未愈合的前提下,艺术家应该放弃一切傲慢以及捍卫自由创作的企图,始终将受害者及其群体的情感诉求纳入考量,并以合理的艺术方式将问题引入公共场域,才能更好地化解冲突,实现艺术改变现实的理想效果。     

Review of online breastfeeding information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women

BackgroundBreastfeeding provides the healthiest start to life, but breastfeeding rates amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is lower than non-Indigenous women.AimTo assess the accuracy, quality and appropriate presentation of online breastfeeding information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia.MethodsAn online search conducted in Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines to identify any breastfeeding websites that provided information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Relevant websites were evaluated against: a) National Health and Medical Research Council clinical guidelines, b) the quality of health information on the Internet by using DISCERN instrument, and c) appropriate key design features for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.ResultsThe search located 348 sites with 31 being eligible for inclusion. Websites from governmental organizations had the highest accuracy while YouTube videos had the lowest accuracy. Three quarters (74%, n = 23) of sites incorporated the national clinical guidelines adequately, and most of the sites (77.8%, n = 24) were considered high quality. Only 23% (n = 7) of sites had sufficient key design features appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Four websites were considered exemplary for their accuracy, quality and cultural appropriateness of information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.ConclusionSome websites are tailored to provide breastfeeding information and support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. However, only a few contain culturally appropriate key design features. Further participatory action research is required to design online platforms for women from different cultural backgrounds that take into account cultural principles, beliefs and values.     

Towards better preparation and support for health and social care practitioners conducting specialised assessments in remote Indigenous contexts

Remote health professionals encounter many challenges associated with delivering care in poorly serviced remote locations and working across cultures. Despite an identified need for the assessment practices of health and social care professionals to accommodate cultural differences, and for staff training in the area, deficits in preparing the remote workforce for assessment remain. This paper combines the results of two qualitative studies to consider current and improved approaches to preparing and supporting staff for conducting assessments in remote and Indigenous settings. Study A focused on aged care assessment practices within the remote Aboriginal context of Central Australia, and Study B focused on the practice for assessing cognition among Aboriginal Australians in the Northern Territory. Our secondary analysis of these combined data sets provides valuable information to improve planning of approaches to preparing staff for assessments in these contexts. We report themes relating to three categories: the assessment workforce, current approaches to preparing assessment staff, and cross‐cultural knowledge/skill. We discuss which areas require more detailed attention to prepare staff for this work – such as critical reflection and cultural safety – as well as how this may best be achieved – such as through the inclusion of cultural supervisors in practitioners' supervision models, and in follow‐up components to workshop models.