Contextualising measures of everyday discrimination experienced by Aboriginal peoples: A place-based analysis from central Australia
Date
2022-10-29
Authors
Wright, Alyson
Davis, Vanessa Napaltjarri
Bourke, Sarah
Lovett, Raymond
Foster, Denise
Klerck, Michael
Yap, Mandy
Richardson, Alice
Sanders, William
Banks, Emily
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Elsevier
Abstract
Everyday discrimination is a deeply personal experience, which is influenced by the wider community, as well as
complex social and historical contexts. In Australia, the most recent national data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples reports the highest prevalence of everyday discrimination among those living in remote regions
compared with urban and regional areas. Given the diversity in settlement types in remote Australia, a placebased
analysis can inform the extent of discrimination experienced and the impact on communities. This
study used a mixed method approach to identify Indigenous community member understandings of discrimination
and quantify everyday discrimination in Central Australia by settlement. Drawing on workshop data from
community members, we defined two research questions: Do experiences of everyday discrimination vary according
to where people live? What role does community cohesion have on experiences of discrimination? We
used data from the Mayi Kuwayu Study to explore these questions. The studyfound a high prevalence of everyday
discrimination, with 70.6% (n/N = 369/523) of Mayi Kuwayu participants in Central Australia experiencing any
discrimination which triangulated with people’s experience of overt racism. Discrimination varied by settlement
type, with higher prevalence of experiencing any discrimination among participants in Town Camps (unadjusted
PR 1.33, 95%CI 1.18–1.50) and suburbs (1.19, 1.05–1.35) compared to participants from remote communities.
High community cohesion attenuates the prevalence of the discrimination (0.87, 0.77–0.97). If health and social
outcomes are to improve among Aboriginal people in remote areas, societal responses must acknowledge the
high prevalence of discrimination in places where race and social inequalities are stark, act to confront interpersonal
and systemic prejudices, and build cohesive communities.
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Keywords
Indigenous, Aboriginal, racism, discrimination, survey, wellbeing, community cohesion, cultural indicators, place-based analysis, mixed methods
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Source
Journal of Rural Studies
Type
Journal article
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2099-12-31
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