A population study on Indigenous hospitalisations for interpersonal violence

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn B. Meuleners ◽  
Andy H. Lee ◽  
Delia Hendrie ◽  
Michelle Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Length Of Hospital Stay ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
High Burden

Indigenous people experience a disproportionately high burden of interpersonal violence. This paper compares the demographic characteristics and injury circumstances of male and female Indigenous Australians hospitalised due to interpersonal violence in Western Australia over a 15-year period. A population-based, retrospective study of all hospitalisations due to interpersonal violence for Indigenous people in WA was undertaken using the linked 1990–2004 data from the WA Mortality Database and the Hospital Morbidity Data System. The majority of Indigenous hospitalisations were for females (56.3%). Female victims were more likely to be admitted due to maltreatment and rape (11.9%). Age profiles, residential location and length of hospital stay were similar between both sexes. The results indicate higher rates of hospitalisation and readmissions for interpersonal violence in WA among Indigenous females than males. There may potentially be different risk factors for each sex and further investigation will have public health benefits. What is known about the topic?Indigenous people experience a disproportionately high burden of interpersonal violence compared with non-Indigenous people. In contrast to the general population, Indigenous females are hospitalised for interpersonal violence at a higher rate than their male counterparts. What does this paper add?This study used population-based data to compare the different characteristics between Indigenous male and female hospitalisations due to interpersonal violence in Western Australia. Females were hospitalised at nearly 1.3 times the rate of males and comprised the majority (65%) of hospitalisations for those admitted more than once. What are the implications for practitioners?The results provide policy makers and planners with a basis for making informed decisions on where to specifically target resources so as to reverse the increasing burden of interpersonal violence on Indigenous communities. In addition, more rigorous prospective investigation is required to determine the contributing factors of interpersonal violence hospitalisations for Indigenous people.

Sentencing, Domestic Violence, and the Overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians: Does Court Location Matter?

2019 ◽  
pp. 088626051988591
Author(s):  
Robin Fitzgerald ◽  
Heather Douglas ◽  
Lachlan Heybroek
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Hierarchical Modeling ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Modeling Strategy ◽  
Geographic Remoteness ◽  
Protection Order ◽  
Sentencing Outcomes

The significant overrepresentation of Indigenous people in Australian prisons has been the subject of numerous studies. In this article, we build on recent research suggesting that sentencing in domestic violence cases might be an important contributor to this overrepresentation of Indigenous people. We broaden the existing research by examining differences for Indigenous and non-Indigenous defendants in domestic violence cases across a range of sentencing outcomes including imprisonment, probation, fines, and good behavior orders. We also consider whether the degree of geographic remoteness of the court influences these sentencing outcomes. To accomplish this, we use administrative court data from Queensland, Australia, and employ a multinomial hierarchical modeling strategy appropriate for nested court-level multilevel data. The findings further support recent Australian research suggesting that there are sentencing disparities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in relation to domestic violence, and in particular, that harsher sentences such as imprisonment are disproportionately reserved for Indigenous defendants. Our research demonstrates that these disparities in the likelihood of imprisonment occur irrespective of defendants’ domestic violence protection order (DVO) breach histories and the location of the sentencing court. Based on the findings, we conclude with a discussion of possible ways forward. Although there is no question that Indigenous women should be safe and free from violence, supporting a harsher sentencing regime for those who breach DVOs is not effective. Instead, we argue that flexible strategies that work within and for Indigenous communities in Australia are required.

scholarly journals Western Australia’s Remote Indigenous Communities: A Case Against Closures and a Call For New Governance

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 209-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asta Hill
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
New Governance ◽  
Remote Communities ◽  
Aboriginal Communities ◽  
The Government

In the late 1970s thousands of Indigenous Australians initiated a movement back to the ancestral lands they had been removed from during the assimilationist era. Less than 50 years since their return to country, Aboriginal people living in Western Australia’s (WA) remote communities are again grappling with their impending redispossession. Wa Premier Colin Barnett’s announcement late last year was panic inducing: It is a problem that I do not want and the government does not want, but it is a reality. There are something like 274 Aboriginal communities in Western Australia—I think 150 or so of those are in the Kimberley itself—and they are not viable. They are not viable and they are not sustainable . . . I am foreshadowing that a number of communities are inevitably going to close.

scholarly journals Indigenous Land and Sea Management Programs (ILSMPs) Enhance the Wellbeing of Indigenous Australians

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silva Larson ◽  
Natalie Stoeckl ◽  
Diane Jarvis ◽  
Jane Addison ◽  
Daniel Grainger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Management ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Future Design ◽  
Principle Components Analysis ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Components Analysis ◽  
Language Schools ◽  
Indigenous Land

Conservation and environmental management have been reported as offering opportunities to substantially improve the wellbeing of Indigenous people. Using the holistic wellbeing impact evaluation (W-IE) approach—well suited for use in Indigenous communities—we interviewed 190 Indigenous Australians across four communities. All communities were involved in the Indigenous land and sea management programs (ILSMPs). Our study explored the conceptualisation of ‘wellbeing’ by participants. In particular, we were interested in the aspects of wellbeing perceived to be affected by ILSMPs. Out of the 26 wellbeing factors explored, ‘Health centres’; ‘Language’; ‘Schools’; and ‘Safe community’ emerged as being of highest importance to the largest percentage of the respondents. When grouped using principle components analysis (PCA), the ‘Community and society’ domain emerged as the most important; accounting for 52% of the overall importance of all wellbeing factors. The second most important domain was the ‘Country and culture’, contributing 31%. Lastly, ‘Economic aspects’ contributed only 17%. Respondents believed that ILSMPs have played a considerable causal role in improving wellbeing, by positively changing factors most important to them. Specifically, 73% of perceived causal links were related to improvements in the ‘Country and Culture’ and 23% to ‘Community and Society’ domain. We thus conclude that land management for Indigenous people is much more than ecological or environmental management with ILSMPs, perceived to cause a wide range of cultural and social benefits. We also propose ways in which the future design of such programs could be improved to further increase benefits.

Support for Indigenous wildlife management in Australia to enable sustainable use

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
George R. Wilson ◽  
Melanie J. Edwards ◽  
Jennifer K. Smits
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Minor Component ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Wildlife Harvesting

Wildlife managers could play a greater role in ensuring that Indigenous wildlife harvesting is sustainable and helping to address community health and employment challenges facing Indigenous Australians in remote and rural areas. Wildlife managers need to listen more to what Indigenous people say they want from their country and for their people, such as increased game to supplement their diet and security for totemic species, to maintain culture. In pre-colonial Australia, adherence to customary law maintained wildlife species Indigenous Australians wanted. Today the long-term sustainability of Indigenous wildlife harvesting is threatened. Where Indigenous communities lack leadership and other social problems exist, their capacity to apply customary land-and sea-management practices and to operate cultural constraints on wildlife use is reduced. The Indigenous right to hunt should coexist with responsible management. Improved wildlife management that combines science and traditional knowledge has implications for Indigenous people worldwide. Western science can support Indigenous passion for caring for the land. It can draw on traditional Indigenous practice and, through reciprocal learning, help reinstate Indigenous law and culture in communities. In Australia, wildlife managers could be more engaged in supporting Indigenous Australians in activities such as surveying populations and estimating sustainable yields, identifying refuge areas, maximising habitat diversity, controlling weeds and feral animals, and exchanging information across regions. Although support for Indigenous land and wildlife management has risen in recent years, it remains a minor component of current Australian Government resource allocation for addressing Indigenous need. Wildlife management could be a stronger focus in education, training and employment programs. Proactive wildlife management conforms to both the western concept of conserving biodiversity and Indigenous wildlife management; it can support sustainable harvesting, provide employment and income, create learning and training opportunities and improve Indigenous health. If greater expenditure were directed to Indigenous wildlife management, wildlife managers, especially Indigenous wildlife managers, could become more engaged in cultural initiatives across traditional and scientific practices and so contribute to programs that address the health and motivational challenges facing Indigenous communities.

scholarly journals How well does the National Disability Insurance Scheme respond to the issues challenging Indigenous people with disability?

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuong Lan Do
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Disability Insurance ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Disability Services ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Insurance Scheme ◽  
The Social ◽  
Colonial Theory

INTRODUCTION: The participation rates of Indigenous Australians in disability services were significantly lower than the prevalence of disability in Indigenous communities. The Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) promises changes to the lives of Australians with disability in general and particularly for the Indigenous population living with disability. This article presents research exploring how the NDIS takes into consideration the issues challenging Indigenous people’s access to, and use of, disability services.METHODS: The theoretical underpinning of the research drew on the social model of disability and post-colonial theory, which informed a systematic review of disability services for Indigenous people, an analysis of the current policy-making process and current NDIS legislation.FINDINGS: The systematic literature review revealed the social, attitudinal, physical and communication barriers experienced by Indigenous people accessing and using disability services; however, the policy analysis of the NDIS indicates that the new legislation does not address these challenges faced by this multi-disadvantaged Australian population group.CONCLUSION: This research highlights the urgent need for disability policy improvements and promotes further design of culturally appropriate healthcare for Indigenous populations, who are still “disabled”, not only by colonised histories but also through contemporary socio-economic marginalization.   

Australian Indigenous Entrepreneurship: A Capital-Based View

2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Furneaux ◽  
Kerry Brown
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Participation Rates ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Cultural Attitudes ◽  
Promising Avenue

Encouraging entrepreneurship has been advocated as the most promising avenue for economic development of Indigenous communities in Australia. Unfortunately, the number of Indigenous people engaged in small businesses in Australia is low compared with participation rates in other countries. One explanation suggested for this low participation rate in small business is that Indigenous Australians lack the traits or cultural attitudes necessary for success. This paper advocates a different view, arguing instead that analysing Indigenous access to capital in its multiple forms provides for a richer explanation – and exploration – of the barriers to Indigenous entrepreneurship.

Non-Fatal Deliberate Self-Harm in Three Remote Indigenous Communities in Far North Queensland, Australia

Crisis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 422-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Rouen ◽  
Alan R. Clough ◽  
Caryn West
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Care Center ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Deliberate Self Harm ◽  
Health Care Center ◽  
Far North ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Self Harm

Abstract. Background: Indigenous Australians experience a suicide rate over twice that of the general population. With nonfatal deliberate self-harm (DSH) being the single most important risk factor for suicide, characterizing the incidence and repetition of DSH in this population is essential. Aims: To investigate the incidence and repetition of DSH in three remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland, Australia. Method: DSH presentation data at a primary health-care center in each community were analyzed over a 6-year period from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2011. Results: A DSH presentation rate of 1,638 per 100,000 population was found within the communities. Rates were higher in age groups 15–24 and 25–34, varied between communities, and were not significantly different between genders; 60% of DSH repetitions occurred within 6 months of an earlier episode. Of the 227 DSH presentations, 32% involved hanging. Limitations: This study was based on a subset of a larger dataset not specifically designed for DSH data collection and assesses the subset of the communities that presented to the primary health-care centers. Conclusion: A dedicated DSH monitoring study is required to provide a better understanding of DSH in these communities and to inform early intervention strategies.

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