Children and Domestic Violence

1. Children and Domestic Violence An analysis of the nature of violence in Aboriginal communities and the psychological effects on Aboriginal children and communities. by Tracy Westerman, Director Indigenous Psychological Services

2. The state of play • Gordon Enquiry into CSA in Aboriginal communities • Report into Violence in indigenous Communities - suggest rates of 80% of incarcerated indigenous youth have been abused • Death attributable to external causes (Hunter, 1998) • Data from Kids Helpline - 35% of calls regarding current abuse

3. Children – how does this translate? Violence • Increased reports of violence amongst youth within school settings • Increase across genders equally - bullying and racial bullying • High rates of impulsivity amongst Aboriginal youth (in urban and rural locations) • Incarceration at the rate of 60% of offenders in prison

4. What are the psychological / mental health effects? • Post traumatic stress • primary, secondary and vicarious forms • the issue of complex posttrauma (Herman, 1999: Westerman, 2002) • Mental Ill Health • rates of suicide/self-harm • depression/substance useage • family violence considered as the primary triggers for suicidal behaviours (Westerman, 2002)

5. Why are there such high rates of reported violence in Aboriginal communities? Causes of violence in Indigenous communities can be attributed to multiple factors, best considered in three different categories, including: 1. underlying factors 2. situational / cultural factors and 3. maintaining factors

6. Causes of Violence in Indigenous Communities 1. The Underlying Causes of CSA (a) social-historical context, with particular reference to the stolen generations of indigenous people and effects of policies of removal • Parenting Skills and lack of male role models • higher rates of unemployment, more inadequate housing, poorer participation and completion in education, poorer access to clean water, waste disposal, and utilities than the white population. Aboriginal people remain over-represented in prisons by a factor of 14 and in police custody by a factor of 26 (Kosky, 1997). (b) intergenerational effects of this policy • Over 40% of children in care are Aboriginal • Behavioural problems and rates of mental health and vicarious trauma (c) cultural Identity and racism as acculturative stress -The devaluation of Aboriginal culture and responses to this by youth -How racism is dealt with within institutions

7. Precipitating Factors • The resistance of victims to report violence and incidents of CSA to police (retrospective ‘mainstream studies’ suggest rates of only 10% of CSA is reported) • Fear of Police interrogation and of ‘welfare’ - the knowledge that most offences will NOT be reported • Methods of dealing with perpetrators • Alcohol useage and the relationship to violence • Social and cultural Isolation

8. The role of culture in violence Precipitating Causes • Payback as a phenomena • its role in the development of violence • its role in mental ill health • its role in community control, respect and good mental health • The traditional versus the contemporary view

9. Payback The traditional view Wrong doing occurs Meeting of elders Decision regarding Punishment occurs From each skin group appropriate punishment with individual including or representative Who must administer it of skin group

10. Payback The current or contemporary slant on payback Conflict occurs Individuals engage friends Friends / cousins involve Feud erupts – retribution or Between individuals and cousins in conflict family and extended family ‘payback’ is carried out in In conflict accordance with Family alignments

11. Causes of Violence in Indigenous Communities WHY ‘PAYBACK’ HOLISTIC NATURE OF HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, encompassing: • mental health • physical health • cultural health • spiritual health THEREFORE Walking around with internal conflict disrupts the balance of these inter-relations. The conflict needs to be dealt with or resolved in an immediate way. Payback as a process enables this to occur, and for the person to ultimately have inner peace/health and mental/spiritual wellbeing.

12. Maintaining Factors • Anger compounds anger • The cycle of violence and maladaptive behaviour -why this makes it so hard for women to leave • Lack of appropriate models of dealing with anger • The ‘normality’ continuum • the reinforcement of anger in communities • The myth of ‘culture’ regarding family and domestic violence • strong cultural underpinning to this outward expression of aggression - cultural differences in the manner in which indigenous people express anger, and emotions. This leads to an associated argument that indigenous people are more tolerant of expressions of anger.

13. Current Services Lack of clinical acumen amongst clinicians and cultural appropriateness of service delivery for indigenous communities. • The “why don’t you just leave phenomena” and frustration with the cycle • Aboriginal people fail to access counselling and therapeutic services at the level required (also lack of these types of services in rural and remote communities) • Most services are diversionary and reactive in nature • Engagement is significantly reduced than for non-indigenous people

14. Service Delivery • culturally appropriate services and what this means? • Services for Aboriginal people are never evaluated • Training • Is mono-cultural • Fails to incorporate culture as a factor in assessment and intervention with instances of family violence • Is often basic, with great expectations

15. Cultural Competence • Less than half of all non-indigenous practitioners feel competent with Aboriginal people • Less than half of all indigenous practitioners felt clinically competent with Aboriginal clients • The dual struggle

16. The Dual Struggle Figure 3.1: The Dual Struggle in the provision of services to Aboriginal mental health clients (Vicary & Westerman, 2002). Clinical and Cultural Competence Cultural Competence Clinical Competence

17. Some solutions • Increase the cultural competence of practitioners, as minimum standards • The cultural competence continuum • Cultural awareness and beliefs; • Cultural knowledge • Flexibility • Clinical competence • Increase access to training within shelters and remote communities regarding • Basic counselling skills • Cycles of violence and interventions • Access to advanced skills training (incremental) within services

18. Some solutions - Current services • ‘Capacity Building’ and what this means • Less resources??? • A process of ‘true’ capacity building - involving the whole community in interventions • The Derby Youth Suicide Forums • Community • Service Providers • Youth • How this works at an individual level

19. Some solutions - Current services • Addressing family violence by developing the capacity of communities to deal with violence • mediation and conflict resolution (the NSW example), targeting • elders • community • youth • service providers • Advanced skill training with a pool of community mediators.

20. Some solutions - the need for research and intervention programs • Poor research based information on the extent of family violence in Aboriginal communities • Limited early intervention programs with youth to prevent the development of the propensity towards violence • Little focus on the underlying causes of violence - reducing racism and acculturative stress in communities - why is it purely a black problem? • Lack of intervention programs regarding the development of appropriate anger management strategies in WHOLE communities • NOTHING is evaluated • Limited resources to develop and implement programs • Burnout and retention result in program failure

21. Contact Details Indigenous Psychological Services 35 Archer Street Carlisle tracyw@ips.iinet.net.au