"We go hunting together" : cultural and community inclusion as a moderator of social inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2019
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๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐: As a group intersecting two marginalised populations, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability experience greater social inequality and isolation compared to other groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people without disability, and people with disability. There is a limited amount of research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disability, and that which exists has inadequately captured the personal experiences of social exclusion and inequality. This is a gap both in research and in Australian social policy, and masks an urgent need to respond to a critical social justice issue that affects some of Australiaโs most vulnerable people.
๐๐ข๐ฆ๐ฌ: The aims of this study are to first understand the depth and nature of the social inequality that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability experience as a population group intersecting two marginalised populations; and then the impact of an Indigenous culture of inclusion as an affirming force upon their health and wellbeing. This was achieved through an emancipatory and participatory research methodology that promoted the personal testimony of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability in research.
๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐๐ฌ: This study uses a mixed methods approach involving quantitative and qualitative data analysis. The qualitative research involved the statistical analysis disaggregated data from various Australian Bureau of Statistics datasets to benchmark the prevalence and profile of disability amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, and then compared social health and wellbeing outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability to other groups. The qualitative research included personal testimony obtained through interviews with 47 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability as well as testimony collected from an Elders forum that was sourced through an Indigenous, community-directed participatory methodology. This methodology was developed specifically for research involving a marginalised participant group.
๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฌ: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability experience an intersectional social inequality and discrimination that is greater than other population groups, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people without disability, and the population of people with disability. The finding of intersectional inequality and discrimination experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability is acute and pervasive across all aspects of their lives. They are also exposed to higher levels of multi-faceted traumas at both the personal level and within their communities. Parity in the participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability in cultural and community activities is the sole categorical exception to the inequality, discrimination and trauma that they otherwise experience in their lives.
๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: The sustained exposure to intersectional inequality is constant and acute in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, and is detrimental to social health and wellbeing. Australian Indigenous and disability policy and service systems have been unresponsive to the intersectional nature of inequality, which means that the marginalisation and vulnerability experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability has remained deeply entrenched. An Indigenous culture that fosters the social inclusion of people with disability acts as a moderating force to the inequality, discrimination and trauma that they experience in other aspects of their lives.
๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง: The implications of this research are wide reaching. The finding of intersectional inequality and its detrimental consequences upon the social health and wellbeing urges a redesign of Australian Indigenous and disability policy to be more responsive to intersectional inequality. As an affirmative strategy, parity in the cultural and community participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability is the foundation for an Indigenous cultural model of inclusion as an approach to future research, policy and service systems. This study provides a proof of concept for a community-directed emancipatory and participatory methodology that can be extended beyond Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community that was involved in this research and applied in social inclusion research that involves other vulnerable groups.
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