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Home > Aboriginal Studies > Social Justice & Human Rights > Global Perspective > Social Justice & Human Rights Issues: A Global Perspective

 

Social Justice & Human Rights Issues: A Global Perspective

	Current socio-economic status of Aboriginal and Indigenous peoples   What do we mean by 'socio-economic status'? Socio-economic status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Are Indigenous people disadvantaged? Socio-economic status of international Indigenous peoples References OUTCOMES H1.2 analyses and discusses the social justice and human rights issues that are contemporary consequences of the colonisation of Aboriginal peoples H2.1 analyses the importance of land as an aspect of contemporary issues impacting on Aboriginal peoples H2.3 discusses and analyses consequences of colonisation on contemporary Aboriginal cultural, political, social and economic life H4.5 compares and evaluates the histories and cultures of Indigenous Australian peoples with international Indigenous peoples H4.1 investigates, analyses and synthesises information from Aboriginal and other perspectives, using a variety of media H4.4 applies ethical research practises   What do we mean by 'socio-economic status'? This term refers to the level (status) of social and economic position of people within society as reflected by various 'indicators'. Indicators enable us to measure and compare the financial and social position of groups within a community. They indicate people’s standard of living.     Socio comes from the word 'social' and refers to people and the ways they fit into the community in which they live. It refers to how well they are educated, whether they have jobs, and other factors listed below. Economic refers to the financial position of groups within society including how much they earn, whether they own their own home and the type of assets (inheritances, savings, property etc) they have. The main indicators of socio-economic status are: Social indicators: - education - health - contact with the criminal justice system - employment/unemployment level - type of occupation/job - housing - access to services ? water, sewerage etc. Economic indicators: - income, salary, wages etc - level of dependency on welfare payments - home ownership - asset level. Demonstration in Patana, India Paul Harrison / Still Pictures Examine the New Internationalist magazine site to see how they define and measure poverty Socio-economic status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples In the Aboriginal Studies Stage 6 course we will look at six particular topic areas so that we can closely examine these socio-economic indicators in regards to the achievement of social justice for Indigenous Australians. These six topic areas are: Health Education Housing Employment Criminal justice Housing   Examine the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission internet site which gives socio-economic statistics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission states that: "... this collection of statistics and surveys is chosen for relevance in highlighting disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Reducing people and their experiences to percentages is problematic, however, Statistics are useful as indicators of disparities and inequalities, and of similarities, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This should be viewed as a selection of statistics, representative (but by no means comprehensive) of recent research and findings by key indicators such as health, education, employment, housing and welfare." Are Indigenous people disadvantaged? Health The life expectancy for Aboriginal people is15?20 years less than the general population. At any age, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more than twice as likely to die as are non-Indigenous people. For those aged 25?44, the risk is five times greater than the national average. Diabetes affects 30% of people in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities, which is four times the non-Indigenous rate. Deaths in Aboriginal males with diabetes rose from 36 per 100,000 in 1985-86 to 82 per 100,0000 in 1991-92. Indigenous infant mortality is still more than three to five times higher than that for other Australian children. Infectious diseases are twelve times higher than the Australian average. Hospital admissions for Aboriginal men are 71% higher than for non-Aboriginal males. For Aboriginal females, the admission rate, which includes admissions for childbirth, is 57% higher than for non-Aboriginal females. Education Only 33% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children complete schooling compared to a national average of 77%. 2.2% of Indigenous people have tertiary degrees compared with 12.8% of all Australians. Employment The unemployment rate is 38% for Indigenous people, compared with 8.7% for the general population. 14% of Aboriginal men and 17% of Aboriginal women are in administrative, professional or para-professional positions compared with 35% of Anglo-Australian men and 29% of Anglo-Australian women respectively. The mean individual income for Indigenous people is 65% of that of the general population. Criminal justice system Indigenous people are 17.3 times more likely to be arrested; 14.7 times more likely to be imprisoned; and 16.5 times more likely to die in custody than non-Indigenous Australians. Indigenous juveniles aged 10-17 are 21 times more likely to be in juvenile detention institutions than the rest of the population of that age. In Western Australia, the rate is 48 times higher. The number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people in prison has increased by 61% in the last seven years ? almost twice the growth rate of the non- Indigenous prison population. Aborigines are more likely to be held in custody or detained for less serious offences than non-Aboriginal people. The highest over-representation of Aboriginal people in custody is for public order offences. More than half of the Aboriginal people held in police custody are detained for public drunkenness and street offences. Other Only 28% of Aboriginal families own their own home compared to 67% of all Australian families. In 1992, 34% of discrete communities had a water supply which was below the standard set by the Commonwealth Government as being safe for human consumption. 13% of discrete communities did not have a regular water supply.     Non-Indigenous people Indigenous peoples Completion of Year 12 76% 28% Post-school qualifications 31% 11% Unemployment rate 9% 23% Median weekly income (Males) $415 $189 Home ownership 71% 31% 40% of juveniles in corrective institutions are Indigenous 19% of adult prison population is Indigenous. Note: Indigenous people make up 2% of the total population     Socio-economic status of international Indigenous peoples The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are the Indigenous people of Australia. Indigenous peoples are often called "First Peoples" as they are the original inhabitants of a land. World-wide, there are about 250 million Indigenous People living in over 70 countries. They make up about 4% of the world’s population.   As with the Aboriginal people of Australia, Indigenous people all over the world are amongst the most disadvantaged people worldwide. They suffer the worst health conditions, receive the least education and are among the world’s poorest people. Generally, they are said to live in "Third World " conditions. Their numbers have been decimated by the effects of colonisation, dispossession and disease. The socio-economic status (as measured by socio-economic indicators such as health, education and employment) of Indigenous peoples is receiving worldwide attention at an international level. This includes the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples formulated by the United Nations. This declaration recognises the low socio-economic status of Indigenous peoples and attempts to gain support from member countries to lift this status to the level of non-Indigenous inhabitants.   References Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Indigenous Deaths in Custody 1989 to 1996 AGPS Canberra, 1996. Australian Bureau of Statistics, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994, AGPS, Canberra, 1994. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Statistical Collections AGPS, Canberra 1994. McDonald,D, National Police Custody Survey 1992 Preliminary Report, Australian Institute of Criminology Canberra, 1992. National Aboriginal Health Strategy: an evaluation, AGPS, Canberra 1995. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Australia’s Health 1996 AGPS Canberra 1996. National Prison Census,1992. Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, AGPS Canberra 1991.