The ABC recently published an article on their website under the headline, “Survey finds ‘significant’ rise in racism towards Indigenous people in past decade”.
The story was based on findings from a survey conducted by Reconciliation Australia. The ABC story went on to say that this survey has “recorded a near 40 per cent rise in racism during the past decade.”
This sounds very serious. But, is this really the case?
Let’s continue.
In addition to referring to some statistics from the survey, the ABC story makes reference to preventing Aboriginal deaths in custody, and of course, links the Voice referendum to racism.
So far, so predictable. This is the ABC, what else would you expect?
But then the story quotes Reconciliation Australia chief executive Karen Mundine: “I think it’s fair to say that young people feel the result around the Voice referendum and Australia’s rejection of that proposal signifies to them a rejection.”
Yet it takes quite a leap of logic to go form believing that the rejection of the flimsy Voice proposal, with all the serious constitutional concerns that went with it, is tantamount to rejecting Aboriginal people as a group.
So given these claims of racism against Aboriginal Australians, let’s explore how these claims stack up.
I realise that the ABC is only the messenger here, so I went to the Reconciliation Australia web page.
They provide a document entitled Racism and First Nations Peoples.
A sample of findings from the survey include: 36 per cent of Aboriginal Australians experienced verbal abuse, 25 per cent were prevented from renting or buying a property, and 26 per cent were refused service in a shop.
The sample size was 547 Aboriginal Australians. This sample may be sufficiently large enough for these findings to be taken seriously.
However, I have a few concerns.
First, given that these findings are taken from a survey, where the majority of respondents completed the survey online, there are the limitations of self-reporting.
Our own personal experiences tell us that there can be a large difference between what a person actually experiences and what they feel may have happened to them.
Second, while it is possible the findings reported by participants did happen, racism may not be the only reason that explains these findings. I have one friend, a non-Aboriginal woman living in a remote community, who has Aboriginal children and grandchildren.
She has told me that some of her grandchildren have been watched when entering shops. While they find it annoying, they tolerate it because they are aware of the high shoplifting rate among their peer group.
Third, it is well accepted among experienced researchers, that survey participants are susceptible to “demand bias,” which is where they will give responses they believe are expected of them. If people are constantly told that they are subjected to ongoing racism, they are more likely to believe they are the victims and report it.
Fourth, is it possible that the definition of racism has expanded in past years? This is an example of a phenomenon social researchers refer to as “concept creep”.
While some would tell us that the increased reporting of racism results from a better understanding of what racism is, I’ll bet it is simply concept creep driven by those who make their living out of campaigning about racism.
So, do these questionable claims by organisations such as Reconciliation Australia and the ABC actually promote reconciliation? I don’t think so.
I am not saying racism against Aboriginal Australians does not exist, but I am arguing that is not nearly is prevalent as some would have us believe.
So why is it important to challenge the claim that Aboriginal Australians are the ongoing victims of racism?
I offer two reasons. First, believing the racism narrative creates a distraction from addressing the real causes of disadvantage facing too many Aboriginal Australians, such as a lack of opportunities and modern services in remote communities, and poorer educational outcomes due to historical injustices that can result in reduced employment opportunities.
Second, Australians generally have an enormous amount of goodwill for Aboriginal Australians. Continued claims of racism against Aboriginal Australians by non-Aboriginal Australians could possibly erode this goodwill.
Where real racism exists, let’s stamp it out. But let’s not assume it’s a widespread problem that holds Aboriginal people back, unless there is good reason to assume so.
Until then, let’s get on with developing remote communities, ensure that all Aboriginal children receive a first-class education, and that the adults are job-ready to work in good jobs, as so many of them already are.
