This may shock some but turns out that one in 10 Australians admit they would tell a joke about an Indigenous Australian and one in five say they would avoid sitting next to an Aboriginal person on public transport, according to a new study.
The Invisible Discriminator, an Australian-first campaign has been launched by ‘BeyondBlue’ today to show how subtle racism impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders psychologically and how to reduce discrimination.
BeyondBlue says that such subtle signs of discrimination, negative stereotypes, racist jokes or making insensitive or offensive comments still affect the lives and well being of Indigenous Australians.
The campaign is going to show ads of non-Indigenous Australians engaging in such acts of discrimination.
The BeyondBlue survey of over 1,000 non-Indigenous Australians found almost half of them believe Indigenous Australians get unfair advantages from the government, over a third believed they ‘are sometimes a bit lazy’ and many think it’s okay to discriminate.
BeyondBlue chairman Jeff Kennett stressed on the need to bring about a change in the attitude of non-Indigenous Australians.
“This research shows that racism in Australia is still common and that many people engage in racist behaviour,” Kennett said.
“Racism, like any form of discrimination, leads to distress, which in turn can lead to depression and anxiety. Indigenous Australians are twice as likely to die by suicide as non-Indigenous Australians, and we are almost three times more likely to experience psychological distress.”
source: delhidailynews.com
STUDIO 3 NEWCASTLE AUSTRALIA 