Our greatest shame and biggest challenge
Opinion Piece | Dr Katrina Lines, CEO, Act for Kids
Dr Katrina Lines, CEO of Act for Kids and Founding partner of Allies for Children shares a reflection on one of the greatest challenges we face in Australia now, and what we as a community and in the sector need to do to promote unity and healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.
Photography of Dr Katrina Lines, CEO of Act for Kids. Katrina is dressed in a red top with black jacket. Katrina is looking at the camera and smiling
The over-representation of First Nations children in Australia’s child protection and criminal justice systems is the country’s greatest shame and biggest challenge.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent 42 per cent of the total number of children in out-of-home care, yet only make up 5 per cent of all children in Australia.
Just 6 per cent of individuals aged 10–17 in Australia are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, yet nearly half (49 per cent) of those in detention on an average day are First Nations peoples.
These numbers aren’t reflective of poor parenting or bad kids at wholesale levels in First Nations communities.
They represent structural inequities in legislative practices over many generations, the imposition of Western values, laws and decision-making and a lack of awareness of cultural practices and authority.
The history of Australia’s colonisation with its disregard for and violence towards the First Peoples of the country and destructive and dehumanising legislation, as well as present laws and the way those laws are enacted, have created intergenerational trauma and forced removals of children.
Many First Nations children are removed from their homes because of neglect, which does not necessarily arise from poor parenting, but comes from families living in poverty.
We need to Close the Gap and create better outcomes for First Nations kids, because they, like all other Australian children, are the future of our country.
Allyship and collaboration are crucial to achieving this goal.
I have experienced this firsthand over the last two decades in my work with children. I am very grateful to have learned about working together in the Aboriginal way through my relationships with Traditional Owners and First Nations people. People whose experiences could make them angry and unwelcoming but are the opposite - open and incredibly generous in their teaching and mentoring.
Recently I joined a group of like-minded chief executives to form a committed partnership called Allies for Children.
This partnership is collectively working to raise awareness about over-representation and what mainstream organisations can do to be true allies and support self-determination for First Nations communities, families and children. This involves understanding our white privilege and how to use it for good as well as what we need to give up to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to lead.
Through Allies for Children, we will bring together our voices to advocate for change in areas we think we can make a difference and where change has been slow or non-existent.
But we are not just talking about it.
Each organisation is and has been undertaking concrete actions including transitioning children to First Nations organisations, carers and families and partnering with First Nations leaders and organisations who are leading the national agenda.
As a country we should be appalled at the inequalities that persist for First Nations children and families. We should not stand by while Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are treated unfairly by our justice systems.
By harnessing collective wisdom and fostering genuine collaboration, our organisations and the child, youth, and family services sector can create tangible and lasting transformations to benefit generations now and into the future.