By Jill Fraser
MELBOURNE
Forty percent of residents in Australia's most densely populated state believe one or more ethnic groups do not fit into Australian society - or to coin a term used by the prime minister, into “Team Australia”.
According to a 2013 VicHealth Race and Cultural Diversity Survey - just released - 78 percent of those who live in Victoria are in favor of cultural and racial diversity, yet the majority don’t recognize the importance of supporting and nurturing it.
Of those surveyed, 52 percent said minority groups “should behave more like mainstream Australians.”
Deakin University researcher Prof. Yin Paradies said that since 2006 there has been an increase in the number of people agreeing that certain ethnic and racial groups that do not "fit into Australian society."
He added that people who expressed prejudice about such groups are more likely to feel negative towards Muslims (according to the survey 22 percent of respondents), Middle Easterners (14 percent), Africans (11 percent) and refugees as a whole (11 percent).
“A third of people believed minority ethnic groups pose a risk to their way of life, while one in five believe that certain groups present a threat to the economic security of ‘other Australians’ by taking jobs away,” he said
VicHealth, Victoria’s key health promotion body, says the survey results demonstrate a genuine need to “better understand and address the negative attitudes held towards particular groups of people”.
It said it has identified racial discrimination as one of the key drivers of mental ill health - among the top three causes of disease and injury in Australia.
VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter told The Anadolu Agency that most respondents "reported having frequent, positive contact with members of other groups, and the overwhelming majority believe that it is important to treat people from racial and ethnic backgrounds fairly."
But she added that "prejudice, race-based discrimination and intolerance remain all too common, resulting in negative health impacts for those affected."
One in five of the 1,250 Victorians over the age of 18 who took part in the survey said certain race groups threatened the economic security of other Australians by taking jobs away.
Conversely, 95 percent of those asked believed it was important to treat people of all backgrounds fairly, 70 percent said they had frequent, positive contact with members of other ethnic groups and only 9 percent said they feel uncomfortable around those of other backgrounds.
Australia’s indigenous population "held a special place as the first Australians" for 83 percent of respondents, but 43 percent thought current levels of government support for Aboriginal people is too high.
Georgie Harman - the CEO of the beyondblue non-profit national initiative to raise awareness of depression and anxiety - warned that discrimination based on race, ethnicity or culture has a profound effect on how people feel about themselves.
“Discrimination puts people at risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety and can even lead to suicide. The best way to reduce harm caused by discrimination is to stop it, and if you see it happening, call it,” Harman said.
Cath Scarth, CEO of AMES, Australia’s largest provider of humanitarian settlement, education, training and for refugees and newly arrived migrants, said the findings show that most Victorians agree that minorities benefit Australia, which correlates with AMES’ surveys.
“At a community level, we find that even people who might express unease at having migrants from unfamiliar societies settle in Australia turn out to be very welcoming when they actually meet these new arrivals,” Scarth said.
FOOTNOTE
* “Team Australia” entered the lexicon this week when the Australian National Dictional Centre shortlisted it in its Word of the Year 2014 award.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott first used the term in August in reference to people who support Australia and its values. He brought it into political discourse in reference to the Racial Discrimination Act and as a rallying call to unite Australians against "terrorism."
www.aa.com.tr/en
