A recently launched Queensland-based report into attitudes to racial minorities has confirmed that racism is unfortunately alive and well in the Sunshine State.
Brisbane archdiocese’s Centre for Multicultural Pastoral Care (CMPC) was one of the key agencies involved in the project which researched 398 racist incidents over a two-year period.
The Confronting Racism in Communities project was designed to identify and address the variety of racism experienced by Queenslanders from CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) backgrounds in 10 metropolitan and regional areas.
Respondents described how they were spat on, beaten, or had small rocks, rubbish, eggs, tomatoes and other matter thrown at them while undertaking everyday activities such as shopping, catching public transport or simply walking along a footpath.
CMPC director Clyde Cosentino said among the project’s key findings was that people of Indian, Chinese and African descent were most likely to be targeted for racial abuse and that men were the main instigators of racial abuse.
Jesuit human rights lawyer Fr Frank Brennan launched the project’s final report at MacKillop Place, in Brisbane, on June 29.
More than 60 representatives from three levels of government, and police, Church, and various community and service providers attended.
Fr Brennan told those gathered “each of us has the job of making the stranger welcome and maintaining our values while protecting Australia”.
“Whether we be a prospective prime minister or just a citizen, each of us can do more to counter racism at the individual, inter-personal, institutional and societal levels with appropriate co-ordination to ensure maximum effectiveness,” he said.
Fr Brennan noted that people from an Indian background were among the most frequent reporters of racial abuse.
“Over a two-year period the researchers investigated 398 racist incidents, 62 of which came from the Indian ethnic community – 15 per cent of all complaints.
“So it is not just Victoria with its high percentage of Indian students which is encountering racism towards Indians in Australia.”
Men also needed to “lift their game” as they were responsible for 57 per cent of reported incidents while women were responsible for 19 per cent, Fr Brennan said.
He highlighted the fact that racism against indigenous Australians did not figure in the report because the Queensland Government commissioned the project team to document racism experienced by various groups, excluding indigenous Australians.
Mr Cosentino said The Confronting Racism in Communities report was the culmination of several years of hard work by many communities and individuals throughout Queensland, funded through Multicultural Affairs Queensland (MAQ).
“The CMPC was proud to be the key agency in this project in partnership with all the other agencies,” he said.
“The project outcome goes to show that when individuals and organisations come together with government support, that major issues can be tackled head-on but more importantly that positive results can come from it.
“It is hoped that this project will not end here and that there will be a continuation of support by government for further evidence-based research on the extent of racism in Australia so that meaningful strategies can be put in place to eliminate racism.”
Mr Cosentino said the project had been launched in July 2005 “against a backdrop of significant national and international events”.
“In the wake of these events, a number of individuals and organisations had spoken of an increase in the frequency and severity of racist incidents perpetrated against people from CALD backgrounds,” he said.
“However, there was little empirical data to back up these reports.”
The project team developed a Racist Incident Reporting Form in order to facilitate this data collection process.
The form was designed to be completed by people who had experienced racism or by workers themselves when the people who had experienced racism were not available to tell their story.
Forms were administered through about 70 data collection points throughout metropolitan and regional Queensland including Cairns, Tablelands, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast.
Funded by the Queensland Government through Multicultural Affairs Queensland (MAQ), the three-year pilot project aimed to document the nature and extent of racism in Queensland and to provide support, training and resources to the community sector.
Training sessions have been delivered to more than 70 groups in most regions involved in the project.
Funding has also provided for the compilation of a racism training manual and resource.
The report and more information on the project can be found on the CMPC website www.multiculturalcare.org.au
