In Australia, despite three decades of cultural safety training, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health has widened in many areas 12 and institutional racism continues 13. We argue that genuine cultural safety must be grounded in a knowledge of trauma and its impacts on individuals, families and communities. Belfrage’s cultural awareness emerged from learning about a new culture, and from a deep understanding of the trauma that permeated the community 11. Belfrage found that ‘people need to feel like themselves and believe that the health care is connected to their lives 11 – a clear explanation that can be applied across all disciplines. Only the recipients of care can say if that care is culturally safe 10.Īustralian doctor Mary Belfrage learned the meaning of cultural safety in a remote Indigenous community in Alyawarr country north-west of Alice Springs. To be culturally safe is to understand one’s own culture and the cultures of others without judgement. Finally, cultural safety is said to be present when the recipient of your work considers you safe and not a threat to their culture being accepted. Cultural sensitivity is taking steps to understand your own culture and life experiences, and how they impact others. Cultural awareness is acknowledging that someone you are working with has a culture different to yours. Ramsden worked hard to challenge the view that everyone should be cared for in the same way, ‘regardless of who they were’ 9, and eventually the Nursing Council of New Zealand endorsed cultural safety as a requirement for nursing and midwifery education.Ĭultural safety was seen as a step beyond cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. The term cultural safety was coined by Māori nurse and scholar Irihapeti Ramsden in the 1990s. Initiatives to create health and economic equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lacked long-term planning and have proved costly 7. Governments and policy makers now concede that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must either lead, or be part of the design of, programs that are meant for them 8 and it is clear that government initiatives must be grounded in trauma-informed principles. Historical trauma, collective trauma 4 and cultural trauma 5 have broken down the fabric of a once rich and healthy culture. Misguided policies and service-delivery practices are perpetuating systemic racism 6, and unless we incorporate an understanding of trauma into cultural safety training, we cannot become culturally safe in our practice. The violent acts of colonisation, including genocide 2, have left a devastating legacy 3. We argue that, without an understanding of the impacts of trauma, ticking the box of cultural safety training is not enough.Ĭolonisation has inflicted immense damage on the traditional diets, lore, land ownership and ways of living that kept First Nations peoples thriving for more than 50 000 years 1. This article examines the origins of cultural safety as a practice for working with Indigenous peoples, demonstrating its flaws and shortcomings. We have found that understanding the impacts of trauma has the power to enable systems to repair and communities and individuals to heal. For several years, The Seedling Group and other Indigenous organisations have been training government teams, not-for-profit organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to work in culturally safe and trauma-informed ways. Keywords:Īustralia, First Nations peoples, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, cultural awareness, cultural lens, cultural safety, decolonising trauma studies, trauma-informed training, culturally safe trauma-informed practice.Ĭulturally safe, trauma-informed practice training is essential to achieve cultural safety and healing. Trauma-informed cultural safety can allow profound change for individuals and the systems within which they practice. Sharing this knowledge with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations also has the potential to create safe healing spaces and interrupt trauma being passed on through generations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are drawing immense strength and hope from understanding trauma and its impact on their lives. Organisations that are serious about working and partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are becoming ‘trauma informed’. Recognising the role that historical and other traumas play in Indigenous people’s communities and lives is a prerequisite for respectful and safe practice.Ĭulturally safe, trauma-informed practice training makes cultural safety more achievable. It is critical that those working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities acknowledge and understand the impacts of trauma in order to engage in culturally safe practice.
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