An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia Key Terms and Definitions The definitions provided below were drawn from documents from the Australian Human Rights Commission, and in particular the website: Racism. It Stops with Me ).1 These definitions are not exclusive. Additional references for those who would like to understand the concepts and discussions in Australia have been included at the end of this section. Anti racism involves actively attempting to combat racist policies, practices, culture and ideas. Anti-racism is about more than being ‘not racist’. It involves active decisions that seek to combat injustice and promote racial equity. It can be helpful to think of anti-racism as a skill set that we can all develop and use to promote a better, more equitable society. Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) is an acronym typically used to refer to people of non-English speaking background, and people born outside of Australia as well as people whose first language is not English. People may not identify with the acronym as it does not capture the complex nature of many Australians’ cultural heritage. First Nations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the lands now collectively referred to as Australia. First Nations is an encompassing term that refers to the numerous Traditional Custodians of Country across Australia. Institutional racism exists when racism is established as a normal behaviour within an organisation, institution, or society. It includes the policies and practices that inform the operations of organisations and institutions. Internalised racism occurs when an individual believes and promotes racist attitudes, beliefs or ideologies directed at their race or cultural group. 1 2 The definitions of ‘culturally and linguistically diverse,’ ‘First Nations,’ ‘internalised racism,’ and ‘intersectionality’ were drawn from the Australian Human Rights Commission (2022). National anti-racism framework scoping report 2022, Australian Human Rights Commission, https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/publications/ national-anti-racism-framework-scoping-report; Website: Racism. It Stops with Me. https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/commit-tolearning/key-terms An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia Interpersonal racism is racism that occurs in interactions between individuals or groups of people, often in everyday settings. Interpersonal racism can come in the form of abuse, harassment, humiliation or exclusion. It can also be expressed through off-hand jokes or comments. Sometimes referred to as ‘everyday racism’. Interpersonal racism is considered by some to be the way in which systemic racial inequity plays out between people. Interpersonal racism does not always target a specific person and may not even be intended to cause any offence or harm. However, a lack of intent does not reduce the negative impacts of racism. Intersectionality is ‘the multiple social forces, social identities, and ideological instruments through which power and disadvantage are expressed and legitimised.’ 2 An intersectional framework acknowledges that multiple social categories, such as race, sexuality, class, gender, and disability, combine to create distinct experiences and identities that are lived and perceived in ways that cannot be reduced to any one category. Intersectionality recognises that there is no single way a person exists in the world, nor is there a single mechanism through which inequalities are produced at institutional and systemic levels. Rather, these intersections are themselves the result of systemic, structural, and institutionalised patterns of power and privilege. Microaggressions. Microaggressions are the casual expressions that perpetuate racist stereotypes and ideas. An example of a microaggression might be commenting on how well a person of African heritage speaks English, or repeatedly mispronouncing someone’s name, despite being corrected. Many microaggressions are not necessarily visible to everyone. People who directly experience racism (or other forms of discrimination) are typically much more aware of them. It’s important to remember that “micro” in microaggression doesn’t mean that these acts can’t have a severe impact. Microaggressions have a cumulative effect and can cause considerable psychological distress. Negatively racialised is a term used to refer to groups of people who have experienced the harms of racialisation – those groups have been racialised in a way that is negative in order to maintain the supremacy of whiteness. The use of the term ‘negatively racialised’ does not intend to undermine the agency and self-identification of these groups. In many contexts we see language that has been used to negatively racialise certain communities being reclaimed as a tool for collective and anti-racist organising (for example, the terms ‘Black’ and ‘Blak’ used by First Nations people to self-identify in Australia). See definition of ‘racialisation’. 2 Crenshaw, K (2017). On Intersectionality: Essential writings. New York, NT, The New Press. Race. The idea of race is a modern one and emerged in 16th-17th century Europe. It refers to the idea that humans can be organised into distinct biological ‘races’ with defined physical and social traits. Today, it is widely accepted that biological categories of race do not exist. However, that does not mean that race, as a concept, is no longer relevant. This is because ideas of race (and ideas that are racist) were foundational to the development of many of today’s laws, cultures and societies, with certain racial identities perceived and positioned as superior to others. Racialisation is the process by which groups of people come to be seen, treated and to understand themselves as belonging to a distinct racial group. Like race, racialisation has been used to legitimise European colonialism, including settler colonisation, the enslavement of peoples, and related laws and policies. It has been used to both create ‘whiteness’ and establish hierarchical differences between groups of people, where some communities are regarded as exploitable, able to be enslaved or even eliminated. The process of racialisation provides and protects economic, social and political benefits to white communities as those who have gained wealth, land, social and political power via the process of colonisation. As with race, racialisation is a social construct rather than an objective classification, and can be changed to suit different social and political aims over time. For example, in Australia, European colonisation required the dispossession of First Nations people from their lands, and led to false ideas of the racial inferiority and inevitable demise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to justify European territorial claims. These ideas were supported by so-called science that has since been disproved. Racism is the process by which systems and policies, actions and attitudes create inequitable opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. Racism is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others. Trauma informed approach. Trauma-informed practice is a strengths-based framework grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma, that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for everyone, and that creates opportunities for survivors of trauma to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment. Becoming trauma-informed is about supporting people to feel safe in their interactions with others in their environments. Trauma-informed approaches utilise meaningful collaboration with people who have experienced trauma, to design organisations which accommodate the vulnerabilities of trauma survivors and minimise the risk of re-traumatisation. In regard to racial trauma, typically this would involve consultation with people who are the targets of racism and acting on their thoughts and ideas on how to address racism. For some historical and conceptual analyses of racism in Australia, see: • Bargallie, D and Fernando, N (eds) (2024). Critical racial and decolonial literacies. Breaking the silence. Bristol, Bristol University Press. • Watego, C (2021a). Another day in the colony. St Lucia, University of Queensland Press. • Watego, C., Singh, D. & Macoun, A. (2021). ‘Partnership for justice in health: Scoping paper on race, racism and the Australian health system.’ Discussion paper, The Lowitja Institute, https://www.lowitja.org.au/wp-content/ uploads/2023/05/Lowitja_PJH_170521_D10-1. pdf Systemic racism can be more difficult to identify than individual or interpersonal racism, because it is often so entrenched in our societies or institutions that it is perceived as ‘normal’. Systemic racism refers to the way that the cultural norms, laws, ideologies, policies and practices of a particular society, organisation or institution result in unequitable treatment, opportunities and outcomes. However, systemic racism can also happen without specific laws, policies or practices keep it in place.13 In many cases, the legacy of those norms, laws, policies and practices continues to reinforce the inequalities they created, long after they have ended. That’s why we need laws, policies and practices that are actively antiracist to address ongoing injustices. Terms like systemic, institutional and structural racism are often used to refer to similar phenomena but can also be considered distinct. 3