An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia “We need to build trust in the community via early education. Education needs to start before five years of age. Children need to be educated beyond Harmony and NAIDOC week. This needs to be an important part of the curriculum, in scale with the actual problem, and parents need to be aware that this is a serious part of the learning, because, often, racism start at home. The systematic change of the education system will inevitably overflow to adults, who have grown themselves in a racist environment.” – Consultation with refugee community “Schools need to develop a stronger commitment to acceptance, tolerance, and culture. This would include training and support for management, teaching and other school staff as well as inclusion of this in the curriculum for the students.” – Consultation with refugee community Beyond school, education was broadly understood as a path towards shared understanding and trust. Education about different cultures, traditions and practices was also raised as an important way to combat and prevent racism. Some participants also identified the value of cultural safety training, and anti-racism training, including at workplaces, and for public institutions such as law enforcement agents, health services and schools: “Education is key. We need programs that actively educate people, dismantle stereotypes, and foster understanding. It’s about creating spaces for open dialogue and promoting allyship.” – Consultation with LGBTQIA+ communities “I suggest a police training day – share the views of locals with police.” - Diversity training with police.” – Consultation with young people “Providing LGBTQ+ training in various languages is crucial. It’s also important to enhance training on cultural sensitivity and safety, along with educating individuals about racism, particularly focusing on the impact of racial microaggressions.” – Report from consultations with LGBTQIA+ communities. An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia Combating racism in workplaces Actions that address racism in workplaces also appeared as priority. Currently, a common approach in Australia is to address racism in workplaces through unconscious bias training or diversity training. However, evidence suggests that anti-bias training is not effective in reducing discrimination against racialised groups in workplaces.35 Instead an anti-racism agenda in workplaces should actively lead to policies and mechanisms that prevent race discrimination, and ensure safe mechanisms for redress when that occurs. A common recommendation was around hiring practices, with more recruitment and design of career pathways for people from diverse backgrounds, including cultural and gender diversity. Organisational policies should address potential bias in selection processes, include culturally diverse people in recruitment processes, and promote an environment and career pathways that increase the participation of people from multicultural backgrounds, including LGBTQIA+ individuals and women in senior and management roles. As mentioned above, employees tend to not report racism or be discredited when they do so. A major step of any anti-racism institutional change would be to ensure that employers have clear and safe pathways for reporting and redress: “Many participants stressed the importance of not only establishing, but knowing and using, feedback and reporting mechanisms in their workplaces and the communities in which they reside.” – Report on consultation with new and emerging communities Improve reporting and justice system “African proverb: you can’t be bitten by a snake and report it to a crocodile. This proverb is used as an example to explain how the community feels when they have to report incidents to a police officer who doesn’t look like them. This also refers to reporting to someone who doesn’t have your experience, who is usually the person who will make the final decision.” – Consultation with newly arrived migrants The lack of trusted and effective reporting and redress mechanisms was identified across various consultations. Many participants considered complaint processes as complicated, potentially compromising their safety and security, and eventually leading to an unsatisfactory outcome. The findings from these consultations align well with recent research based in Victoria, on the barriers to reporting racism. As the study documents, low levels of reporting were associated with sense of hopelessness (91 per cent), the view that reporting is too difficult (83 per cent), concerns about not being taken seriously (83 per cent ), worries about negative consequences (76%) or not knowing where to report (75 per cent). 36 These findings indicate that whilst more public awareness is needed on how and where to report racist activities, this alone is insufficient to address low reporting levels. Support with reporting and redress mechanisms requires a trauma-informed approach. As in many situations involving trauma, victims often name validation and empathy as critical for their psychological wellbeing. Equally important is to ensure that victims are well informed of the processes involved and are able to make choices. For many people, exposure to ‘legal’ disputes and visibility may not be the preferred option, and they should be respected and offered alternatives that can restore justice. Finally, as the study also identified, “services should be delivered by trusted organisations and qualified staff, ideally with lived experiences themselves, and in different community languages.”37 “Ending racism requires a collective effort from individuals, educational institutions, media, and government. The media has a responsibility to present accurate and unbiased information, avoiding the perpetuation of stereotypes or discriminatory narratives. Promoting diverse voices and perspectives in media content can help combat prejudice and promote a more inclusive society.” – Consultation with community media “Is there media accountability for racist depictions of individuals and communities? Mechanisms are needed to hold politicians and media accountable for their roles in perpetuating racism, race baiting, and scapegoating communities. There needs to be a call for media guidelines to be set up to stop the spread of discriminative views, or news with biased characteristics. Journalists should be accountable and there should be clear repercussions, based on clear guidelines.” – Consultations with community media Overall, community members proposed a shift in how racism is addressed in Australia. It was clear that actions to address racism and prevent it from happening should not be a burden on those who are most likely to experience it. In the process of building an anti-racism agenda, Government, media, and institutions which we encounter on our day-to-day life, such as the places we work, schools, healthcare providers, sport clubs, should play a central role. At the same time, actions should emphasise a collaborative response amongst multicultural communities. Improve participation and representation One of the most common mentioned areas of intervention for anti-racism action was the media. There were various comments on the power of the media and how it has mainly emphasised negative narratives around multicultural communities, especially migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. There was a call for the media to play a more positive role, with narratives that show the success stories and social, economic and cultural contributions that multicultural communities, including newly arrived groups, bring to Australia. Media was also identified as a key actor in combating racism and advancing an anti-racism discourse, with power to increase awareness of what anti-racism entails and to educate the public about how to act as well. 35 22 Dobbin, F., & Kalev, A. (2018). ‘Why doesn’t diversity training work? The challenge for industry and academia.’ Anthropology Now 10(2), 48-55. 36 Peucker, M., Vaughan, F., Doley, J., and Clark, T. (2024). Understanding reporting barriers and support needs for those experiencing racism in Victoria. Research report. Victoria University, https://content.vu.edu.au/ sites/default/files/documents/2024-07/barriers-to-reporting-racism.pdf 37 Ibid p.6. 23