An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia An Anti-Racism Framework: Experiences and Perspectives of Multicultural Australia Executive Summary In 2023, the Australian Human Rights Commission commissioned the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) to conduct national consultations with multicultural communities to ensure that a diversity of voices within multicultural communities would be heard and centred in discussions about a national antiracism framework. This report summarises the key findings from those consultations. Between November 2023 and May 2024, FECCA engaged eighteen organisations across Australia, using an intersectional lens and intentionally prioritising groups that are most likely to experience racism together with other forms of discrimination. In total, 44 consultation sessions took place across all states and territories, covering over 860 participants. An online survey was also conducted, with 411 valid responses. Despite the diversity of the groups, cultural backgrounds, and locations involved in the consultations, individuals and communities shared their lived experience with racism as happening in everyday life and in common places, in their interactions in schools, workplace, health services, law enforcement agents and public spaces. Recommendations The consultations have also painted a more nuanced picture of racism as more than ‘skin colour’ discrimination, showing how in the current systems of power, racism often operates with other forms of discrimination. Racism, by definition, breaches the fundamental right of every human being to be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of who we are or where we are, and transforms this right into a privilege. The data from the consultations and survey make clear that in relation to race discrimination, the need for a sound human rights protection system in Australia cannot be underestimated. 1 2 The experiences shared by participants have reinforced findings from previous studies and brought to the forefront the solutions that those with lived experience of racism propose to build a society where racism is actively combated. Consistently, participants looked at rules, education, institutions, public discourse and public leadership as the drivers for an anti-racism framework. Drawing on their experiences and propositions, we present the following recommendations: 3 4 5 4 Government must lead the way to change, showing commitment to a whole-of-society, anti-racism agenda that brings public and private institutions to act and address racism. These collective efforts must involve public, respectful conversations about racism in Australia. Schools, as a fundamental institution for the formation of new generations, must incorporate preventative and redress mechanisms to tackle racism. Students should be educated on what racism is, foregrounding due recognition of the history of First Nations people and their strengths. The curriculum should also acknowledge that diversity, including of migrants from all over the world, is a central and positive feature of Australia. Schools must have safe and simple mechanisms for students and staff to report racism, and be supported, with redress systems in place that are trauma-informed and allow victims to exercise choice throughout the process. Combating racism against First Nations people should be at the forefront of an anti-racism framework, and signal to the whole society that racism, in any form or shape, will not be accepted in Australia. Public and private institutions must have policies and procedures to address racism at the workplace. These policies and procedures should ensure that employees can access safe and simple mechanisms to report racism and to be supported, with redress systems in place that are trauma-informed and allow victims to exercise choice throughout the process. 6 7 8 9 10 11 Across all sectors, employers should review their recruitment and career development pathways to ensure that the diversity of multicultural Australia is reflected through genuine representation, career progression, and leadership roles. Media, as a key player in shaping public discourse and public perception, should employ more professionals from culturally diverse backgrounds to lead news and help to shape anti-racist narratives in Australia. A Federal Human Rights Act should be introduced to address the intersections of discrimination and to create national consistency around protection of human rights. This step would show the Australian Government’s strong commitment to enshrine human rights protection across all institutions. In all that relates to anti-racism initiatives, people with lived experience must be engaged and their views respected, with a traumainformed approach that acknowledges their strength and voice. The Australian Government should provide additional specific, long-term funding for a national anti-racism strategy, going beyond one-off projects to enable planning, monitoring and evaluation of actions, as well as improvements, in partnership with multicultural communities. The Australian Government should develop better systems to collect data and monitor racism, as well as to evaluate anti-racism actions. In government institutions, healthcare and the police, anti-racism education for staff, including training for executive leaders, should be mandatory. This must go beyond cultural competency or unconscious bias training, to include cultural safety training with an intersectional lens, clear codes of conduct, and education on existing policies and procedures to report and address racism at the workplace. 5