The report by the Multicultural Youth Advisory Network (MYAN) on its national consultation with
young people on a national anti-racism framework identified that during the pandemic period,
these challenges have been heightened. International students faced increased barriers to
employment, and income support was not made available to them. This, in addition to the
heightened isolation experienced because of the pandemic, and experiences of linguistic racism,
have made them vulnerable to exploitation and exacerbated health concerns.
People with disability
Organisations and service providers described the challenges experienced by First Nations
people with disability to the Commission. This included in education contexts, where First
Nations people with disability are often required by systems and processes to identify either as
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, or as a person with disability. The disability sector was
experienced by many as very European, with First Nations peoples and those from migrant,
refugee and faith-based communities that are negatively racialised, describing experiencing
dissonance and discrimination because of a lack of cultural safety in service delivery. On this
point, the Commission heard about how frontline workers and interpreters lack knowledge
and/or training around trauma informed support, cultural safety, inclusive and respectful
language, and the social model of disability.
Evidence presented to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of
People with Disability, outlines the difficulties experienced by First Nations and culturally and
linguistically diverse people with disability in accessing services and supports, particularly
disability support services and healthcare. These include the barriers described above in relation
to migrants and refugees, which can acquire new dimensions when encountered by First Nations
or culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability. These range from a lack of accessible
information,47 negatively racialised stereotyping that compounds attitudes around disability,48 as
well as privacy concerns, particularly around confidential health information. 49
COVID-19 has shown how at-risk culturally and linguistically diverse people
with a disability are. — consultation with peak organisation for people with
disability, NARF project, May 2021 – April 2022
Consultation participants and those who made submissions emphasised how the pandemic
highlighted and exacerbated barriers to services. The Commission was advised about how,
during the pandemic, no specific Emergency and Disaster Management Planning was developed
and implemented for culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability. Furthermore, the
increased presence of the police and military during the pandemic, which adversely impacted
people with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and in particular
asylum seekers and newly arrived migrants, was identified as a compounding factor. 50
Troublingly, the pandemic also saw an increased risk of physical abuse and sexual violence for
both First Nations women with restrictive long-term health conditions51 and culturally and
linguistically diverse women with disability. This was, in addition to an overall decrease in
available care, supports and services, partly due to significant numbers of COVID-19 infections
among disability support workers.52
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