Moving Forward Together in Aboriginal Women's Health: - Theses ...

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyteenage pregnancies or as they described it babies having babies. They spokeof some younger women (14 years and over) that they knew were havingbabies. They said;Their bodies are not developed properly and it is no good for their health.They drop out of school and get stuck in the poverty cycle at a young age,and then they get dependent on that welfare. They think the $4000 babybonus from the government will see them through, but they don’tunderstand the role and responsibility of bringing that baby up.Some of them get into drugs, 22 of us grandmothers are raising our grandchildren because of drugs, that is why we have formed the GranniesGroup, to support each other, and now we are talking to the minister too.We talk to anyone who will listen.Some of the women discussed concerns about whether there were still specificprograms for young Aboriginal women around sexual health and keeping safe.They said;We used to go out and talk to the girls about sexual health and keepingthemselves safe when we were Aboriginal health workers. We used to dothe contact tracing, go into pubs and tell them to get checked and getmedications. Who is doing that work now?And who talks to them about good relationships and violence and thatthey don’t need to settle for bad relationships?(Aboriginal Women's Reference Group 2005)The impact of colonisation on cultural women’s health information sharingAboriginal community women identified the need for health information andservices for young Aboriginal women in their care. In general discussions inthe Women’s Friendship Group in Collaboration Area One (WFG D5) and inclinics, some Aboriginal women said that as mothers and grandmothers whowere members of the stolen generation they felt unsure about how best to bringup conversations about women’s health topics such as puberty, sexuality andsafety (Janet Kelly journal). They themselves had missed being told aboutthese issues and found it difficult to know how to initiate discussions.265