Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

The recognition of the shameful legacy of the forced removal of children by governmentdepartments has led to a paradox of inaction. Community Services when notified of abuse orneglect frequently do nothing, hence compounding a situation of abuse and neglect.As a result of critical inaction, a child will sometimes suffer for an unnecessarily prolongedperiod and when action is taken, removal ensues because of the established chronicity.Involvement of appropriate Aboriginal professionals is often not instigated at the earlynotification phase, when a situation could have been most easily remedied.Hence the initial official neglect compounds the cycle of continued removal of children(submission 60 pages 4-5).Ineffective responses to structural problems and individual circumstances lead notonly to separations through late intervention but to loss of children through suicide,cultural breakdown and social disintegration. This loss is a serious concern to manycommunities.A number of submissions to the Inquiry suggested that for many Indigenous childrenseparation from land and kin was an extreme form of abuse and that the threat of childrenbeing removed was so frightening that the threat was abusive itself.In relation to understanding the concept of abuse in Anangu terms, the women were emphatic thatthe most destructive and harmful form of abuse which could be inflicted on any child wasremoval from their country and loss of their cultural heritage. This was identified as a form ofemotional and mental abuse which could result in physical illness for the child (Harrison 1992page 11).The WA Working Party on Guidelines for the Assessment of Aboriginal Caregiverssimilarly recognised,Not telling children who their relations and country are is regarded by Aboriginal people as oneof the most destructive and harmful forms of abuse (WA Government submission,Attachment 4 page 10).Bureaucratic proceduresIndigenous people often see welfare departments as unable to assist them and theircommunities. They perceive the departments as bureaucracies which require a lot ofpaperwork, judge Indigenous people’s lives and ultimately remove their children. TheInquiry was told repeatedly of the difficulty Indigenous carers encounter in obtaining thefinancial and other support they need to care for children. Kin care is often placed understress because of a shortage of food and other necessities. Sometimes assistance which isprovided does not go to the person caring for the child. Frequently women found the