The Healing Foundation recently released the first demographic study of the stolen generations and their descendants. The report, collated by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), is the first time we’ve had comprehensive data to prove that the stolen generations are sicker and poorer than their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters, who are already at a disadvantage compared to non-Indigenous Australians.

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But we can’t forget the people behind the data who have been telling their stories for more than two decades. Behind the brave men and women who have told their story to countless commissions, hearings, reports and researchers is the devastating story of colonisation, including dispossession of land, disruption of communities, the suppression of our great and ancient culture and the forced removal of children. The report has measured the impact of this unresolved trauma, collectively experienced. Sadly, the toll was too great for many of our people, who have not lived to tell their story. For those that remain, a sense of urgency has surfaced to stop the trauma cycle once and for all.

Since the AIHW report hit the public arena, the Healing Foundation has received many calls, emails and social media posts from people reaching out to say that the report is talking about them. Stolen generations members told us about their relief in reading the report, hoping that others might finally see the reality that intergenerational trauma has had on the 17,150 survivors and their families and communities that still suffer today.

We can fix this if we focus our efforts on healing strategies that work

The Healing Foundation has listened to the stories of many stolen generations and their descendants, as part of our ongoing Action Plan for Healing project. We’ve studied 19 reports over the past decade, from every state and territory across Australia. Importantly, these reports capture the lived experience of trauma, grief and loss. They put into words the continuing feelings of not belonging and searching for a strong identity.

Overlapping themes emerge time and time again. And these themes are consistent with the AIHW report. The consequences of forced removal on the health and wellbeing of our people are far-reaching. They are a consequence of being disconnected from family, community, culture and country. For example, stolen generations members often suffer from a number of complex diagnosed and undiagnosed disorders, stressors and other physical or mental health related issues as a consequence of forced removal.

There are many examples of intergenerational trauma experienced by the descendants of the stolen generations. The link between intergenerational trauma and the over-representation in the child protection and juvenile justice systems is stark, and an all-too-obvious reminder of the grief, suffering and loss caused by past government policies.

As psychiatrist Helen Milroy says, the situation isn’t hopeless. We can fix this if we focus our efforts on healing strategies that work. I often use the example of the Murri School in Brisbane’s south, which has become a beacon of hope for healing strategies that work. These programs, supported by the Healing Foundation, have been independently reviewed and found to achieve overwhelming positive results for participants like high school attendance and education attainment rates and improved wellbeing. They’ve also potentially led to a reduction in contact with the protection system by 18.5% and the juvenile justice system by nearly 14%.

We also hear about the urgent and crucial need for reparations as an acknowledgment of past wrongs. We see the need for a framework that’s fair for everyone and in line with the national redress scheme in response to the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse.

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Aged care strategies are also high on the minds of the thousands of stolen generations members who have shared their story. We already know the extent of the problem facing governments and service providers once all stolen generations members reach retirement age within the next five years. And with needs that are far more complex than the average ageing Australian this is an area of health and ageing policy that needs urgent attention.

The Healing Foundation will be presenting our Action Plan for Healing to government early next year. We hope it will secure a comprehensive and coordinated approach to break the trauma cycle. Self-determination for stolen generations and their descendants, as it is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people more broadly, is key to this plan. We need to involve Aboriginal people in designing services, because when we do, we get higher engagement and better results. And we empower our people to find their own solutions.

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