Child Safe Organisations and cultural safety

The concept of ‘cultural safety’ was initially developed by Maori nurses in New Zealand.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars have adapted cultural safety concepts to fit Australian circumstances, emphasising the negative legacy of colonisation and dispossession, as well as the positive impact of learning about and fostering identification with Indigenous culture.

Cultural safety is increasingly used in organisations, both Indigenous led and non-Indigenous, providing services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly in the health sector.

SNAICC is the national non-governmental peak body representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. It defines cultural safety within the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out of home care as: encompassing the child being provided with a safe, nurturing and positive environment where they are comfortable with being themselves, expressing their culture…their spiritual and belief systems, and they are supported by the carer and family.

SNAICC refers to cultural safety as being when the carer provides the child with a safe home, which respects their Aboriginality and therefore encourages their sense of self and identity.

Organisations should be safe and welcoming for all children and young people. The National Principles also highlight ways that organisations should consider the needs of children from diverse backgrounds and circumstances, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

For example:

• Principle 3 requires that families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing. Indicators that an organisation is implementing this standard might include that the organisation is responsive to the needs of families and communities, including cultural safety; and that the organisation engages with and supports approaches that build cultural safety through partnerships and respectful relationships.
• Principle 4 requires that equity is upheld and diverse needs are respected in policy and practice. The key action areas and indicators focus on how recognition of children and young people’s diverse circumstances enables an organisation to work in a more child centred way and empowers children and young people to participate more effectively. This builds an organisational culture which embraces all children regardless of their abilities, sex, gender, or social, economic or cultural background.
• Principle 7 requires that staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and awareness to keep children and young people safe through information, ongoing education and training. One key action area is that staff and volunteers receive training and information on how to build culturally safe environments for children and young people.

Consultations were undertaken on the draft National Principles and on how cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people can be implemented across a broad range of organisations.

In January 2018, the Child Safe Organisations project held a forum on Child Safe Organisations and cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.

The Hon Ken Wyatt, MP, Minister for Indigenous Health opened the forum, which was co-chaired by the National Children’s Commissioner and Richard Weston, CEO of the Healing Foundation. Indigenous leaders in the fields of health, mental health, and child and family support attended.

The forum considered a background paper on cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, and sought feedback on the draft National Principles from a cultural safety perspective.

Key themes emerging from the forum were outlined in the Child Safe Organisations project February 2018 e-newsletter. These included:

• Defining cultural safety. The SNAICC definition of cultural safety was discussed and generally supported: within the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in out of home care, cultural safety encompasses the child being provided with a safe, nurturing and positive environment where they are comfortable with being themselves, expressing their culture…their spiritual and belief systems, and they are supported by the carer and family.
• Cultural safety as being integral to organisational safety, not an ‘add on’, including discussion of how a lack of cultural safety contributes to child abuse and the business case for investing in prevention.
• The link between cultural safety and human rights, including self-determination; and the gap between these rights and actual practice.
• The link between culture and wellbeing with Aboriginality being a strength.
• The lack of referencing to cultural safety and Aboriginal concerns and priorities in the draft National Principles, including the need to more clearly prioritise cultural safety and to place Aboriginal children within the context of their families and communities.

The draft National Principles were revised following these consultations.

The Child Safe Organisations project is considering the next stage of this work and, in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, plans to develop resources and guidance for organisations on cultural safety.

To find out more about the Child Safe Organisations project:

• read our factsheets for organisations and for families and communities 
• read the draft National Principles for Child Safe Organisations
• learn about our upcoming practical tools and resources
• subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter to receive updates 

You can also contact the Child Safe Organisations project team at childsafe@humanrights.gov.au.

To find out more about the Australian Human Rights Commission’s work on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice, click here.