Not my family : understanding the prevalence and impact of racism beyond individualistic expectations

It is our position that to limit our understanding of racism to that of the perpetrators’ perspectives (common in anti-racism discourses), or even to direct interpersonal forms of racism, may be part of a discourse of silence (Bonilla-Silva 2014; Walton et al. 2014). This discourse limits the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to that of “objects” that have become “othered” so that they may only be understood from predominant Western and individualistic frameworks (Martin 2008; Moreton-Robinson 2015). In doing so, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives on the complex nature and impact of racism become unrealistically simplified and ignored. Utilising the Primary Carer responses to questions about racial discrimination within the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), we attempt not only to examine the individual impact of racism on the mental health of the Primary Carers and their attachment to the Study Child, but also to investigate whether racism impacting on the Primary Carer’s family (i.e. the Study Child and wider family) may also directly impact on the Primary Carer’s patterns of mental health and attachment.