Your health, your rights: standing up against racism in healthcare

Healthcare should be a place where people feel safe, listened to and cared for. But for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, healthcare settings can be places where they experience racism, are not taken seriously, or face harmful assumptions about their health and lives. 

These experiences can affect trust in the system, lead to delayed treatment and, in some cases, cause people to avoid seeking care altogether. The impact of racism in healthcare is not just emotional, it can have serious and lasting effects on physical health and wellbeing.

In this episode of Know Your Rights, we explore how racism shows up in hospitals, clinics and other health services, how it affects Aboriginal people and families, and what needs to change to create culturally safe and respectful healthcare environments. While the conversation addresses difficult realities, it also highlights the strength of Aboriginal community-controlled health services and the importance of accountability and reform.  

Guests featured in this episode 

Professor Yin Paradies is a Wakaya man and Chair of Race Relations at Deakin University. Yin is a leading researcher on racism and health, and he explains how stereotypes and bias shape decision-making in healthcare, leading to underdiagnosis, undertreatment and unequal care. 

Lisa Briggs is a Gunditjmara woman with connections to Framlingham and Lake Condah, and CEO of Ngaweeyan Maar-oo. With more than 40 years of experience in Aboriginal health, Lisa shares insights into culturally safe care, the importance of Aboriginal health workers and the ongoing barriers Aboriginal people face in mainstream health systems. 

Know Your Rights is narrated by journalist Jedda Costa — a proud Wemba Wemba, Yorta Yorta, Barapa Barapa and Mutti Mutti woman with many years’ experience covering Indigenous stories.  

In this episode you will discover: 

• How racism in healthcare can be overt (dismissive or discriminatory treatment) and covert (bias in diagnosis, treatment and decision-making) 
• How stereotypes about Aboriginal people can lead to underdiagnosis and undertreatment 
• Why trust in healthcare systems has been damaged by past and ongoing discrimination 
• The impact of racism in health settings on mental health, physical health and willingness to seek care 
• The importance of Aboriginal community-controlled health services and Aboriginal health workers 
• Why identifying as Aboriginal in healthcare settings can feel unsafe, and how this affects access to care 
• The barriers that stop people from reporting racism in healthcare 
• Why patient advocacy and culturally safe complaint processes are needed 
• The role of cultural safety training and systemic reform in improving healthcare for everyone 
• Where to go for support if you experience race discrimination in a healthcare setting. 

Song credits:

• Call It Out – David Arden
• Koori Woman – Carole Fraser – Acknowledging the late Aunty Carole Fraser’s track – rest in peace pioneer and trailblazer – titled ‘Koori Woman’. We use this song with permission from family and with respect.

The following is a full list of protected attributes in Victoria under section 6 of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010: 

• age
• breastfeeding
• employment activity
• gender identity
• disability
• industrial activity
• lawful sexual activity
• marital status
• parental status or status as a carer
• physical features
• political belief or activity
• pregnancy
• profession, trade or occupation
• race
• religious belief or activity
• sex
• sex characteristics
• sexual orientation
• an expunged homosexual conviction
• a spent conviction
• and personal association (whether as a relative or otherwise) with a person who is identified by reference to any of the above attributes.

Have you or someone you know experienced race discrimination? Learn how VEOHRC can support you.

• You can get more information from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, make a complaint or report
• If you make a formal complaint we will take it through our conciliation process. Conciliation is an informal flexible approach to finding an outcome to a complaint
• Outcomes can include an agreement to give an apology, to do cultural safety training, change policies and procedures, to keep your job or get it back, and give financial compensation
• If you don’t want to make a formal complaint but want to report race discrimination, you can make an anonymous report to us through our online community reporting tool
• If you think you may have experienced race discrimination you can contact the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission Monday to Friday to speak with an inquiry officer on 1300 292 153
• All our staff are specifically trained to support First Nations people when they are seeking information or making a complaint.