[Download] "Townsville Mums and Babies Program: An Actualization of Indigenous Self-Determination and Women's Empowerment (Report)" by Outskirts: feminisms along the edge # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Townsville Mums and Babies Program: An Actualization of Indigenous Self-Determination and Women's Empowerment (Report)
- Author : Outskirts: feminisms along the edge
- Release Date : January 01, 2010
- Genre: Social Science,Books,Nonfiction,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 209 KB
Description
After years of state management and control, Australian Indigenous people are still fighting for a self-deterministic approach in legislative processes pertaining to areas of Indigenous concern. In spite of the Rudd Government's heavily advertised 'Close the Gap' Campaign, Indigenous Australians are still among the most disadvantaged groups within Australian society (ANTaR, 2010). Nonetheless, sources of financial support that allow for the possibility of alleviation of such disadvantage associated with Indigenous affairs are tied to political power discourses, which continue to impede progress with regards to Indigenous rights. The Rudd government's 2008 official Apology to Indigenous Australians, an important symbolic gesture for reconciliation purposes, saw Aboriginal affairs briefly thrust under the scrutiny of mainstream political discourse after years of marginalization under the Howard Government. However, Indigenous self-determination has failed to be supported by many non-Indigenous members of the Australian public as indicated in the Australian Reconciliation Barometer's measurement of a low level of trust between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2008). Many felt skeptical about the Howard Government's support of the notion of 'practical reconciliation'. Practical reconciliation places an emphasis on funding being funneled into areas of visible practicality, and Indigenous services being mainstreamed into control by public welfare organizations (Hollinsworth 2006:167). This mainstreaming sees areas of Indigenous disadvantage attempted to be 'fixed' with quick solutions to complex issues, as a result of pressure for visible outcomes, but diverse Indigenous needs are lost in generalized mainstream services and such quick-fix solutions often fail. The Rudd Government remained relatively quiet on the notion of self-determination, preferring instead to focus on the practicalities of the 'Close the Gap' campaign (ANTaR 2010). The recent Australian election was notable in the absence of discussion of Indigenous issues on behalf of both major parties (Koori Mail 2010). The formation of the Gillard minority government saw Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin promise to focus on Indigenous employment and education, with an emphasis on 'practical reforms' and no mention of self-determination (Robinson 2010:2). This paper will discuss Australian Indigenous women's empowerment as actualized in the self-deterministic approach of the Townville Mums and Babies Program. The United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People [UNDRIP] specifically endorses the language of self-determination pertaining to the actualization of the rights of Indigenous peoples. UNDRIP defines self-determination as the right to "freely determine ... political status and freely pursue ... economic, social and cultural development" (" (UNDRIP 2008:4). Behrendt (2002) outlines a form of self determination based on such rights and specific to the Australian Indigenous context. The 2010 Millennium Development Goals Report for the United Nations states that women's empowerment is "at the heart of the Millennium Development Goals" specifically with regard to improving world-wide maternal health and obstetric outcomes (2010:2). Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Kevin Rudd attended the UN summit and endorsed this statement. The aim is to increase awareness of the role of Indigenous women in improving their own maternal health outcomes, and to empower women through a self-deterministic approach in processes pertaining to Australian Indigenous mothers. This rights-based framework was endorsed at an international level by the UN. In this paper Larissa Behrendt's explanation of self-determination (2002) is used to discuss how a tentative move towards self-determination has been put into place by the Townsville Mums and Babies Program.