I have to thank clementine Ford for her astute position that she would be VERY unlikely to have this happen to her ...Aboriginal people make up only 2.3% of the Australian population, yet they accounted for around 18% of deaths in custody between 1980 and 2007. To put a human face on that, 379 Aboriginal people died while in police custody during this period. Between 2008 and 2012, a further 54 Aboriginal people have died while incarcerated. Despite a 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, most of its 339 recommendations (made in its final report in 1991) have never been implemented - recommendations which some people say might have saved Miss Dhu’s life. Why are we so slow to respond to crises involving the treatment of Aboriginal people? Only one person on Twitter raised the issue with me, which was the first I’d heard of it. This silence may be wilful or it may be accidental - either way, it’s a shameful indictment on Australia’s attitudes towards Aboriginal self determination, autonomy and dignity.....
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 08:16:16 +0000
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