aboriginalchildmalnutrition - home

<h1>Aboriginal Child Health</h1>
 
<h5>Many things can contribute to an Indigenous child's health. But in the end they all lead to one another and in the end it is still having a major effect on Aboriginal Children</h5>
 <ul><li>Malnutrition</li><li>Mental Health</li><li>Child Abuse</li><li>Government Help</li></ul> 
<h2>Malnutrition</h2>
 The diet of many indigenous people is rich in energy and contains a lot of fat. The reasons for this poor diet is that food supplies are often less than adequate in many parts of central and northern Australia. The low socio-economic status but also the environmental and geographical factors affect their diet as well. 
 
Fresh food like vegetables and fruit is often very expensive and of poor quality. The problem of children’s malnutrition begins with the mothers, because their diet during pregnancy will gravely affect the babies’ development and health. A big problem is the mothers’ low dietary-energy intake which can lead to a low pre-pregnancy weight and a low birthweight. When they grow older a lot of children are undernourished because of the leak of fresh food and are therefore more likely to catch infections. The poor diet also affects their growth. Many Indigenous people carry this legacy of impaired growth into early adulthood, where it has a significant impact on the health of mothers and of the next generation.

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 <td><h2>Mental Health</h2>
 Mental health of Aboriginal children and young people is influenced by many different factors from familiy issues, to housing, to physical health. Strong family connections are seen as the base for good social and emotional wellbeing and family problems are the primary cause of difficulties. Statistics show that major life stress events like death of a family member or friend, member of family sent to jail, witness to violence, serious illness or disability, overcrowded home and discrimination and racism are factors that have a stronger impact on mental health of indigenous people than on non-indigenous people. 
 
70% of Indigenous children are living in families that had experienced three or more major life stress events; 
22% had experienced seven or more of such events in12 months 
16% of Indigenous young people aged 12-17 years seriously consider ending their own life per year; 
39% of these attempt suicide 
24% of Indigenous children are rated by their parents as being at high risk of 
clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties, 
compared with 15% in the general Australian population 
 
Children of Indigenous carers who had been forcibly separated from their families are more than 2 times more likely to be at high risk of incurring clinically significant emotional and behavioural difficulties, and have twice the rate of both alcohol and other drug use. 
Another problem is that many aboriginal families feel unable to access mental health services for fear of government authorities becoming involved and children being removed from their families. This is the case for minor as well as serious mental health problems and is seen as a dangerous situation. 
 
<h2>Child Abuse</h2>
 The sexual health and abuse, especially of children is a serious problem for Aborigines. Many of the hardships that the Indigenous people faced including stolen wages and the governments removal of children (stolen generations) and the consequences of these hardships lead to inappropriately high alcohol consumption or petrol sniffing which causes violence and in the worst cases sexual abuse of children. 
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: #e0e0e0; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 9px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 280px;"> 
12% 
Reoffending rate for sexual offences. This percentage drops less than 5% if offenders enter a special program 
<span style="border: 0px initial initial; color: #969696; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 17px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font: normal normal normal 1.4em/normal Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.2em; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> 15% 
Percentage of reported sexual offence incidents in Australia that go to court 
 
30-50% 
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: #e0e0e0; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #000000; float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font: normal normal normal 1.4em/normal Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0.2em; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 280px;">Estimated proportion of sexually abused children in Australia where the perpetrator was 18 years or younger 
 
The sad cycle of abuse 
<span style="border: 0px initial initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">&quot;HG was born in a remote Barkly community in 1960. In 1972, he was twice anally raped by an older Aboriginal man. He didn't report it because of shame and embarrassment. 
<span style="border: 0px initial initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He never told anyone about it until last year when he was seeking release from prison where he had been confined for many years as a dangerous sex offender. 
<span style="border: 0px initial initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 1980 and 1990, he had attempted to have sex with young girls. In 1993, he anally raped a 10-year-old girl and, in 1997, an eight-year-old boy (ZH). In 2004, ZH anally raped a five-year-old boy in the same community. 
 
 
Sexual desire isn't the main cause of Child Abuse. The main cause seems to be from an alarming amount of alcohol abuse and resulting violence when the offender is of mature age. Sexual offenders rarely offend because they cannot control their sexual desire. The much likelier reason is the damage done to them in their childhood, the pain caused by cultural and identity loss, or the traumas suffered when they themselves became victims of sexual abuse. 
Many young Aborigines, for example teenagers haven't even learnt about the risks of sexual abuse and just act and imitate the behavior they are exposed to by adults or pornographic material. Their victim are usually even younger, sometimes toddlers. &quot;Education is the key to helping children and communities nurture safe, well-adjusted families,&quot; believes Rex Wild, co-author of the report 'Abuse Rampant' actually getting their child to school puts them in a safe and protected environment. 
 
 &quot;When it came to matters of sex he was clueless, save that he watched porn 
 ...that was in essence his sex education.&quot; 
 -Peter Elliot, lawyer of a juvenile sex offender 
 
<span style="border: 0px initial initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Some of the causes of child sex abuse include: 
<ul><li> overcrowding of houses</li><li> limited education </li><li> boredom</li><li>easy access to drugs and pornography</li><li>limited understanding of European ways due to English being a third or fourth language</li><li>frustration and helplessness</li><li>government neglect</li><li>childhood sexualisation (exposure to graphic pornography at a very young age)</li><li>no or limited sexual education</li></ul> 
<span style="border: 0px initial initial; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Once a child has been abused. physically or sexually, it is very hard to get them to tell people due to embarrassment or trust levels between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people. White Policemen and women are among the last people victims would confide in about an incident, and there is still not much trust in a white doctor. 
With the Indigenous prison rates already past the maximum Aboriginal communities aren't really interested in telling authorities and naming their perpetrators as they are more than likely someone they know personally or are related to. 
 
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Government Help 
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In 2007, in response to the Northern Territory Report into sexual abuse – called Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Makarle (Little Children are Sacred) – the Howard Government announced a national emergency in remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory. 
The Government’s ‘NT Intervention’ involved sending police and the army into remote communities, issuing alcohol bans, winding back Aboriginal land rights, health checks for Aboriginal children and the quarantining of welfare payments in 73 Aboriginal communities. 
Results of the NT Intervention, one year on 
Fast forward to 2008, and the election of a new Government. 
Consistent with its election promise, the new Federal Government has undertaken to conduct a review of the NT Intervention to determine whether it should continue in future years. The review is due to start in July 2008. 
The results of the Intervention that have starting coming in so far are: 
<ul><li>More than 8000 children from the NT have received health checks, with the new Labor Government committing additional funding in the 2008-9 for follow up health checks. These health checks have not led to an increased identification of child abuse cases, but other health issues have been picked up, with five hundred children directed to ear, nose and throat surgery.</li><li>A small number of abuse and neglect cases have been picked up, but it is not clear if these cases would not have been picked up under the past systems.</li><li>50 additional police have been placed in NT Aboriginal communities. Some have claimed that this has led to Aboriginal women and children feeling safer. </li><li>More local stores are providing fresh and healthy food to communities.</li><li>Additional safe houses have been opened.</li><li>The NT Intervention has been seen as a success so far and it is claimed that Aboriginal women have appreciated having a section of their welfare quarantined to avoid pressure from their families to give them some of the money. </li><li>Large numbers of Aboriginal people have moved out of the Aboriginal communities targeted by the alcohol bans and welfare quarantining, putting significant strains on welfare organisations on other towns and states to deal with the influx. This includes a massive increase in the Aboriginal population in Darwin and in fringe dwellers in town camps.</li></ul> 
 
<h1>Bibliography</h1>
 Creative Spirits, J.-U. K. (n.d.). Aboriginal Sexual Abuse. Retrieved March 15, 2011, from creativespirits: http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/health/aboriginal-child-sexual-abuse.html#ixzz1GdKucHQ9 
 
Services, V. A. (2011, January 11). Aboriginal Children's health. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from betterhealth: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Aboriginal_children's_health?open 
 
Reconciliation. (2008, June 29). Aboriginal Child Abuse and the NT Intervention. Retrieved March 22, 2011, from reconciliation: http://reconciliaction.org.au/nsw/recent-issues/aboriginal-child-abuse-and-the-nt-intervention/ 
 
Research, K. K. (2008, November 25). Review of Nutrition and Growth among Indigenous people. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from Healthinfonet: http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/health-risks/nutrition/reviews/our-review