Today is the 17th anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations. But what is an apology without meaningful action?
A new report by The Healing Foundation has found that only six percent of recommendations made to support Stolen Generation survivors and their families almost 28 years ago have been fully implemented.
Every year, Stolen Generations survivours pass away without key supports. We need urgent changes to the current system to enable remaining elderly survivors to live out their days with dignity.
“We have already lost too many survivors, even in the last few weeks,” explains The Healing Foundation’s CEO, Shannan Dodson. “Immediate and prioritised action is needed to provide equitable redress for all survivors, rectify issues preventing survivors from accessing their own family records, offer ongoing support for Stolen Generations organisations and ensure there are culturally safe, trauma-informed aged care and health services for survivors.”
The report by The Healing Foundation includes commissioned analyses by researchers at the University of Canberra and recommendations for modernising the Bringing them Home report. It also draws on insights from many years of consultation with survivors and Stolen Generations Organisations on their needs and priorities.
“Stolen Generations survivors have specific and complex ageing needs resulting from their forced removal and are more likely to fare worse than other older Indigenous people on a range of outcomes. They are the gap within the gap. Yet we know survivors are often not accessing necessary services due to fear of re-traumatisation,” Professor Larkin said.
The Healing Foundation report makes 19 recommendations as part of National Healing Package for Stolen Generations survivors across six areas – on reparations, rehabilitation and research, records, family tracing and reunions, acknowledgements and apologies, education and training, and monitoring and accountability.
The report reveals:
• only 5 out of 83 Bringing them home report recommendations have been clearly
implemented (6%)
• 45 have failed to be implemented (54%)
• 11 recommendations are categorised as a qualified pass
• 10 are classified as a partial failure
• the status for 10 of the recommendations is unclear, and one is no longer applicable.
The report sends a clear message: now is the time for a comprehensive, coordinated response to address the complex needs of survivors before further trauma is inflicted.
The full report is available here.