Racism's Health Effects Noted by Nawal Ali

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RACISM and discrimination can come in many forms, according to young Somali Muslim Nawal Ali. She has felt it physically, as people yanked off her hijab in anger and fear, yelling derogatory names. She has also heard it in the condescension of would-be do-gooders, and she has seen it manifested in the depression and anxiety of its victims. ''People often feel isolation after a [racist] incident,'' says the 20-year-old, whose family came to Australia in 1994. ''They feel marginalised and excluded from society.'' Bur Ms Ali is determined to fight discrimination. She works at RISE, the Refugees Survivors and Ex-Detainees drop-in centre in Flinders Lane. Her experiences tally with the findings of a new report released yesterday by VicHealth, which found that racism is unhealthy as well as socially disruptive. The report, written for VicHealth by Melbourne University's Dr Yin Paradies, reviewed 300 studies that showed strong links between racial discrimination and health problems, and calls for more workplace-based education programs. Health problems may come in the form of stress or depression, or be the result of violence, or manifest as heart problems, smoking, obesity and diabetes. ''In the last 10 years, a lot of work has gone into looking at racism as a determinant of health,'' Dr Paradies said. ''There are [anti-racism] programs around but there are no evaluations - we just don't know what works.'' He said a lot more could be done to encourage empathy and dispel false beliefs in the workplace. Research had found it was more effective to change people's behaviour, then let their attitudes follow, rather than try to change attitudes first, he said. VicHealth chief executive Todd Harper said Victoria had a great record of fostering cultural diversity, but indigenous and overseas-born Victorians were still reporting high rates of discrimination

Source: TheAge