Reconciling systemic abuse of children and young women with social work’s commitment to a human rights, transformative practice

Abstract

Forced removal of children, child migration and child adoptions have a long history in Australia. The systematic removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nation) children into state and religious institutional care, the forced migration of British children to Australia and the involuntary adoption of young unwed women’s children are features of the welfare landscape for more than 250 years of colonial rule. Known as the ‘forgotten ones’, ‘lost innocents’ or ‘stolen children’, these children experienced lifelong trauma and serious mental ill-health, leaving a trail of hurt rippling through the generations. The current forced, indefinite detention of children and their families in refugee camps is a punitive aspect of Australia’s current Immigration Detention policy. Children being held in these detention centres will experience the same long-term health and welfare impact of those before them. What is distressing about this legacy is that these atrocities are still occurring with the over-representation of First Nation children in the criminal justice system and the continued detention of children in detention camps with little or no attention from social work’s professional body. These past and current atrocities present social work with the challenge of how to deal with the consequences of these policies and institutional failings. An important step to tackle this issue is for the Australian Association for Social Workers and the international professional bodies to offer some form of acknowledgement, recompense and reflection on past hurts to protect clients from further harm and build trust in their work.