Equality for all
I HEARD the noise, but I was deep in the happy bliss of a hot summer morning on my first day of high school.
My tranquil state was shattered by words of urgency from my brother: “Run, run!”
Suddenly the boys on bikes were upon us, and the noise was words of abuse about the colour of our skin.
Our olive skin was almost black from the recent beach holiday; our hair was black and curly, especially my brother’s. The boys were yelling; they were on bikes and we were on foot, my brother shielding me from their kicks as they struck him in the back. I was frightened and paralysed. He grabbed me by the hand and said “Run”, then he pulled me off the path and we started running through the bushes.
“Why?” I sobbed. “We look different, ”my brother replied. That was nearly 45 years ago. Today Australia is a better place but we still have a long way to go to ensure equality based on colour, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual preference, even the clothes we wear. After all, it is not that long ago that women were not allowed to vote.
Australia first gave women the right to vote and the right to stand for the Commonwealth Parliament in 1902. And while it would appear women are equal, women make up less than 5 per cent of CEOs in Fortune 1000 companies — studies about the reasons why women are not advancing to top positions have shown a distinct negative bias against women leadership, with traits that are seen as positive in men viewed as negative in women. Bossy as opposed to decisive, calculating as opposed to strategic, demanding as opposed to tough, to name just a few.
Women over the years have fought many battles — for equal rights, for equal pay, for freedom from violence. While there is a significant improvement, the battles for equality are not over.
In recent times it has been recognised that in health we need to improve the culture between staff, especially in relation to female medical practitioners and where there is power disparity.
In recognition of this, Barwon Health is a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS).
The MoU, a collaboration under the RACS 2015 Action Plan: Building Respect, Improving Patient Safety, is an agreement signed by Barwon Health and represents a shared commitment by the organisations to address discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment in surgery and the health sector.
While we usually quote 1902 as the year Australia gave women the right to vote, indigenous Australian women (and men) were however not officially given the right to vote until 1962.
It was only 10 years ago that former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, pictured, made his historic apology to the Stolen Generations. Last month, Barwon Health marked the 10th Anniversary of the Apology to the Stolen Generations with a ceremony at the McKellar Centre.
At Barwon Health we actively seek to engage and establish trust with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community; we now employ 35 staff identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Our Aboriginal health program manager leads the team to ensure Barwon Health improves health outcomes across the region by establishing culturally appropriate services and welcoming space for Aboriginal patients and families, and through our MoU with the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative.
On August 1, 2013, the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 was amended to make discrimination on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status against the law, yet lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people in Australia still experience discrimination. Barwon Health has embarked on ensuring that we have a LGBTI inclusive practice and workplace culture.
We are working to achieve Rainbow Tick Accreditation and reaching the highest standards to safe and inclusive service delivery for LGBTI people in our service and community.
Like many, I have experienced discrimination and inequality but I remain optimistic that it can be overcome through education, community engagement and leadership, as well as laws and policies promoting principles of non-discrimination.
We all have a duty to address the situation of those for whom the principles of equal treatment and equal opportunity are not yet
realities.