Why is it that despite our best efforts, social issues remain or are cyclic? Why, despite education around healthy lifestyle and medical advances, does the prevalence of chronic disease remain high? Is there another way?
Imagine if we put all our efforts into building the community we want, rather than fixing the ‘’issues”.... What if we looked at it differently......? I love this clip from Spirit Bridge (2014).
Unfortunately, we are not starting with a blank slate which sort of complicates things, but what if we changed our focus from stopping domestic violence, reducing youth offending and managing chronic disease, and put our focus on building a resilient, connected and compassionate community? Would this provide a better approach? What would we need to do have a resilient, connected, compassionate community?
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (CDC, 1997) provides an important association between many of societal issues at a community level, and adverse outcomes for individuals, both in terms of their physical health and their mental health. It is therefore a useful framework for examining the issues and looking at potential targets for intervention.
The current version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Pyramid recognises that adverse childhood experiences (physical, emotional and sexual abuse, emotional or physical neglect and/or household challenges such as mother treated violently, substance abuse in the household, mental illness in the household, incarcerated household member and/or parental separation or divorce) occur within the context of historical factors and current social conditions. Generational Embodiment/Historical Trauma is the base layer of the pyramid and this links with the experience of Indigenous people in Australia, and other colonised countries.
“The high rates of poor physical health, mental health problems, addiction, incarceration, domestic violence, self-harm and suicide in Indigenous communities are directly linked to experiences of trauma” (Australians Together, 2020).
I plan to look at the base level of the pyramid as I believe that if we can alter the foundation, we can change the pyramid we build. We can't change history but we can promote healing through hearing and acknowledging the truth so there can be post-traumatic growth into the future.
I understand that while I am looking at historical trauma within an Indigenous context, many other racial and cultural groups, families and Communities have had traumatic histories. Survivors of the Holocaust and Child Soldiers are two specific examples. Within Australia, many of our white ancestors were forced to come to a foreign land as convicts, others came because of wars, religious persecution and/or extreme poverty in their homelands. Others were sent abroad as child migrants from the United Kingdom. Forced adoptions occurred where new-born babies were taken from their unmarried mothers and adopted out - against the mothers wishes and often with the mother told that the child had died. Young girls were "married off" as their parent's families continued to grow and they could not afford to support them. Australia was a harsh land for many who came here. However, none of this takes away from the suffering and loss endured by Indigenous people due to the forced colonisation of their land. Two (or more) things can be true - one does not exclude the other.
Looking at the base layer: Generational Embodiment/Historical Trauma
The first step forward is knowing the story... the history.... and examining the source of the trauma.
Following the colonisation of Australia, generations of Aboriginal people have suffered collective and individual trauma as a result of Frontier Wars and the associated atrocities, as well as having their lives managed under the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act, 1897. They suffered massacres, the loss of their land and the loss of their way of life. Cultural practices were disrupted and family and spiritual connections were severed. The trauma continued for the following generations. Their descendants have suffered further dispossession, the forced removal of their children and policies of assimilation. Their Human Rights have been denied. Racism and social, economic and health disadvantage continue to significantly impact daily life. (Bringing them Home Report, 1997).
The Stolen Generations were deprived of the opportunity to experience traditional parenting practices and instead experienced levels of stress, violence and abuse that no child should ever endure. For those who avoided capture - we can never imagine the ongoing fear of their families as they tried to keep their children safe. It is therefore not at all surprising that transgenerational trauma has had a significant impact on children's attachment relationships with their care givers (Milroy, 2018; Atkinson, 2013; Menzies, 2019). This in turn has affected parenting and family functioning into the present day. If not resolved or healed, these early patterns of difficult attachment relationships are likely to impact the relationships that children form at school (or don't form), as well as their adult relationships. The situation is exacerbated and perpetuated by ongoing high levels of stress and trauma associated with multiple bereavements, family and community violence and racism (Milroy, 2018).
Intergenerational Resilience and Healing
The Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017) sought truth-telling about Aboriginal history as a way forward, and sought structural and constitutional mechanisms to ensure that the voices of Indigenous people are heard. While the processes of politics delay this action - on a personal and Community level we can make a difference.
Telling the truth about our history not only brings to light colonial conflict and dispossession, but also acknowledges the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures (Reconciliation Australia, 2020)
Despite the trauma they have suffered, many Indigenous families have survived - and against the odds are bringing up strong and proud young people. This is not to say that intergenerational trauma has not had an impact, but rather they have had the strength and resilience to overcome much adversity and suffering. According to Professor Helen Milroy (2018) protective factors for Indigenous people include "extensive kinship systems, cultural and spiritual strengths, traditionally strong child rearing practices and early autonomy and self-reliance". None-the-less, many Communities, families and individuals continue to suffer from the impact of the trauma that they and their Old People have suffered. Time alone will not heal, the truth must be told and the trauma must be faced by the whole community,
Truth telling - and the acceptance of these truths is important to us moving forward as a nation. This, however, is a very difficult concept for many. Arguments against facing the truth include that "it is history and people should just move on", "things were different then", "there are always the conquered and conquerors", people cannot be held responsible for the "sins of their fathers". Others continue to debate Aboriginal history, despite overwhelming evidence to support a version very different to what we were taught. Fears of what may change or what may be lost fuel other objections. Still others have deep regret about the suffering endured, and wish to know the history - but worry about whether it is ok to ask about such sensitive matters, whether it is respectful, and whether it will cause more pain.
It takes courage to accept difficult truths, courage to listen deeply, acknowledge and honour people's trauma histories. It takes courage for those who are suffering to reveal their family history of trauma - particularly when historically these stories have been dismissed or discounted. It takes courage and compassion to hear and feel another's pain. Do we as a community and individuals have sufficient courage and compassion to start listening?
We all acknowledge the need for change, the need for families to be functional, for parents to be in the right emotional and mental health space to be able to care for their kids. We want the kids in our community to be safe and cared for, but what are we willing to do to achieve this? I believe that not only does addressing issues at the base of the pyramid, historical trauma level, provide an alternate way forward - I believe if we don't change our focus from a band-aide approach higher up the pyramid, nothing will change.
If a resilient, connected and compassionate community is to be our future - we need to own our past. We need to look at the bottom layer of the pyramid, and build our future the way we want it to look - and importantly not add another layer of trauma for this and future generations. Imagine if we had foundation of post-traumatic growth and intergenerational well-being.....
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