Linda Briskman

As numbers of displaced people throughout the world steadily increase with the rise in global conflicts, many Western nations, including Australia, increasingly thwart asylum-seeking and place harsh restrictions on entry. Nonetheless, Afghanistan’s troubled political history over several decades has generated steady movement of refugees to Australia, and Australia has offered protection, although often conditional and limited. Little is known about the experiences of women who fled, giving up their homes, professions, education, extended family, and social lives that were rich in connection. Despite expanding research and literature, there are still gaps in what is known about what happens to refugee women who resettle in Australia. The research outlined in this article uncovers the stories of six Afghan women, highlighting their agency to counter stereotypes. The article focuses not only on losses experienced, but ways in which this group of Hazara women negotiated their way in their new home of Australia, with the support of STARTTS, a not-for-profit organisation. Some of the initial barriers to resettlement in Australia involved accessible and timely information, limited proficiency in English, and comprehending laws and norms. The ongoing effects of trauma along with these barriers often accelerated the ageing process for these women, limiting their ability as well as opportunity for employment. These barriers were exacerbated in the context of the yearnings for their homeland and loved ones who were still in Afghanistan. Women were torn between feelings of gratitude for their own security and of guilt and pain for those in Afghanistan. Through STARTTS-facilitated groups, women found opportunities to connect with one another. They also used these connections to gather information about support programs, for themselves or their families, crucial for them to reconstruct their lives in Australia. For refugees experiencing dislocation, the formation of social networks in the host country contributes to belonging and connectedness and facilitates rebuilding trusting relationships that have been intentionally destroyed, where they can share their experiences in a safe, trauma-informed environment.

The human rights of both LGBTIQ+ and Indigenous peoples are far from realized. When conjoined, intersecting identities reveal how racism and queer phobia affect well-being, negating the right to health and resulting in devastating impacts on people’s social, cultural, and emotional well-being. This paper documents the lived experiences of a sample of young gender- and sexuality-diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from a research project conducted in New South Wales, Australia. Their perspectives reveal how, for this cohort, discrimination and privation is manifest at the family, community, and institutional levels. This paper informs an understanding of human rights as experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+-identified peoples, where racism and queer phobia are evident in the spheres of education, employment, and service provision. Adopting a critical human rights stance, our analysis illustrates how settler colonialism manifests through the processes and outcomes of settler colonial institutions and structures. “These are structural colonial problems that aren’t gonna be fixed by services.” —survey participant

The human rights of both LGBTIQ+ and Indigenous peoples are far from realized. When conjoined, intersecting identities reveal how racism and queer phobia affect well-being, negating the right to health and resulting in devastating impacts on people’s social, cultural, and emotional well-being. This paper documents the lived experiences of a sample of young gender- and sexuality-diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from a research project conducted in New South Wales, Australia. Their perspectives reveal how, for this cohort, discrimination and privation is manifest at the family, community, and institutional levels. This paper informs an understanding of human rights as experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+-identified peoples, where racism and queer phobia are evident in the spheres of education, employment, and service provision. Adopting a critical human rights stance, our analysis illustrates how settler colonialism manifests through the processes and outcomes of settler colonial institutions and structures. “These are structural colonial problems that aren’t gonna be fixed by services.” —survey participant

Indigenous LGBTIQSB+ individuals occupy a unique intersection of identities that inform their lived experiences and the ways in which they navigate colonial settler educational institutions. Despite a considerable body of evidence demonstrating the importance of inclusion, educational policies in Australia remain outdated. These policies are frequently informed by a deficit approach that justifies the absence of Indigenous and gender/sexuality diverse content within school curricula. This further acts to shore up discriminatory practices and policies. Using interviews and workshops held with young Indigenous LGTBIQSB+ people, this article reports on the ways participants experienced educational institutional settings. First, participants reported on the kinds of policies and curriculum content that discriminated against and marginalised them, as well as highlighting some positive aspects of school and university. Participants also revealed the potentialities for Indigenous and LGBTIQSB+ inclusivity that could be facilitated within educational spaces. The article demonstrates the need for safer and more inclusive educational environments, which could be achieved through the decentring of settler knowledges and heteronormativity, transforming educational spaces at an institutional level to facilitate safety at interpersonal and collective levels.

Islam influences Muslim societies through rules, regulations, and legislation. This paper highlights Islamic principles and legislation that protect the rights and dignity of older adults and compares them to policies and laws that have been applied and implemented in the United Arab Emirates. A comparative method was utilised to conduct this study, relying on sources that present the rights of older adults in Islamic Sharia, as well as official sources from the United Arab Emirates, where information on laws and regulations related to older adults is published.

Purpose: This article uses an Indigenous concept of family violence as a frame to interrogate interviews held with Indigenous LGBTIQSB + people in Australia. The article reorients family violence away from Western heteronormative framings and aims to contribute towards a new conversation about family violence. Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse 16 interviews with Indigenous LGBTIQSB + people in the state of New South Wales, Australia. This is one of a series of articles that provide preliminary findings from a research project into the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous LGBTIQSB + young people living in New South Wales. Results: The interviews highlight the complex impact family violence on Indigenous LGBTIQSB + youth. The article shows differences in reactions between family and community in urban settings with those experienced in rural settings highlighting intergenerational differences, with older family members such as grandparents, more likely to exhibit negative reactions and behaviours. These experiences are interconnected as many young people were living in urban areas while extended family often lived in rural or remote communities. Conclusions: The findings of this study demonstrate the intersectional nature of family violence highlighting the fact that Indigenous LGBTIQSB + young people are integral parts of extended kinship networks, families and communities and are deeply impacted by any acts of family violence. The study’s findings also support current research into family and community violence for LGBTIQ + people that shows the differential behaviours and actions of rural and urban families as well as the different reactions between generations within families.

There is no research into the experiences of Indigenous LGBTIQSB + young people and their mothers in the country now known as Australia. Based on a series of nine narrative interviews with young LGBTIQSB + people living in New South Wales, this article is the first to discuss Indigenous LGBTIQSB + children’s relationship with their Indigenous mothers. Indigenous mothers have been framed in ways that justified targeted settler state interventions situated within broader racialised biopolitical governance practices and the regulation of Indigenous lives. The findings of this research project provide a counter narrative to the current framing of Indigenous mothers and families as dysfunctional and in need of intervention by state and welfare agencies. Indigenous LGBTIQSB + young people speak to their experiences of coming out and the ways their Indigenous mothers defended, affirmed and advocated for them. Participants spoke of how Indigenous mothers provided them with protective skills and strategies that allowed them to effectively navigate close and extended familial and community contexts. This article demonstrates the significance of Indigenous mothering practices and values for the wellbeing of their LGBTIQSB + children.

Human Rights and Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice helps students and practitioners understand how human rights concepts underpin the social work profession and inform their practice. This book examines the three generations of human rights and the systems of oppression that prevent citizens from participating in society as equals. It explores a range of topics, from ethics and ethical social work practice, to deductive and inductive approaches to human rights, and global and local human rights discourses. The language, processes, structures and theories of social work that are fundamental to the profession are also discussed. This edition features case studies exploring current events, movements and human rights crises, including the Black Lives Matter movement, the Northern Territory Emergency Response, and homelessness among LGBTIQA+ young people. This edition is accompanied by online resources for both students and instructors. Human Rights and Social Work is an indispensable guide for social work students and practitioners.

Access to adequate and appropriate service provision has a direct positive impact on health and wellbeing. Experiences of inaccessible, discriminatory, and culturally unsafe services and/or service providers are considered a root cause for the health inequalities that exist among Indigenous queer youth. Experiences of discrimination and cultural inappropriateness are commonplace, with Indigenous queer youth noting issues related to access to services and treatment, stereotyping, and a lack of quality in the care provided, which discourage Indigenous people from accessing care. This paper examines the perspectives of Indigenous LGBTIQ+ youth and health service providers to identify what challenges, obstacles and opportunities are currently being faced and what could be implemented to improve the health and wellbeing outcomes for Indigenous LGBTIQ+ youth in the future.