Joanne Flavel
The PHAA hosted a webinar on Friday 8 August to celebrate diversity. It was facilitated by the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Special Interest Group (DEI SIG) committee. The event provided a supportive and safe space to share feelings and experiences, with attendees speaking openly about the impact of recent divisive, harmful and non-evidentiary rhetoric on themselves, their communities, and workplaces.
DEI SIG Co-Convenor, Dr Joanne Flavel, opened the session by sharing anonymised experiences provided by the DEI SIG committee members, allowing for a few minutes for attendees to quietly read and reflect. They shared a word cloud built from DEI SIG committee member’s experiences.
Dr Flavel and fellow Co-Convenor, Prof Hannah Wechkunanukul, then noted the prominent themes of fear and isolation and pronounced the rhetoric as unacceptable, inviting attendees to share their own experiences.
Members shared their experiences. Among the reflections were:
“I am fearful of not just xenophobic discourses, but also what [policies] has been put in place.”
“Other than disability advocates it feels like few people are speaking out against … devaluing of people with disabilities.”
“The loudest political conversation about migrants has almost nothing to do with what’s actually happening to them.”
“In this wave of right wing politics we are experiencing at the moment in Australia and globally, racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and transphobia go hand in hand.”
“Policies may be presented as neutral, but their impact can feel discriminatory and deeply dehumanising for families of children with disabilities, especially when migrating.”
“I recently have muted the call for prayer (Muslim – Azaan) from my phone because I felt fearful of making my identity known in public places.”
In the open discussion attendees highlighted that discriminatory public discourse can have consequences for health and wellbeing, social cohesion, trust in institutions, and people’s willingness to access health and other essential services.
Attendees condemned the discriminative, divisive, harmful and non-evidentiary political and media commentary that is breeding fear, mistrust and hatred towards many of the population groups with which the PHAA works and advocates.
As a public health community, we have a responsibility to challenge narratives that stigmatise or marginalise people, and to advocate for public discussion and policy that are grounded in evidence, dignity, equity and respect.
Webinar attendees said they were concerned by the adoption and normalisation of policies that accommodate grievance-based discourses. In the deafening silence of counter-arguments, we stand up and call out the racism, ableism, cisgenderism, heterosexism, and other public health threats these discourses bring about.
We recognise that these discriminations can intersect and disproportionately affect people who already experience structural disadvantage, exclusion or barriers to health and social services.
We also re-commit ourselves to allyship and stand in solidarity with each other in our diverse Australian society.
Victorian and New South Wales state elections are due in the coming months, and polling is emboldening abhorrent commentary and behaviour. In response, our special interest group will organise sessions every two months to give members a safe and supportive space where we will support each other, and reinforce that those hurting are not alone.
These sessions will also provide opportunities for members to share strategies, strengthen collective advocacy, and consider how the public health community can respond constructively to emerging threats to diversity, equity and inclusion.
All PHAA members are warmly welcome and encouraged to attend, and we’ll send an email about the next session soon.
This article was written by Dr Joanne Flavel, Co-Convenor of the PHAA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Special Interest Group, with contributions from group committee members.
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