Anderson said a month on from the result,crisis counsellors continued to report First Nations people were fearful of abuse in the community.
“Aboriginal people are telling us they don’t want to leave their houses. They don’t want to go to the shops. They don’t want to go into their workplaces because they just don’t want to face the racism,” she said.
While the No campaign helmed by Coalition Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Nyunggai Warren Mundine pushed the notion that First Nations people did not want the Voice to parliament to succeed,the results spoke differently.
Those living in remote Indigenous communities in the Top End and Red Centre voted Yes,and in some electorates,overwhelmingly so. Across the locations visited by remote mobile polling teams,Yes recorded 73 per cent support.
Associate Professor Rick Macourt,Associate Dean of First Nations strategy and services at the faculty of medicine and health at the University of Sydney,said the intense scrutiny of First Nations people during the campaign had left them in a vulnerable position.
“When you’ve got that much attention,you’ve got that many voices,and particularly non-Indigenous voices being elevated within the media,that is going to be triggering. And the campaign,to be frank,was littered with mistruths and blatant lies,” he told theHerald.
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“It’s made people feel comfortable to say things that they probably would have only thought,and previously they would have kept to themselves. Now they think that they can just say these things and do these actions and without fear of consequence.”
Macourt has personally experienced abuse since the referendum,with some so significant he has had to report it to police.
“I’m receiving threats,and they included imagery,people who have access to my home address,my phone number,and as an Aboriginal man being asked to go down to the police station on multiple occasions to report the same information,knowing that it’s not really going anywhere,it’s been really tough,” he said.
“I actually had a police officer ask me ‘Do you really want to continue? It’s such a long,protracted process’. And I think in the back of my mind,‘You don’t know what it’s like’ and that is triggering.”
If you or anyone you know needs support,call 13 YARN on 13 9276,Lifeline on 131 114 orBeyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
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