The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Network made a submission to the Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The submission explains that racism targeted at First Nations people is not just one-off incidents of racist individuals using violence, discrimination, or harmful words. Racism is structural: driven, endorsed, emboldened and facilitated by powerful institutions including governments. Initiatives to effectively combat racism are those that fundamentally reshape the material conditions that drive systemic inequity.