Pat Anderson (human rights advocate)

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Patricia Audrey Anderson AO is an Australian human rights advocate and health administrator. An Alyawarre woman from the Northern Territory, she is well known internationally as a social justice advocate, advocating for improved health, educational, and protection outcomes for Indigenous Australian children.

Contents

Early years

Anderson grew up in the Parap camp in Darwin, Northern Territory, encountering discrimination and racism. [1] Her mother was part of the Stolen Generation. [2]

Anderson was one of the first Aboriginal graduates from the University of Western Australia. [3]

Career and advocacy

"With an extensive career spanning community development, policy formation, and research ethics, Pat has dedicated her life to creating and nurturing understanding and compassion between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians" [4] as stated by her Australian of the Year Awards biography. Anderson worked as a legal secretary for the Woodward Royal Commission into Aboriginal Land Rights. [5] In the early 1990s Anderson became the CEO of Danila Dilba Aboriginal Health Service in Darwin. She held the positions of chair of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, and executive officer of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory. She led the founding of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Aboriginal and Tropical Health in 1997, and when the Cooperative Research Centre was re-funded in 2003 as the CRC for Aboriginal Health, she took on the role of chair. [3] [6]

Anderson has spoken before the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations.[ citation needed ] Together with Rex Wild QC, she co-authored the 2007 Little Children Are Sacred report on child abuse in the Northern Territory. [7] [8]

Anderson is the chairperson of the Lowitja Institute, Australia's national institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research. [9] She was co-chair on the Referendum Council which consulted with hundreds of indigenous people to deliver the historic Uluru Statement from the Heart in May 2017. [10] [11] Anderson has also served continuously on the board of Literacy for Life Foundation, a charity which boosts literacy rates among First Nations adults through community-led adult literacy campaigns, since 2013. [12] [13]

In May 2020 Anderson delivered the Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration at the Don Dunstan Foundation. [14]

Works

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stolen Generations</span> Indigenous Australian children forcibly acculturated into White Australian society

The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals of those referred to as "half-caste" children were conducted in the period between approximately 1905 and 1967, although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission</span> Australian government agency, 1990-2004

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives, established under the Hawke government in 1990. A number of Indigenous programs and organisations fell under the overall umbrella of ATSIC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowitja O'Donoghue</span> Australian public administrator (1932–2024)

Lowitja O'Donoghue, also known as Lois O'Donoghue and Lois Smart, was an Australian public administrator and Indigenous rights advocate. She was the inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) from 1990 to 1996. She is known for her work in improving the health and welfare of Indigenous Australians, and also for the part she played in the drafting of the Native Title Act 1993, which established native title in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Dale Youth Detention Centre</span> Australian juvenile detention centre

The Don Dale Youth Detention Centre is a facility for juvenile detention in the Northern Territory, Australia, located in Berrimah, east of Darwin. It is a detention centre for male and female juvenile delinquents. The facility is named after Don Dale, a former Member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly from 1983 to 1989 and one-time Minister for Correctional Services.

Rex Stephen Wild is a former Director of Public Prosecutions for the Northern Territory of Australia.

Sue Gordon is an Aboriginal retired magistrate from Western Australia who has been locally and nationally honoured for her work with Aboriginal people and in community affairs. She is known for being chair of the Gordon Inquiry in 2002.

Little Children are Sacred, or Ampe Akelyernemane Meke Mekarle, is the report of a Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, chaired by Rex Wild and Patricia Anderson. Commissioned by the government of the Northern Territory, Australia, the report was publicly released on 15 June 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Territory National Emergency Response</span> Australian government intervention within indigenous Australian communities

The Northern Territory National Emergency Response, also known as "The Intervention" or the Northern Territory Intervention, and sometimes the abbreviation "NTER" was a package of measures enforced by legislation affecting Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, which lasted from 2007 until 2012. The measures included restrictions on the consumption of alcohol and pornography, changes to welfare payments, and changes to the delivery and management of education, employment and health services in the Territory.

In Australia, domestic violence (DV) is defined by the Family Law Act 1975. Each state and territory also has its own legislation, some of which broadens the scope of that definition, and terminology varies. It has been identified as a major health and welfare issue. Family violence occurs across all ages and demographic groups, but mostly affects women and children, and at particular risk are three groups: Indigenous, young and pregnant women.

Indigenous Australians are both convicted of crimes and imprisoned at a disproportionately higher rate in Australia, as well as being over-represented as victims of crime. As of September 2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners represented 28% of the total adult prisoner population, while accounting for 2% of the general adult population. Various explanations have been given for this over-representation, both historical and more recent. Federal and state governments and Indigenous groups have responded with various analyses, programs and measures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous health in Australia</span> Medical condition

Indigenous health in Australia examines health and wellbeing indicators of Indigenous Australians compared with the rest of the population. Statistics indicate that Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders are much less healthy than other Australians. Various government strategies have been put into place to try to remediate the problem; there has been some improvement in several areas, but statistics between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the Australian population still show unacceptable levels of difference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Calma</span> Aboriginal Australian human rights advocate, chancellor

Thomas Edwin Calma,, is an Aboriginal Australian human rights and social justice campaigner, and 2023 senior Australian of the Year. He was the sixth chancellor of the University of Canberra (2014-2023), after two years as deputy chancellor. Calma was the second Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to hold the position of chancellor of any Australian university.

Literacy for Life Foundation is an Aboriginal Australian not-for-profit organisation focused on improving the literacy levels among Aboriginal Australians. It was formed in 2013 by three prominent Aboriginal leaders, Pat Anderson, Donna Ah Chee, and Jack Beetson, in partnership with leading international construction company Brookfield Multiplex, to drive the National Aboriginal Adult Literacy Campaign across Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June Oscar</span>

June Oscar is an Australian Aboriginal woman of Bunuba descent, Indigenous rights activist, community health and welfare worker, film and theatre, and since 2017 and as of February 2022 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner.

The Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory is a Royal Commission established in 2016 by the Australian Government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report upon failings in the child protection and youth detention systems of the Government of the Northern Territory. The establishment of the commission followed revelations broadcast on 25 July 2016 by the ABC TV Four Corners program which showed abuse of juveniles held in the Don Dale Juvenile Detention Centre in Darwin.

Robyn Ann Layton is an Australian lawyer, who worked in a diverse range of legal roles, including as a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia and judge of the South Australian Industrial Court. She was author of the South Australian Child Protection review known as "the Layton report" in 2003, and a member and then chair of the International Labour Organization's Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations from 1993 to 2008.

Muriel Pauline Bamblett is a Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung advocate for Aboriginal child welfare in Victoria and Australia.

Close the Gap (CTG) is a social justice campaign focused on Indigenous Australians' health, in which peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous health bodies, NGOs and human rights organisations work together to achieve health equality in Australia. The Campaign was launched in April 2007. National Close the Gap Day (NCTGD) has been held annually since 2009.

Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) is an independent, national non-government, not-for-profit, community-based organisation founded in 1997 which advocates for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia and aims to help overcome disadvantage. Its staff, board and membership comprise mainly non-Indigenous people who support Indigenous voices and interests.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Marlow, Karina (12 December 2016). "Pat Anderson honoured with Human Rights Medal". NITV. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Money, Lawrence (14 June 2014). "Two of us: Lowitja O'Donoghue and Pat Anderson". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Citation for the Award of the Degree of Doctor of the University (DUniv) Ms Pat Anderson" (PDF). Flinders University. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  4. ↑ "Patricia Anderson AO". Australian of the Year. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "Patricia Anderson AO". www.naidoc.org.au. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Pat Anderson AO". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 24 February 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Northern Territory. Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse; Wild, Rex; Anderson, Pat (2007), Ampe akelyernemane meke mekarle : little children are sacred, Dept. of the Chief Minister, Office of Indigenous Policy], ISBN   978-0-9803874-1-4
  8. ↑ Northern Territory. Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse; Wild, Rex; Anderson, Pat; Wild, Rex co-chair; Anderson, Pat co-chair; Northern Territory. Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children; from Sexual Abuse (2007), Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, Govt. Printer], ISBN   978-0-9803874-0-7
  9. ↑ "Pat Anderson AO appointed as the new Chair of RAHC and is joined on the Board by Janine Mohamed". Remote Area Health Corps. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 Brennan, Bridget; Higgins, Isabella (14 July 2018). "'You are here, you are not invisible': The powerful message to Indigenous women". ABC News. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "Indigenous leaders call for treaty in Aboriginal reform". www.theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  12. ↑ "Board member Pat Anderson AO featured in Good Weekend Magazine". Literacy for Life Foundation. 17 February 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  13. ↑ Beetson, Jack; Schwartz, Melanie; Anderson, Pat (6 December 2022). "'A life changing experience': how adult literacy programs can keep First Nations people out of the criminal justice system". The Conversation. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  14. ↑ "Lowitja O'Donoghue Oration: 2020 Pat Anderson". Don Dunstan Foundation. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  15. ↑ "Patricia Anderson ‐ Australian of the Year". www.australianoftheyear.org.au. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  16. ↑ Edith Cowan University. "Honorary awards recognise WA trailblazers". ECU. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  17. ↑ "Honorary UNSW Law doctorate awarded to Pat Anderson, visionary leader and activist". UNSW Newsroom. 8 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  18. ↑ "Professor Brendan Murphy, who led Australia's COVID-19 response, named ACT Australian of the Year". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "2021 ACT Senior Australian of the Year Pat Anderson". ABC Radio. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
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