Cultural identify and Life Story

Maintaining connections with family, community, language, religion and culture is essential to the long-term wellbeing of kids who come from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

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Being bullied or experiencing racism can make kids feel sad, angry, depressed and left out. It can make them fearful and less likely to engage with school. It can even impact on their physical health, including stress reactions like increased heart rate and headaches. It’s up to the caring adults in their life to make sure racist behaviour and bullying are stopped.

Bullying and racism

Putting a stop to bullying

Bullying. No Way.

Check out the ideas and strategies at Bullying. No Way!, produced by the Safe and Supportive School Communities (SSSC) Working Group.

If the child or young person in your care is being bullied or they’re displaying bullying behaviour, it needs to be taken seriously. Bullying can take many forms including name-calling, teasing, insults, humiliation, sarcasm, threats, pushing, shoving, kicking, hitting, punching, tripping, spitting, taking or damaging possessions, ignoring, excluding, ganging up, making gestures, spreading rumours, malicious emails, text messages, phone calls, photos and postings on social media.

What to do when the child in your care is being bullied

Victims of bullying are often afraid to talk about it because they’re scared and think that talking will make things worse. Signs of being bullied may include:

not wanting to go to school and using excuses such as feeling sick
refusing to go to school
talking about hating school
increased fearfulness, anxiety, tearfulness or depression
missing or damaged belongings, including torn clothing
unexplained cuts, bruises or scratches
lack of friends
not doing well at school
asking for or stealing money (to hand over to bullies)
trouble sleeping.

If you suspect your child or young person is being bullied, approach the issue sensitively. Don’t try to make them admit it and avoid using ‘why’ questions. Ask about what’s making them feel this way. Usually they’ll hint about what’s happening without giving specific details. Calmly listen to them and take their feelings seriously. Ask what they’ve tried and offer to help them work out some strategies for dealing with the situation.

It’s important your child knows that telling you was the right thing to do and being bullied is not their fault. Keep a written record of what happened including when, where, who was involved and if anyone else saw it. Work together to come up with some coping strategies, such as taking a different way home, staying with a group or changing their mobile phone number.

If the bullying continues, talk to your child’s teacher and school counsellor about how you can work together to prevent it from happening. If nothing changes, speak to the principal about the school’s anti-bullying plan and how the school intends to respond. Keep in contact with the school until the bullying is sorted out. Talk to your caseworker if this is an ongoing problem or you need extra support.

What to do when the child in your care is bullying others

Children and young people may bully others for a number of different of reasons. They may feel powerful, enjoy getting attention and think it makes them popular with peers. They may believe everyone does it and that it’s acceptable fun. They may do it as a way of getting things they want, such as money or food, or because they feel angry or jealous. Or they may do it to protect themselves from being bullied.

If the child or young person in your care is bullying others at school, tell them clearly this kind of behaviour is not okay. Keep calm and listen to their point of view. Discuss the impact of their behaviour on the person they have bullied. Sit down and explain the consequences of their actions, for example, no computer games for a week. Be aware of, and restrict, activities or situations that may be influencing their behaviour, such as violent video games and movies or being around adults who are modelling bullying behaviour.

Talk to the teacher and school counsellor to find out how you can work with the school to prevent the behaviour. If the bullying continues, talk to your caseworker.

Keep up the love

Children who have grown up feeling unloved or who have experienced violence may start bullying other children. Your empathy and kindness are crucial. Continue to encourage good behaviour by praising them when they do or say the right thing. Kids who get lots of positive attention are less likely to bully.

What is racism?

Racism is any attitude or behaviour that assumes someone is inferior because of their skin colour or race. It can take many forms from jokes or comments that cause offence (perhaps unintentionally) to harassment and intimidation or physical abuse and violence.

Racism can directly or indirectly exclude people from accessing services or taking part in employment, education, sport and social activities. It can also occur at a systemic or institutional level through policies, conditions or practices that disadvantage certain groups.

What is racial bullying?

Racial bullying, or harassment, is when someone is subjected to verbal, physical or emotional abuse, in person or online, because of their race or skin colour. For children and young people, racial bullying at school could be their most common experience of racism.

What is racial discrimination?

Racial discrimination is when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigration status.

Sometimes, the discrimination involves treating people differently in an obvious way, for example, a bus or taxi driver might refuse to take a passenger because of their racial background or skin colour. This is called ‘direct discrimination’.

Sometimes the discrimination comes from a rule or policy that is the same for everyone, but has an unfair effect on people of a particular race, colour, religion or origin. For example, if a sports club has a rule that headwear is not allowed on the field, this could unfairly affect people from some racial or ethnic backgrounds. This is called ‘indirect discrimination’.

Recognising racism

The child or young person in your care may be experiencing racism if either adults or children:

refuse to play with or sit next to them
exclude them from social groups
make fun of their clothes, food or appearance
ridicule or mimic their accents or gestures
write graffiti or use derogatory language directed against their family or cultural group
make stereotypical statements
make assumptions about their abilities based on their cultural background
witness racist behaviour and allow it to go unchallenged
do not respond to complaints of racism
anglicise their name whether they like it or not
force them to take part in activities that go against their cultural or religious beliefs
do not allow them to speak their birth language
hand out more severe forms of discipline, favouring children from their own cultural background
use intimidating behaviour, such as stealing, damaging personal property, taunting and stalking, because the child or young person is seen as being different
pick fights or physically assault them because of their cultural background.

Practical ways to deal with racism

When a child or young person suffers because of racism, discrimination or bullying they can feel angry, isolated and powerless.

As a carer, you can develop strategies for dealing with racism before it happens, so that both you and the child or young person in your care can manage it better and prevent it getting out of control. If racism occurs, be assertive and challenge the behaviour, or report it if necessary.

These are some strategies for dealing with racism at home, at school and in the community. If the child or young person is ever threatened, stalked or physically assaulted anywhere, including school, immediately make a report to the police and inform your caseworker. If you are unsure about what to do, or the child or young person is traumatised, contact your caseworker for support.

Tackling racism at home

Encourage and value diversity and foster a sense of cultural pride.
Make it known that racism is against the law, is unacceptable and no one deserves to be treated disrespectfully.
Discuss racism and encourage conversation about its effects and impacts.
Lead by example – don’t make racist slurs or jokes about other cultures or backgrounds.
Display zero tolerance for racist behaviour – this will encourage the child or young person to develop positive attitudes, a strong sense of self and positive self-esteem.
Be supportive, but don’t make promises you can’t keep like, ‘I’m going to make sure this never happens to you again’.

Tackling racism at school

If kids are threatened or physically assaulted at school, report it to the police and let your caseworker know as soon as possible, in addition to informing the school.
If there is racist bullying or intimidation going on, encourage them to report it to a teacher, counsellor or student welfare officer.
Help kids work out ways of dealing with the situation that makes them feel more in control and safe in the short term: for example, taking a different way home or staying with a group of friends.
Keep a diary of what happened, when it happened, who was involved and who witnessed it.
Get in touch with the teacher to discuss your concerns and ask what can be done to stop the racial bullying.
If you don’t feel like you’re getting anywhere, talk to the principal about the school’s policy for dealing with racist bullying and ask what formal steps the school will take to prevent it from happening again.
Take a support person with you if you find it difficult talking about this with the school.
Keep in contact with the school until the problem is fixed.
If it keeps happening, get your caseworker involved in dealing with the school.

Tackling racism outside school

If you witness racist behaviour towards your child or young person, be assertive and challenge the behaviour by naming what’s happening and telling the person their behaviour isn’t okay, particularly if it’s family or friends who have regular contact with the child or young person.
If it happens on public transport, report it to the driver or an attendant.
Make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission if necessary.
Be aware that the child or young person is watching how you respond so they can learn how to deal with racist behaviour themselves.
Don’t threaten, intimidate or verbally abuse the bully.
Listen to the child or young person and take their feelings and fears seriously.
Let them know it’s not their fault.
Don’t tell them to just ignore it, call them names like ‘sook’ or make excuses for the behaviour; and don’t let anyone else do so.
Seek out people who have experienced discrimination firsthand, such as a member of the child or young person’s community, to advise you about ways of dealing with racist behaviour.
Get support from family and friends.

Culturally and linguistically diverse children and young people

Maintaining connections with family, community, language, religion and culture is essential to the long-term wellbeing of kids who come from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Wherever possible, CALD kids are placed with carers of the same cultural background. Carers who do not share a cultural background can do a lot to keep kids connected with their communities and nurture their sense of identity.

Keeping up cultural connections

Cultural Plans

Cultural Plans outline how a child's identity, language, spirituality, religion, and connection to family, community, Country and culture will be maintained and supported by carers, caseworkers and others. Cultural Plans are part of case planning and should be developed in partnership with significant people in the child's life and community.

Support for non-English speakers

Kids who have recently arrived in Australia may have difficulty with English. Your caseworker can arrange free access to professional interpreter services to help you communicate. There are also fantastic translation resources and apps online if you’re handy with your smart phone or laptop.

Developing your cultural awareness

Increasing your own cultural awareness helps you to better understand the cultural needs of the child or young person in your care. You can:

think about how your background may influence your attitudes, beliefs, feelings and behaviours towards people from different cultural or religious backgrounds
be aware of stereotypes and preconceptions you may have about people from the child or young person’s background and try to challenge these
show respect for the child or young person’s cultural, linguistic and religious heritage
recognise changes in their environment may cause them to experience cultural confusion and conflict
understand they are more likely to be exposed to discrimination, prejudice and racism because of their different background.

Practical ideas for cultural connection

Practical ways to promote connections with culture and strengthen kids’ sense of identity include:

recognising and supporting the role of birth parents and families where possible
celebrating all cultures and respecting diversity
asking your caseworker about special cultural or religious needs the child may have, for example, food, clothing and religious worship
gathering as much information as possible about the community the child or young person comes from and making this information available to them in an age appropriate way
encouraging them to talk about their family and community
encouraging them to get involved in their community by, for example, taking them to community activities and cultural events
networking with carers of the same cultural background as the child, your agency’s multicultural workers and multicultural services in your local community
identifying significant people in the child or young person’s life who can help them maintain links with their community
providing opportunities for them to make friends with children and adults from their cultural background
maintaining their interest in their culture and language by providing them with age-appropriate books, toys, music and videos in their language
providing opportunities for the child and your family to learn the child or young person’s birth language
planning major cultural celebrations, events and traditions as part of the things your family does with the child or young person
seeking services and supports that can provide specialised care in migrant and refugee issues if appropriate
exposing the child or young person to environments where diversity is valued and they don’t feel like they’re the only one who is different, for example, going to a school with students and teachers from diverse backgrounds.

Tackling racism or discrimination

Kids from diverse backgrounds and cultures may face racism or discrimination. As a carer, you can explain that racism is not okay. Speak out against it whenever you see it. Encourage your child’s pride and resilience. Give them strategies for responding to racism, bullying and discrimination, calmly and productively.

Connecting with culturally and linguistically diverse services

There are lots of cultural groups and events across NSW. Visit your local council’s website to see what’s on offer in your area or visit Multicultural NSW for information about multicultural community organisations, events and activities, resources and programs that help break down barriers to access and participation.

You could also get in touch with specialist services such as:

Translating and Interpreting Service is a service for those who need help to communicate in English.
Settlement Services International provides a number of culturally responsive services in the areas of refugee settlement, asylum seeker assistance, housing, multicultural foster care, disability support, employment services and youth support in NSW.
Survival Words is a guide to essential, everyday words in Arabic, Mandarin and Greek.
Ethnic Community Services Co-operative supports inclusive practices in mainstream services. Its workshops and resources, including the Survival Words website, have broad appeal.
Settlement and Multicultural Affairs is part of the Department of Social Services and offers a range of services and programs to support the lifetime wellbeing of migrants and refugees.
NSW Refugee Health Service protects and promotes the health of people from refugee backgrounds.
Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors provides culturally appropriate treatment and support for those who have experienced torture and trauma.
Transcultural Mental Health Centres are part of a NSW Health service working with people from CALD communities, health professionals and partner organisations to support good mental health.
Playgroup Australia , a not-for-profit organisation supporting families and strengthening local communities through playgroups, including culturally based playgroups
State Library of NSW, offering multicultural services including access to children's picture books, nursery rhymes, bilingual books and sound recordings in over 40 different languages as well as access to thousands of international newspapers and magazines.