This week marks the 19th anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report which evaluated the effects of Australia’s forcible removal policy of first nations children, which stretched from the 1890’s up until the 1970’s.
Although the removal policy is no longer in affect, since Bringing Them Home in 1997, the number of children in out of home care has quadrupled, with just under 15,000 children removed as at June 2014.
Yesterday morning on 98.9 FM’s Let’s Talk Aunty Cephia (SE E-FA) Williams, Aunty Keren Fusi and Debbie Jones shared their thoughts on the current removals of first nations children as well as the struggles parents and grandparents have while fighting for custody.
A victim of forcible removal herself, Debbie Jones told Let’s Talk governments were failing Aboriginal families.
Aunty Cephia says there is no legal support for parents, and that despite the process being traumatising, those fighting for custody have to stay strong.
