Fed: Psychiatrists apologise to the stolen generations

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-1999
Fed: Psychiatrists apologise to the stolen generations

BRISBANE, April 12 AAP - Psychiatrists today apologised to the stolen generations of
Aboriginal and Islander people and called for compensation for the "catastrophic" legacy of
forced removal of children.

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) at the opening of
its annual congress in Perth said the recognition of these issues was a first step towards
reconciliation.

In a position statement released today, the RANZCP said past practices of state-sanctioned
abduction of children from parents and from their culture were cruel and wrong.

"Thousands of children suffered grave psychological injury by being deprived of their
parents and culture, by being confined to institutions, by beatings, sexual abuse and
exploitation," the statement said.

"The psychological trauma involved has life-long mental health consequences and significant
inter-generational effects."

College spokesman Dr Victor Storm, a consultant psychiatrist with an Aboriginal Mental
Health Service in Sydney, said the apology was necessary because of the sustained impact which
earlier policies and practices continued to have for indigenous Australians.

"It is probable that the medical profession was to an extent involved in the planning and
implementation of these policies," the college said.

"The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists wishes to apologise to the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for our failure as a group of doctors and
psychiatrists to act early and effectively to try and prevent and reverse these disastrous
practices."

The college said indigenous peoples had suffered severe emotional distress including
continuing disruption of family relationships, and secondary psychiatric problems from the
disruption of culture.

"The college recognises that Australia, as a nation, needs to take the steps to put right
what can be put right and to provide appropriate restitution or compensation to the
communities and individuals who have been injured by these policies," the statement said.

AAP rr/cjh/br

KEYWORD: STOLEN

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