Trauma, grief and loss: the vulnerability of Aboriginal families in the child protection system

Abstract

In this chapter we argue that top-down and templated systems of child protection can fail many Aboriginal children and families by not responding to the particular and situational circumstances involved. The homogenising of the category 'Aboriginal' and constructing Aboriginal as 'problematic', presumes that families who are Aboriginal are in some way deficient, consequently ensuring that the experience of trauma for Aboriginal people is not something that happened in the past. For those coming to the attention of child protection authorities, trauma remains a continuing thread across many family systems such that it is hard to distinguish cause from effect. While systems concerned with protecting children are necessary, we argue that the ways those ends are pursued can visit further trauma on Aboriginal families and their children.