The NT Children's Commissioner has released a scathing report finding more than three-quarters of young people in the Territory have seen or experienced racism. The children surveyed – aged eight to 19 – have made a string of recommendations, calling on members of the public, teachers, and the media to do more to stamp out racism.
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00:00I got bashed for no reason when I was walking home.
00:06People saying racist things like petrol sniffer and the n-word.
00:10We get angry, then we do bad things around town.
00:13The report makes for sombre reading.
00:16Almost 300 young Territorians were interviewed, with 80% saying they'd seen or experienced
00:22racism.
00:23Not just Aboriginal kids but children of Asian backgrounds, children from refugee, migrant
00:27communities and there's this diversity all saying the same thing that has happened to
00:32me.
00:33The commission spoke with young people across the Territory, including in youth detention
00:36and out of home care.
00:38School was identified as the most common place to see or experience racism, followed by public
00:44places like shopping centres.
00:46With young people saying being singled out caused them shame, fear and in some cases
00:51made them want to lash out.
00:53It made me feel like punching them or getting them bashed for what they said.
00:57Informed by the children themselves, the commissioner made five recommendations, including better
01:02education about racism, particularly in schools where children say reporting it seems to go
01:08nowhere.
01:09The recurrent nature of racism can be compounding upon itself and lead to young people disengaging
01:16from society.
01:17The report is also critical about the way the youth crime debate is playing out in politics,
01:22in the media and online, saying young people are acutely aware of how people are talking
01:27about them.
01:28And with most of the reported racism coming from adults, the commissioner says it should
01:32not be up to children alone to stamp it out.