Gaps in language translation and an inability to isolate due to overcrowding were some of the negative outcomes for First Nations people during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report has found.

Published by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the report found at-risk groups – including Indigenous communities – along with domestic violence victims, renters and casual workers bore the brunt of the pandemic response.

“The pandemic response saved lives, but it also came at a significant cost, with some Australians feeling they were overlooked in the nation’s push to contain COVID-19,” the reports co-author and Human Rights Commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, said.

The report noted many of the issues faced by First Nations and migrant communities were not specific to the pandemic and would “likely emerge again during future emergencies”.

“Therefore, learning these lessons from the pandemic will enable more targeted communication which will have real-world benefits in ensuring effective future emergency responses,” the report read.

First Nations communities faced barriers accessing services or essential information, with service providers in the NT telling the Commission wider translation of government messaging was needed for remote communities.

Where gaps in official translations to local languages existed, people had to rely on word of mouth, which may have been “incomplete or inaccurate”, the report said.

An Indigenous respondent said one of key components of ensuring an effective response was to “recognise the relational communication and engagement to which First Nations communities respond,” whilst stakeholders told the report it was vital to ensure trauma-informed responses when engaging with First Nations communities, in part to recognise the history of dispossession, colonisation and intergenerational trauma.

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Full article: NIT