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Before the arrival of the Europeans, Aboriginal Australians were mostly unfamiliar with alcoholic beverages. Some communities would consume beverages with small alcohol concentrations made from plants, but these beverages were only occasionally indulged in (Queensland Government 2022). Shortly after the British arrived in Australia, however, settlers began offering stronger spirits to them. At first, Aboriginal Australians showed hesitancy and refused these offers. The first record of an indigenous Australian accepting alcohol was in 1789 when famous Aboriginal delegate Bennelong drank with Governor Phillip as a gesture of amiability (Broome 2019:63). Though this initial exchange was seemingly well-intentioned, Aboriginal Australians’ alcohol consumption has become more complicated over time.
Aboriginal Australians began taking note of how white men garnered respect and praise for drinking large amounts of alcohol. Likely in an attempt to fit in with the settlers, more and more Aboriginal people began drinking alcohol (Broome 2019:63). As settlers noted this newfound engagement, they began using alcohol to exploit and take advantage of this group of people. Some settlers gave indigenous Australians alcohol and pressured them to fight one another. In addition, settlers used alcohol as a form of currency to pay laborers and sex workers (Queensland Government 2022). Unfortunately, Aboriginal Australian alcohol consumption did not alleviate after the colonial period. As the abhorrent effects of colonialism started to weigh in on indigenous communities, people turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism (Broome 2019:63). Current data shows that Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders are less likely to consume alcohol than white Australians, while Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders are more likely to abuse alcohol than their white Australian counterparts (Queensland Government 2022). This prompts an important question: why is alcohol abuse more prominent in indigenous Australian populations?
Blackmore, Paul. 2006. "Green Can Dreaming." Paul Blackmore. Retrieved 1 December 2022 (https://www.paulblackmore.com/blog/2018/3/7/green-can-dreaming)
Risk Factors for Aboriginal Australian Alcohol Abuse
Of course, several factors contribute to alcohol abuse rates amongst Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. As alluded to above, an abundance of these factors stem from the systemic inequalities Aboriginal populations in Australia have faced for centuries. The following section details several of these risk factors. Even though this is not an exhaustive review of potential risk factors, it does introduce some of the most prominent ones.
Low Socioeconomic Status: Throughout the early twentieth century, farms and reserves primarily relied on Aboriginal Australian labor. White Australians exploited these workers and paid them extremely low wages, with Aboriginal Australian workers making approximately one-eighth the amount that white Australians made (Broome 2019:123-124). In addition to this, the bosses of these workers would often put the majority of their already minuscule earnings into bank accounts that the workers had no access to (Broome 2019:130). This largely contributed to poverty within Aboriginal Australian communities. Because of this low income, Aboriginal Australians typically could not afford adequate housing or food, and they could not access better education or job opportunities. The effects of this inequality still exist today, as many Aboriginal Australians struggle to live above the poverty line and experience similar barriers as past generations. Low socioeconomic status, unemployment, and level of education are all linked to an increased risk of substance use in Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders (Snijder et al. 2021). People may engage in substance use to cope with the stressors associated with impoverished conditions. Also, if people do not have the opportunity to attend school or work, they may find themselves experiencing boredom. As a way to curb their tedium, Aboriginal Australians sometimes drink alcohol or use other substances-- if this becomes a part of their daily routine, this can lead to dependence and addiction (De Heer et al. 2015).
The Stolen Generations and Generational Trauma: For most of the 20th century, Aboriginal Australian children were removed from their homes and relocated to missions or white households in an attempt to assimilate them into white society. An estimated one in ten to one in three children got stolen from their families between 1910 and 1970 (Broome 2019:215). These incidents caused a significant amount of trauma for both the stolen children and the families of the stolen children. As a result, many distressed individuals turned to alcohol and other substances to cope. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission “Bringing Them Home” report describes the stories of several people a part of the Stolen Generations and how several of these individuals developed problems with alcohol abuse later in life (1997). Even though child removals ceased five decades ago, their adverse effects have not diminished. Many Aboriginal Australians who were taken from their homes never experienced a healthy family structure, and as a result, they struggle with parenting their own children. As a result, child abuse and neglect, mental health disorders, and alcohol abuse are frequently seen across generations of families impacted by child removals (Gray et al. 2018). Overall, generational trauma stemming from child removal in Australia is a significant risk factor for developing issues with alcohol consumption in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Group of Aboriginal children in the early 1900s. CATALYST. Retrieved 1 December 2022 (https://catalyst.cm/stories-new/2020/7/8/the-continued-abuse-of-australias-stolen-generation)
Mental Health Problems: At large, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders have dealt with immense individual and community-related hardships. These groups have faced losing their land, families, and culture while simultaneously dealing with discrimination and racism at both an individual and systemic level. Consequently, indigenous Australians are at high risk for developing mental health issues. Data acquired in 2014 and 2015 reveals that 32.5% of Aboriginal Australians face high or very high levels of distress; this percentage is more than twice as high as numbers in the non-Aboriginal population in Australia (Gray et al. 2018). This prominent exposure to stress has been linked to the development of mental illness in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander communities, including depression, anxiety, and psychosis (Wilkes et al. 2010: 69). In the general population, many people turn to substances, including alcohol, to cope with mental health disorders. Additionally, mental health disorders and alcohol abuse are commonly co-morbid health issues. A survey conducted across Australia found that 17.6% of people who suffer from affective disorders and 11.9% of people who suffer from anxiety disorders also have a type of substance abuse disorder. Even though no research has delved into these numbers in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander populations specifically, these numbers are assumed to reflect these populations to some extent (Gray et al. 2018).
Effects of Alcohol Abuse on Aboriginal Australian Communities
Many of the adverse effects of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander alcohol abuse go hand-and-hand with the risk factors-- thus, the same factors that contribute to Aboriginal Australian alcohol abuse are likely to occur or even worsen as a result of abuse. Low socioeconomic status, separation from kin, mental disorders, and incarceration can happen as a result of alcohol abuse (Wilkes et al., 2010:120). Furthermore, universal outcomes of alcohol abuse also apply to Aboriginal Australians, and sometimes, the severity of these factors is amplified. Alcohol addiction can lead to health issues or even death for all populations, for instance. However, indigenous Australians are more likely to suffer from health conditions stemming from alcohol abuse than non-indigenous Australians. These health conditions include diabetes, heart disease, and liver and kidney failure (Broome, 2019:328). This is likely true because of the already poor health Aboriginal Australians face due to the inaccessibility of nutritious foods and notably high rates of stress. Along with this, on average, Aboriginal Australians die from alcohol abuse at a younger age than non-Aboriginal Australians do (Wilkes et al., 2010:120). As noted previously, alcohol abuse is also tied to co-morbid mental health issues-- Aboriginal Australians are hospitalized for mental health issues stemming from substance misuse at alarming rates (Wilkes et al., 2010:121).
Anti-Alcohol Laws in Australia
Throughout the years, several laws have been put in place to limit alcohol consumption in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander communities. In 1838, indigenous Australians were banned from consuming alcohol in most colonies as a result of the high number of alcohol-related deaths and acts of violence (Broome, 2019:63). Of course, Aboriginal Australians still found ways to obtain alcoholic beverages. One of the most common ways they did this was by purchasing beverages at inflated prices from white men (Broome, 2019:186).
14 February 2020. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. Retrieved 30 November 2022 (https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2020/02/14/alcohol-policies-in-australia-indigenous-activism-and-international-blueprints/)
As time abided, restrictions on alcohol sales and consumption were left up to individual communities and businesses, and the policies would alter over time. For instance, in 1976, Doomadgee and Mornington Island did not have any restrictions on the consumption of alcoholic beverages for Aboriginal Australians. After high rates of homicide, suicide, and health issues that were linked to alcohol misuse, the Council in Doomadgee banned alcohol sales in 1991. This declaration was reversed only four years later when new leadership emerged within the Council (Broome, 2019:329). These alcohol laws have spanned into the twenty-first century, as well. In Northern Territory, there was a ban on alcohol for Aboriginal Australians that began in 2007 in order to address violence against women and children. These prohibitions were just recently lifted in July 2022 (see “Learn More” section for more information).
These examples and several others highlight the duality of policies that prohibited alcohol sales and consumption. On one hand, alcohol led to an array of issues in Aboriginal communities, and limiting alcohol worked to minimize some of these harms. However, these policies further stripped Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders of autonomy. Furthermore, they largely oversimplified the solution to alcohol abuse in these communities: policies that reduce the systemic inequalities and risk factors that are associated with alcohol abuse would have been significantly more effective than restrictions that ignored the greater issues at hand.
Interventions
Several interventions have been introduced to address the misuse of alcohol and other substances in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander communities. Below is an overview of just a couple of these interventions as well as their areas of success and where they fall flat.
Queensland Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program (QIADP): The QIADP was introduced in 2007 and piloted for three years. This program allowed Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders who were incarcerated for alcohol-related offenses to get bailed out and go through 20 weeks of assessments of and treatments for their alcohol misuse. QIADP also includes an aftercare element that helps people transition back into society (Queensland Police Service 2010). This program did have tangible success: research conducted by the Queensland Police Services found that while participating in this program, individuals had reduced frequency and severity of offenses. However, some findings suggest that the positive effects of this program are short-lived. The Queensland Police Services also discovered that the severity of both alcohol- and non-alcohol-related offenses increased after people finished QIADP (Queensland Police Service 2010). Several factors can explain the mixed results on the effectiveness of this intervention. For one, the program may have contained too many “one-size-fits-all” elements. For instance, all offenders who took part in this program had to go through 20 weeks of treatment, regardless of the magnitude of their alcohol-related offense. This time frame may have been too tedious for some people, or on the other hand, other people may have needed a more intensive treatment plan. Another possibility was proposed in the Queensland Police Service’s report on QIADP. The intervention used in this program predominantly focused on alcohol use and not the underlying factors that may have led to alcohol use. Somebody may have been incarcerated for alcohol use when they were using it to cope with domestic violence, for example (Queensland Police Services 2010).
Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF): The ADF was founded in 1959 and provides programming that targets harms related to alcohol and drug use throughout Australia. This organization has a specific program that aims to address indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander substance use through educational resources (Alcohol and Drug Foundation 2022). The ADF has consistently worked with Aboriginal Australian populations to create their programming, which includes booklets and videos. Additionally, in collaboration with the Victorian Government, the ADF has established cultural competency training resources for healthcare workers (Alcohol and Drug Foundation 2022). This organization prioritizes providing care and resources through the cultural lens of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander communities, which has seemingly yielded positive feedback for their initiatives. However, compared to other interventions, the ADF is more hands-off. This strategy has both benefits and shortcomings: for one, it does allow for autonomy in Aboriginal Australian education on this topic. At the same time, the program’s lack of direct involvement limits its potential effectiveness.
The Australian. Retrieved 30 November 2022 (https://www.google.com/url sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fterritory-police-need-to-go-further-in-alcohol-crackdown%2Fnewsstory%2F5235771092d89297cd401bcf6ef8ac3f&psig=AOvVaw1ifm77GmXgU_UyclcQXC4c&ust=1670034036159000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjhxqFwoTCMjB--Dv2fsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
The Australian. Retrieved 30 November 2022 (https://www.google.com/url sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fterritory-police-need-to-go-further-in-alcohol-crackdown%2Fnewsstory%2F5235771092d89297cd401bcf6ef8ac3f&psig=AOvVaw1ifm77GmXgU_UyclcQXC4c&ust=1670034036159000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CBAQjhxqFwoTCMjB--Dv2fsCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
Alcohol abuse in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander communities is immensely complex and has an abundance of underlying causes. When examining any substance use issue in any population, it is important not to place blame on the individuals who suffer from these health problems and instead understand the risk factors that contribute to them. In the case of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islanders, one must understand the way the treatment of these communities throughout the years led to their heightened prevalence of alcohol abuse. As demonstrated in the discussion of risk factors, anti-alcohol laws, and interventions, future programs should target the underlying causes of alcohol abuse as opposed to the mere issue of alcohol addiction.
Learn More
For an overview of statistics on Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander alcohol consumption and abuse, visit https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/alcohol/alcohol-tobacco-other-drugs-australia/contents/priority-populations/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people.
To read about common myths surrounding alcohol and other substance misuse in Aboriginal Australia, visit https://positivechoices.org.au/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/mythbusters-alcohol-and-drugs
To hear more about the recently lifted alcohol ban in Northern Territory, visit https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-25/nt-intervention-era-alcohol-bans-end-indigenous-communities/101189594.
To view a brief segment on how alcohol has affected Aboriginal Australian communities in the Northern Territory, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-kxHEzSo1o&t=111s
To learn more about the link between alcohol abuse and incarceration in Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islanders, visit https://healthandjusticejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40352-016-0044-8 as well as the Aboriginal Australian Incarceration page
References
Alcohol and Drug Foundation. 2022. “Indigenous resources.” Alcohol and Drug Foundation. Retrieved November 15, 2022 (https://adf.org.au/programs/indigenous-resources/).
Broome, Richard. 2019. Aboriginal Australians: A History Since 1788. New South Wales, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Commonwealth of Australia. 1997. Bringing Them Home. Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved November 12, 2022
(https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/bringing-them-home-report-1997).
De Heer, Rolf, Peter Dijgirr, and Molly Reynolds. 2021. Another Country - The Yolngu People. Kanopy. Ronin Films.
Gray, Dennis, Kimberly Cartwright, Anna Stearne, Sherry Saggers, Edward Wilkes, and Mandy Wilson. 2018. “Review of the harmful use
of alcohol among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.” Australian Indigenous Health Bulletin, 18. Retrieved November 13,
2022 (https://aodknowledgecentre.ecu.edu.au/healthinfonet/getContent.php?linkid=590984).
Queensland Government. 2022. “Alcohol and other drugs and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.” Queensland Government
Child Safety Practice Manual. Retrieved November 11, 2022 (https://cspm.csyw.qld.gov.au/practice-kits/alcohol-and-other-
drugs/working-with-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-communit/seeing-and-understanding/aod-and-aboriginal
Queensland Police Service. 2010. Queensland Indigenous Alcohol Diversion Program (QIADP) Recidivism Study. Specialist Courts and
Diversion, Legal Services Branch. Queensland, Australia: Queensland Police Service. Retrieved November 14, 2022
Snijder, Mieke, Briana Lees, Annalee Stearne, James Ward, Sophia G. Bock, Nicola Newton, and Lexine Stapinksi. 2021. “An ecological
model of drug and alcohol use and related harms among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians: A systematic review of the
literature.” Preventive Medicine Reports, 21. Retrieved October 26, 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101277).
Walker, Roz, and Christopher Sonn. 2010. “Working as a Culturally Competent Mental Health Practitioner.” Pp. 117-133 in Substance
Misuse and Mental Health among Aboriginal Australians, edited by E. Wilkes, D. Gray, S. Saggers, W. Casey, and A. Stearne. Australian
Government Department of Health and Ageing.
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