Article by Elisa Scarton, VicHealth and Youth Central Roving Reporter.

Seventeen-year-old Sarah Gastar is of Filipino descent. She was born in Australia and has lived in Hampton Park her whole life. She barracks for Carlton, loves Vegemite and is obsessed with Home and Away.

But sometimes she feels excluded. Sometimes her peers tell her to go back to where she came from, call her racist names or fake an Asian accent. She would much prefer to talk about football and soapies rather than be asked if all she eats for dinner is fried rice.

“The worst part is that they don't even know the difference between Filipino culture and the rest of Asia. They just throw stupid stereotypes at me and it sucks. It's not everyone in my class and it's not every day, just when someone feels like being mean,” she says.

“I think what hurts the most is being told to go home. I don't get it. I am home. Australia is where I was born and I don't know any other life. When they say that, it makes me feel like I don't belong anywhere.

“My mum tells me to be proud of Filipino heritage, but it's not easy when kids are teasing you about it. They know I'm Asian just by looking at me. I just want to fit in.”

Impressionable minds  

In a Foundation for Young Australians report on racism, 70 per cent of Australian secondary students said they'd experienced some form of racism on an occasional basis.

For the majority, this racism occurred at school and included everything from being called offensive slang names, to being the target of racist jokes or stereotyping, to feeling excluded or left out simply because of their race.

This racism was more common among the older students than those who were in Years 7 and 8. The group that experienced the most racism were Year 11 and 12 girls.

VicHealth's senior project officer for reducing race-based discrimination and supporting diversity Ben Waterhouse says young people aged 15 to 26 are often perpetrators and victims racism.

“When you're 15, you're developing your identity and trying to figure out who you are. Race can play a big role in whether people are included or excluded from their peer groups,” he says.

“Most young people just want to fit in. Adolescence is a time in their lives when their friends have a big influence on their actions and their opinions. Unfortunately this can result in racist attitudes and stereotyping.

“Younger children aren’t as likely to hold racist attitudes. They recognise race, but race does not influence the children they choose as friends.”

Stick and stones  

For young victims of racism like Sarah, words can and do hurt.

The VicHealth Building on our strengths framework to reduce race-based discrimination shows an established link between experiences of racism and depression, psychological distress, anxiety and stress.

There are some studies that suggest that people who experience discrimination may be more likely to take part in risky behaviours, such as smoking, drinking and taking drugs.

Some experts also believe that it is likely that discrimination contributes to physical health problems like heart disease and diabetes.  This is because the health problems that are known to be caused by discrimination, such as stress and anxiety, are known risk factors for these conditions.

The Foundation For Young Australians racism report found that young victims of racism experienced an inability to concentrate on school work.   Those who had been subjected to severe racism reported constant headaches, anticipatory anxiety and post-traumatic stress, which affected the way they ate and slept for weeks at a time.  

Also, Dr Naomi Priest recently conducted a study exploring the associations between self-reported racism and health and wellbeing outcomes for young Aboriginal Australians.

“This study found Aboriginal young people who reported experiencing racism were more likely to experience anxiety and depression than those young people who did not,” she says.

Lead by example

While young people are sometimes perpetrators of racism, they don't learn to behave that way on their own.

In the early years of life, parents and caregivers often have the most influence over a child's perceptions of race and racial differences. In later childhood and adolescence, schools, the wider community and the media increasingly influence young people’s attitudes and beliefs towards race and cultural diversity.

At present, little research has been done to explore these issues amongst Australian children and young people. Dr Naomi Priest is currently working on a VicHealth funded research project hoping to build knowledge in this area.

The Kids Helpline website advises parents to be a role model to children by encouraging diverse friendships and providing them with plenty of multicultural experiences.

See Beyond Race  

VicHealth is currently running a community awareness campaign with the aim of increasing the acceptance of cultural diversity and reducing race-based discrimination.

The See Beyond Race campaign, being piloted in Whittlesea and the Greater Shepparton area until August, features local residents from different cultural backgrounds.

As part of the campaign, these residents feature on billboards, buses, in shopping centres and on local television and radio within their community. The ads feature snippets of information about these people – their hobbies, professions and family lives – in order to break down racial stereotypes.

VicHealth’s Ben Waterhouse is overseeing the campaign. He says it's about encouraging the community to see beyond race, and perceive people as individuals.

“Through the campaign, we're dispelling racist stereotypes. Just because someone isn't the same nationality as you, doesn't mean they don’t share with you a common humanity and the right to be respected and treated fairly the same as you,” he says.