What happens when feminism clashes with multiculturalism? It seems that multiculturalism wins. As reported in “‘Women Silenced’ in Stifling Culture of Aboriginal Unity,” (The Weekend Australian, October 1-2, 2016, p. 7), in the 1970s many female Aboriginal leaders put ethnic solidarity, “standing as a people” over feminist issues.
According to indigenous researcher Suzanne Ingram, Aboriginal women are still facing racial solidarity pressures, serving as “solidarity stewardesses serving a sophisticated silencing agenda,” on issues of domestic violence in their communities. Ms Ingram believes that the issue of “silencing” has got worse with women who speak out about black-on-black violence being seen as engaging in betrayal.
Her paper “Silent Drivers/Driving Silence – Aboriginal Women’s Voices on Domestic Violence,” published in Social Alternatives (vol. 35, 2016, pp. 6-12), cites alarming statistics that “intimate partner violence” can be as high as 38 times greater for Aboriginal women than non-Aboriginal women.