Tailoring support services to cultural difference
1. Students could point out that:
- many people speak Aboriginal English which may be difficult for duty solicitors to understand, and which also incorporates indigenous words, and some English words that have different meanings
- for many indigenous people, using gratuitous concurrence during a conversation is a cultural phenomenon, and is used to build or define the relationship between the people who are speaking – it may indicate respect towards a person, cooperation between people, or acceptance of a particular situation
- direct eye contact may be taken as a sign of aggression, rudeness or disrespect
- for many Aboriginal people, raising the name of a dead person will cause serious offence and is culturally insensitive
- many Aboriginal people may not have a fixed address, or may move from house to house, and this is not inconsistent with an Aboriginal defendant being reliable when it comes to court appearances
- disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal people compared to the mainstream community have contact with the criminal justice system and many Aboriginal people have had a lot of experience of the criminal courts, Magistrates, police prosecutors and defence lawyers
2. Students could point out that:
- duty solicitors should become familiar with the language groups they are likely to encounter during their work
- duty solicitors should be attentive when taking instructions in Aboriginal English to avoid making false assumptions and misinterpreting the defendant’s instructions
- duty solicitors should avoid using legal jargon and instead should describe the situation the defendant is in and their rights in general terms and plain English – an interpreter should also assist
- many indigenous people use gratuitous concurrence during a conversation to build or define the relationship between the people who are speaking; however, people who are in a position of powerlessness when confronted by alien institutions and authority figures, and who are disadvantaged due to a language barrier, may adopt a strategy of always agreeing or saying what they think the person in authority wants them to say, regardless of the truth of the matter
- direct eye contact should not be used because it may be taken as a sign of aggression, rudeness or disrespect; lowered eyes and talking in a quiet manner should be used because it may be seen as respectful behaviour
- raising the name of a dead person, for many Aboriginal people, will cause serious offence and is culturally insensitive – duty solicitors should avoid doing this, and should be aware that it is culturally inappropriate to show community members material such as video, voice recordings and photographs which contain images of the deceased person
- duty solicitors should be aware that an Aboriginal defendant may not have a fixed address, or may move from house to house – these aspects of Aboriginal society are not inconsistent with an Aboriginal defendant being reliable when it comes to court appearances
- disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal people compared to the mainstream community have contact with the criminal justice system and many Aboriginal people have had a lot of experience of the criminal courts, Magistrates, police prosecutors and defence lawyers – duty solicitors should be aware that Aboriginal people do not enjoy being defendants in criminal cases and in some cases hold cynical and negative views of defence lawyers
- duty solicitors should be aware that Aboriginal people are not a homogenous group – many Aboriginal people reside in urban areas while others live on APY Lands/ there are many different language or skin groups, traditions and cultural beliefs
3. Responses will vary. The task word ‘comment’ requires students to state opinion-based arguments on a topic or idea.