Understanding Microaggressions

Explore the challenges faced by diverse emergency responders and share experiences to build resilience.

Microaggressions are common, everyday slights and comments that relate to various aspects of one's appearance or identity such as class, gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, mother tongue, age, body shape, disability, or religion and are largely directed towards minority communities. There is evidence that tropes and stereotypes fall within the same vein.

Sometimes a microaggression may appear to be a compliment, You speak English very well. They are seemingly innocuous and nothing to fret over. However, microaggressions carry demeaning meta-communications, whereby the messages are hidden, and the targets of such concealed missives feel on edge as well as under scrutiny. This can create an environment filled with distrust, hostility, invalidation, and it can also mean lost productivity, ill health, and overall inequity. Microaggression | Psychology Today Australia

Individuals may not aim to offend, yet their comments or actions can serve as a reminder to the recipient of the microaggression that they are not entirely embraced or trusted within their community. While people often have good intentions and consciously strive to promote equality, their actions may unconsciously reflect otherwise.

Recent data indicates that 35% of Australian full-time employees identifying as an ethnic minority have experienced microaggressions at work Microaggresion occurence in a workplace by ethnicity country 2021 | Statista . This correlates to data that indicates that between 2020 and 2021, almost 40% of all race discrimination complaints received by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) were work-related Chapter 4: Gender and Culturally and Racially Marginalised Employees | genderequalitycommission.vic.gov.au. By way of comparison in the Construction industry 100% of People with a Disability, selected yes to experiencing microaggressions, followed by LGBTQIA+(91%), Person of Colour (86%) and then Migrant (85%)The not so little things affecting women in construction (nawic.com.au) . There are limited commensurate surveys in the emergency responder sector with some individual services producing alarming survey outcomes relating to the treatment of women.

Many studies maintain that microaggressions and negative verbal statements/imagery are psychologically and even physically harmful despite what some call the absence of 'ill-will'. These studies are too numerous to detail however a momentum to CALL-OUT such behaviour reflecting movements in the domestic violence space would ensure the spirit of hostile workplace legislation is maintained. Respect Women: ‘Call It Out’ (Respect Is) | Respect Victoria

Caldern provides this page where members can share microaggressions, tropes and stereotypes which they confronted whilst working or volunteering in the emergency responders' sector. You can email your experiences to dignity@caldern.org with a simple statement about what you heard or was directed at you or use the contact form below or sms 0432095618 . Your comments will be listed as per the examples below. The only identifiers will be Caldern member, anonymous or contributor. The emergency service will be listed generically e.g Police, Fire etc.

So where are you really from ?... Police

Can i just call you.. Fire

Do you want me to speak slower... Ambulance