What is Cultural Safety?
There are a wide variety of terms and definitions used in the cultural training arena. We have chosen to predominantly use the term cultural safety. We use Williams’ definition of cultural safety as:
“an environment that is safe for people: where there is no assault, challenge or denial of their identity, of who they are and what they need. It is about shared respect, shared meaning, shared knowledge and experience, of learning, living and working together with dignity and truly listening”
In practice we emphasise that the presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, with the ability to control or influence the processes operating in health services, is one of the major ways to create a safe environment.
