A Declaration of Dignity
Every human being, regardless of their background, is born free and has equal, inherent, immutable and indivisible right to dignity.
To be dignified is to be affirmed in one’s humanity and personhood. It is to be seen as, thought of and treated as a person.
To live a life of dignity is every person’s fundamental human right.
What is the Racial Dignity Framework?
The Racial Dignity Framework (RDF) is a conceptual and practice-oriented model that examines how race and dignity are deeply intertwined. It begins from the understanding that dignity is a fundamental human condition as “the metaphorical garment that clothes our humanity”. When dignity is upheld, our humanity is protected, recognised, and able to flourish. When dignity is violated, our humanity is exposed to the elements: made vulnerable, weak, or loose.
RDF positions racism as an assault on dignity. It recognises that racial harm is not only about discrimination, prejudice and bias but about the ways racialised people have their humanity denied across personal, interpersonal and institutional domains of life.
The Frameworks
Racial Dignity Framework
Racial Indignity Framework
Piloting organisations
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Australian Childhood Foundation
Participating in the Racial Dignity Framework pilot provided us with a safe supportive environment to reflect collectively our how our organisation can embed concepts of dignity across all facets of our work and relationships while providing cultural depth and meaning to the topic by having such a diverse cohort of participants
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Jute
The Racial Dignity Framework Pilot was transformative for our Ubuntu Project at JUTE . We witnessed first-hand how it humanises African-Australian participants. We are committed to embedding the framework’s principles into our programs & developing a model that can guide other theatre companies
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Our Race
Our Race Community participated in the Racial Dignity Framework pilot to explore the connection between (un)ethical storytelling and racial (in)dignity. We have been able to develop an (in)dignity storytelling framework that will continue to enhance our anti-racism efforts and improve our storytelling approaches "
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Respect Victoria
Our Communications team piloted the framework with a specific lens on ‘dignified masculinities’. The framework helped us to explore the intersection of racism and gendered violence and how our we can engage men in a dignified way while still affirming the experiences of women and gender-diverse people
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Southern Cross University, Faculty of Education
Participating in the pilot assisted us to start asking ourselves challenging but important questions that have been and continue to be overlooked or ignored in educational systems in Australia. It also assisted us by providing us with a “starter’s toolkit” to begin the work of answering these questions.
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Pola Psychology
Piloting the Racial Dignity Framework helped us develop a shared vocabulary for discussing the 'micro-practices of racial dignity' within Pola's therapeutic environment, and it underscored the critical role of these practices in fostering both psychological safety and a sustained sense of dignity for our clients
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Welcoming Australia
Participation in the Racial Dignity Framework pilot was a profoundly insightful, challenging, and humbling experience. It provided us with a supported opportunity to reflect on micro-practices of how we humanise and dignify the people we work with . I recommend this to every organisation and institution in the country