117 The tweet caused Ms Kattel to feel that no matter what she did for the Australian community or how much she contributed, her contributions would have a reduced impact and would always be less respected; she would be likely to be treated as a second-class citizen because she is an immigrant. The tweet made her feel angry and defeated because it brought back memories of previous experiences of racism since moving to Australia.
118 Ms Kattel gave evidence of her experiences of racism. They include incidents when she was working in a McDonald's in Perth as a student and she was told things by customers such as "hop on a camel and go back to where you come from" and "you're stealing jobs from Australians." Ms Kattel's experiences of racism have made her conscious about how she appeared and dressed and what she said and how she said it in order to avoid it being thought that she did not belong or fit in Australia. She has been made to feel self-conscious and anxious, as well as alone and depressed.
Expert witnesses
119 Senator Faruqi relies on the evidence of three expert witnesses.
Professor Yin Carl Paradies
120 Professor Paradies holds the Chair in Race Relations in the Faculty of Arts and Education at Deakin University. He has held that position since March 2014. Before that he worked in various positions, including as a Research Officer at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, a Research Fellow at the Menzies School of Health Research and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. He has a PhD in social epidemiology from the University of Melbourne. Professor Paradies conducts research on the health, social and economic effects of racism as well as anti-racism theory, policy and practice across diverse settings, including online, in workplaces, schools, universities, housing, the arts, sports and health.
121 Professor Paradies says that based on a large and consistent body of existing literature, it is clear that racism can result in both acute and chronic emotional and physiological impacts. In particular, racist conduct is a pernicious form of stress that can have significant consequences for immediate emotional and psychological health and can also result in long-term pathophysiological changes that affect both mental and physical health.
122 At the individual level, racism can cause immediate sequelae such as shock, denial, anger, rage, frustration, fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, sadness, suppression, distress, and so on.
