I'm also not sure where you're getting the idea that they were upset over "having to acknowledge the concept of white privilege." The question was about being "sorry" for being white.

Seems to me this is another proxy fight, where people say things they don't mean because they understand it to be a signal for a broader disagreement. So "I'm not sorry for being white" is treated as a stand-in for rejecting the entire concept of privilege, and "I am sorry for being white" is just a way to acknowledge it exists.

I think very little is served by having these discussions through so many obvious layers of abstraction--either in terms of simply speaking truth, or persuading others.

Cultural safety concept was developed in a First Nations’ context and is the preferred term for nursing and midwifery. Cultural safety is endorsed by the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM), who emphasise that cultural safety is as important to quality care as clinical safety. However, the “presence or absence of cultural safety is determined by the recipient of care; it is not defined by the caregiver” (CATSINaM, 2014, p. 9 ). Cultural safety is a philosophy of practice that is about how a health professional does something, not [just] what they do. It is about how people are treated in society, not about their diversity as such, so its focus is on systemic and structural issues and on the social determinants of health. Cultural safety represents a key philosophical shift from providing care regardless of difference, to care that takes account of peoples’ unique needs. It requires nurses and midwives to undertake an ongoing process of self-reflection and cultural self-awareness, and an acknowledgement of how a nurse’s/midwife’s personal culture impacts on care. In relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, cultural safety provides a de-colonising model of practice based on dialogue, communication, power sharing and negotiation, and the acknowledgment of white privilege. These actions are a means to challenge racism at personal and institutional levels, and to establish trust in healthcare encounters (CATSINaM, 2017b, p. 11 ). In focusing on clinical interactions, particularly power inequity between patient and health professional, cultural safety calls for a genuine partnership where power is shared between the individuals and cultural groups involved in healthcare. Cultural safety is also relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health professionals. Non-Indigenous nurses and midwives must address how they create a culturally safe work environment that is free of racism for their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues (CATSINaM, 2017a ).

3.2 Culturally safe and respectful practice
Culturally safe and respectful practice requires having knowledge of how a nurse’s own culture, values, attitudes, assumptions and beliefs influence their interactions with people and families, the community and colleagues. To ensure culturally safe and respectful practice, nurses must:
a. understand that only the person and/or their family can determine whether or not care is culturally safe and respectful
b. respect diverse cultures, beliefs, gender identities, sexualities and experiences of people, including among team members
c. acknowledge the social, economic, cultural, historic and behavioural factors influencing health, both at the individual, community and population levels
d. adopt practices that respect diversity, avoid bias, discrimination and racism, and challenge belief based upon assumption (for example, based on gender, disability, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, age or political beliefs)
e. support an inclusive environment for the safety and security of the individual person and their family and/or significant others, and
f. create a positive, culturally safe work environment through role modelling, and supporting the rights, dignity and safety of others, including people and colleagues.

What is ‘cultural safety’ and why is it a requirement in the codes?

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience poorer health outcomes than non-Indigenous peoples.

Cultural safety is a proven way for nurses and midwives to contribute to better health outcomes and experiences for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Cultural safety is about acknowledging the social, historical and structural factors that can have an impact on the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. Rather than saying ‘I provide the same care to everyone regardless of difference,’ cultural safety means providing care that takes into account Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ needs.

Many nurses and midwives will already be practising cultural safety, even if they have not heard of the term. The new codes of conduct guide all nurses and midwives on a cultural safety.

Maternity systems have failed to incorporate the evidence provided by Indigenous women on the impact of social risks that include cultural risk...Recent empirical work in Australia reconfirms that these risks are still valid, highlighting that they not only cause distress to women and families, but also increase clinical and medical risks...

We acknowledge the importance of clinical and medical risk, but suggest that the definition of risk needs be broader, to incorporate the social (cultural, emotional and spiritual) risks as valid and important dimensions of risk assessment requiring risk management processes. The disconnection between social, cultural and spiritual risk and western clinical and medical biophysical risk is a critical and understudied phenomenon that needs further work.

Are you SORRY for being WHITE?

Should white people be sorry and acknowledge their white privilege to those who are not white?