Lateral Love Australia

What is cultural safety? 

Page 14, Paragraph 3

The term first emerged in the context of the Maori nursing fraternity in Auterora/New Zealand. Cultural safety is:

“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” (Williams 1999, pp. 212f)

Commonly, the concept of cultural safety is used in the context of promoting mainstream environments which are culturally competent. But there is a also a need to ensure that Aboriginal community environments are also culturally safe and promote the strengthening of culture.

Lateral Love Australia believes the only true way to eradicate Lateral Violence and the manifestations of this negative force from our families, communities, and societies is to ensure the practice of Cultural Safety is adopted in all areas for all peoples.