Ahead of International Day of Education (January 24) and the return to school, new data reveals a concerning rise in reports of racist incidents targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, directly impacting on wellbeing and right to safe and effective education, free from discrimination.
The 2024–25 Call It Out Annual Report shows more than one in four reports (26%) submitted to the Call It Out First Nations Racism Register involved children and young people aged 0–19. This is a 10-point increase from last year.
Children and young people were proportionately more likely to experience racism in schools and other educational settings (30%), up from 13% in 2023–24. Racism was also commonly reported in media and online environments (31% combined).
Education is vital for providing stability and essential life skills to young people. However, experiencing racism can have immediate and lifelong impacts, shaping children’s sense of belonging and self-worth, and their engagement with education. We must take steps to eliminate racism, especially for children and young people. Schools and institutions have a responsibility to actively prevent racism and respond appropriately when it occurs.
Reports from parents, children and young people detailed students using racist and derogatory language towards First Nations children at school, as well as incidents involving school staff failing to respond appropriately or in some cases, directly perpetrating racism.
One young person said: “Being at that school made me feel so [much] shame. It’s so crazy that I felt and still feel so unwanted in my own country!”
A witness reported racism towards a child as young as 3, with a young girl being told she was “Black” and “Black is ugly”.
Another report spoke to the devastating impacts: “It forced me to drop out of school, and to this day, I still haven’t completed my schooling and I have a fear of teachers and people who are supposed to help me and support me”.
Rebecca Lewis, Research Fellow at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, said racism in schools is often minimised, despite the lasting harm it causes to children:
“When First Nations children experience racism at school, it cuts deeply. These are spaces where they should feel protected, yet many are subjected to public humiliation and trauma. Too often this is dismissed as bullying. But racism is not bullying and treating it that way allows harm against First Nations children to be normalised and continue without accountability.”
Chris Cunneen, Professor of Criminology, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, added:
“Reports to the Call It Out Register showed the failure of schools to respond effectively to racist behaviour, with repeated complaints going unaddressed. It’s not just the failure of responses by the school, but individual staff perpetrating racism against students. Now we have a situation where First Nations children no longer want to go to school because it’s seen to be an unsafe place for them.”
The report, titled “Everywhere I go no matter where, if it’s around non-Indigenous people I feel a hate vibe. It feels like I’m being watched,” is based on 442 validated reports submitted between 21 March 2024 and 20 March 2025.
For more information and to make a report visit Call It Out.
