Toyin Okanlawon

Toyin Okanlawon

Fulbright Postgraduate Scholar

Media Guide

“The Australian aboriginal population has the worst health status of any minority group in the developed world. Learning the art of using the media effectively is crucial in public health, to shape public opinion and responses. Media coverage is essential to highlight the health issues and drive debate but needs to be done in a way that does not stigmatise or further marginalise minority groups with sensitive health issues.”

Olutoyin (Toyin) is one of twenty Americans to be granted a Fulbright Postgraduate Award in 2005. Toyin is a graduate from WakeForestUniversity specialising in Biology and will conduct research at Curtin University of Technology in the Centre for International Health, with Dr. Sandra Thompson, a public health physician and researcher at the Centre.  Toyin will investigate the tone, type and extent of media coverage dedicated to sexually transmitted infections (STI) and HIV in the indigenous community in order to develop effective strategies to improve the media reporting of sexual health issues related to Aborigines.

“In the past there has been an overwhelmingly negative representation by the Australian media of news and commentary about Aborigines. Due to lack of coverage of indigenous issues, there is a pervasive impression of Aboriginal people as separate from the rest of the community. A form, says Toyin, ‘of symbolic apartheid’. “

The Australian media has historically been culturally insensitive and misunderstanding of Aboriginal health issues. Due to the huge disparity in the rate of STI and blood-borne viruses between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, Toyin will conduct research to consider whether the gravity of these health issues is reflected by the Australian media.

The outcomes of Toyin’s research will be applied to improve the way in which advocacy is approached for public health intervention and media coverage of sensitive issues.

Toyin hopes that his research will provide a positive contribute to similar problems in the U.S. By increasing his understanding of how the media reports sensitive health issues concerning Aboriginal communities, Toyin hopes to develop and implement valuable media policies that recognise and respect differences in people.