Djirra and Safe and Equal are working to support a culturally responsive and accountable specialist family violence sector. We want to hear from mob your views on non-Aboriginal family violence services, how they can support Aboriginal people’s choices and culture and be accountable to community.
Your time is valuable and you will be offered $100 for your participation.
Call or text Anna 0447 404 334 or email [email protected]
In Australia, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander youth are over-represented at all stages of the child protection system. This includes over-representation among care leavers; approximately 1,265 First Nations youth aged 15–17 years exit out of home care (OOHC) annually, and this figure is rising (Productivity Commission, 2021). First Nations care leavers commonly face poor social, economic, and health outcomes. Inadequate and culturally insensitive services contribute to these poor outcomes. This resource is aimed at supporting front-line practitioners to:
- Have a working knowledge of the historical and contemporary context of social welfare policies and their impact on First Nations families.
- Use this knowledge as a starting point to build an awareness of how individual and systemic practices impact First Nations young people and families.
- Recognise the importance of working with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), Elders and respected community members to design and implement strengths-based culturally informed support services.
Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children is not an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander problem.’
Every individual, across communities, organisations and governments, has a responsibility to prevent violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children. Changing the picture is a framework to guide the national approach to addressing the drivers of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Read Changing the picture here
This is Yoorrook’s second interim report. It considers systemic injustices in the child protection and criminal justice systems. It fulfils the requirement in the amended Letters Patent dated 4 April 2023 to deliver a second interim report by 31 August 2023.
A note on content: First People’s are advised that this report may contain photos, quotations and names of people who are deceased. This report discussed sensitive topics that some readers may find distressing. Yoorrooks urges you to consider how and when you read this report and what supports you might need.
Under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 (the National Plan), the Australian Government has released the First Action Plan 2023-2027, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan 2023-2025 and the Outcomes Framework 2023-2032.
For the first time, the Australian, state and territory governments have a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan. It was developed in partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council on family, domestic, and sexual violence, and was informed through nationwide consultation with victim-survivors, community and sector representatives.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan acknowledges the disproportionate levels of violence, harm and trauma suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children and gender diverse peoples. It recognises that solutions need to be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and outlines government initiatives that will focus on addressing immediate safety needs, while laying the foundations for longer term change.
Click here to access the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan and Outcomes Framework
The dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan will work alongside the First Action Plan. It has been developed in genuine partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council on family, domestic and sexual violence, and in recognition of the disproportionately high rates of family, domestic and sexual violence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women experience.
Click here to read Action Plan
Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders at risk of homelessness are being supported with a funded accommodation program designed to assist them to live independently in the community as they transition into adulthood.
Member for Frankston Paul Edbrooke visited the site of Moorrumbina Mongurnallin – Village 21 Frankston – a $1.7 million development supporting young people aged 18 to 21 at risk of homelessness. Moorrumbina Mongurnallin will be home to six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people and two live-in mentors. It will incorporate a communal kitchen, laundry, dining area and gathering space, as well as a BBQ area, yarning circle and a basketball court. Construction is due to be finished later this year.
The Frankston site will be delivered in partnership with Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency and Kids Under Cover and will provide a home to six at-risk young people for up to three years, or until the young person’s 21st year.
Based on a communal concept, Moorrumbina Mongurnallin will support activities including cooking together, maintaining shared gardens and developing essential life skills. The residents will also receive rental references and advice when they move out of the program and into the next phase of their housing journey.
Click here to read the media release
The high rates of suicide-related behaviour among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, combined with similar evidence relating to LGBTQIA+ people, suggest that there is a need to investigate the compound risk of suicide-related behaviour among people who are both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and LGBTQIASB+. This report highlights gaps in existing data collection and research literature regarding the experiences of this group. It explores the risks to social, cultural and emotional wellbeing, as well as protective factors for suicide, for this group. Further research is needed to improve policy, data, and program service response, particularly following the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and government responses. This review recommends that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people are treated as a priority group for research, policy and programs that are informed, owned, and driven by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIASB+ people.
Respect Victoria and Partners have released two pieces of research prepared for Dhelk Dja on promising practice in Aboriginal-led prevention.
The project mapped prevention initiatives delivered between 2016 and 2021 to identify successes, challenges, gaps, and opportunities for future investment. The research documented available evidence on effective First Nations-led prevention. It looked at what works best, and where there are gaps in our knowledge. The research reviewed evidence across Victoria and Australia, as well as New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
This resource is for policy makers and practitioners working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who have experienced domestic and family violence and have come into contact with child protection systems.
This framework is designed to be implemented in local contexts, to meet local needs. It has been built from knowledge generated through participatory action research methods led by First Nations community researchers in regional and remote Queensland locations. Importantly, it recognises the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and embeds evidence-based healing responses.
Children are placed at the centre of this trauma informed, strengths based a framework that upholds self-determination and will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to experience increased physical, social, emotional, cultural and spiritual safety in their homes and communities. A set of principles, drawn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values shapes key actions, ideas and questions that can be embedded within practice. The framework provides critical insights for government, to support policy and systemic change that will enable the framework to be implemented successfully. Links to additional resources are also included.