First Nations groups in the NT to share in $1m of federal funding in bid to reduce family violence

THREE First Nations organisations in the NT will share in more than $1m in federal government funding to trial new specialised family violence services over the next two financial years.

THREE First Nations organisations in the Northern Territory will share in more than $1m in federal government funding to trial new specialised family violence services over the next two financial years.

The $1.125m in funding, announced to coincide with Inter­national Day for the Elim­ination of Violence against Women, will be shared between Tangentyere Council, the Katherine West Health Board and the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council in Finke.

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Australian Bureau of Statistics data released earlier this year revealed the NT has the highest victimisation rate for selected family and domestic violence-related offences in Australia and an increase from 1635 victims per 100,000 people in 2016 to 1815 victims.

The federal funding, which comes out of a $340m national program to reduce violence against women and children, is aimed at plugging gaps in service delivery in the NT, especially in remote areas.

“The aim of the two-year trial is to improve and expand culturally appropriate services and supports specifically for Indigenous children and young people, who have been impacted by family and domestic violence,” Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said.

The federal government hopes the trials will help achieve a target set in the updated Closing the Gap agreement, which aims for the rate of all forms of family violence and abuse against First Nations women and children to be reduced by at least 50 per cent by 2031 as a checkpoint toward zero.

The three NT organisations can use the funding to deliver services they deem appropriate for their communities.

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Katherine West Health will use the funding for its “LOVE BiTES” program, which is ­targeted at helping 15-17-year-olds understand violence ­prevention and develop respectful relationships.

NPY Women’s Council will use some of the funding to ­support a child and youth ­wellbeing officer in Aputula (Finke) to help kids who have experienced trauma due to being exposed to domestic ­violence.