Unified domestic violence plan for First Nations

Interventions and mentoring for Indigenous men are part of the first national plan to reduce exponentially higher rates of family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children.

‘No woman or child should live in fear from violence,’ Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Interventions and mentoring for Indigenous men are part of the first national plan to reduce exponentially higher rates of family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children.

The Albanese government will on Wednesday release the first action plan to “reduce pervasive rates of family, domestic and sexual violence in communities across Australia”. All states and territories have agreed to the over-arching plan, as well as an accompanying plan specifically to address violence against Indigenous women and children.

Indigenous women are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised and six times more likely to die from family violence than non-Indigenous women.

The plan for reducing violence against Indigenous women and children was overseen by an advisory council of Indigenous men and women working in the field and is based on the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who shared their experiences, views and knowledge of family violence, including victim-survivors and elders.

“No woman or child should live in fear from violence,” Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth said. “No woman or child should have their lives terrorised by someone who professed to love and care for them. No woman or child should have their lives ended prematurely due to that violence”.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plan recognised the unique challenges and additional barriers faced by First Nations women when seeking support for family, domestic, and sexual violence, she said. “This is why we worked in genuine partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council to achieve the best possible outcomes for individuals and their communities,” she said.

As well as services and safe places for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the Indigenous plan will establish Aboriginal men’s wellness centres that can carry out interventions, cultural healing, teach respectful relationships, healthy parenting, mentoring, living skills and education about alcohol and other drugs. Whatever work is carried out at the centres will be supported by evidence about what works and there will be “strong evaluation to guarantee that the right models are being developed”.

The Albanese government has put aside $2.3bn over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 budgets to address women’s safety.

“This plan is a first for our country and has been developed by listening and working with First Nations people, because we know that listening is the key to developing better policies and programs and delivering better outcomes,” Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney said.