Judge Kelly said the “epidemic” of domestic violence was so severe that often women trying to escape their circumstances had effectively been kidnapped and dragged to small stations outside their homes to face beatings and rape.
“These are not self-destructive women; they are women who cannot escape a terrible situation”, he said. “These are not people who are complicit in their own victimhood. These people are doing everything they can to protect themselves, and they can’t.”
And one of the reasons for that is the lack of funding from the federal government.
Despite the disproportionately high rates of domestic violence in the NT, decisions about current funding levels are made based on population size rather than demand.
Worden has renewed the push to change this protocol.
In addition, the services must serve the sparsely localized and linguistically diverse populations of the territory.
Central Australian Women’s Safety Services CEO Larissa Ellis told ABC News that “the inner metropolitan context doesn’t fit in a remote rural area”, advocating for grassroots initiatives led by Indigenous communities.
It’s a call echoed more widely by Wiradjuri woman Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver. She is an Aboriginal health epidemiologist and researcher and Assistant Vice-Chancellor of Indigenous Strategy and Services at the University of Sydney.
“For the biggest change to happen, we have to let the community dictate what they need,” Professor Jackson Pulver told Mamamia regarding the dire need to improve Indigenous health outcomes.
Donohue agrees and says it clearly: “We need programs on the ground. There should be an Aboriginal women’s center in every city in this country.
“Listen to the Aboriginal women. We tell you what we need. But those in power don’t listen.”
And first, we need a shout out.
Mamamia recognizes that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are the unheard of victims of domestic violence and wants to break the silence. In 2022, we pledge to tell more of their stories, amplify their voices, raise awareness of the issue, and be united in our conversations about how we end violence against women once and for all.
If you have any problems with this post, or if you just feel you need to talk to someone, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), the national advice service for sexual assault, domestic and family violence.
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Featured Image: Getty/Mamamia.