By Celeste Larkins

Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience higher rates of family violence than in the general population. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2018 report found Indigenous women were 32 times as likely to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence than non-Indigenous women. Indigenous women are also less likely to report abuse.

Indigenous people in Australia often have higher risk factors for family violence such as poor housing and overcrowding, financial difficulties, unemployment and social stressors. However, it needs to be clear that the perpetrators of this violence are both Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners.

Recently, an Aboriginal Elder spoke to me of his concerns of violence against women in the community. It saddened him, as traditional Aboriginal culture respects women as the givers of life, as nurturers, the same way Mother Nature gives and nurtures us. Both should be respected.

However, it’s evident after not only speaking with this Elder, but many more communities across the Mid West and Gascoyne of Western Australia, that the intergenerational trauma of the invasion of Australia has caused a major impact on the life and culture of the one of the oldest cultures in the world.

At HCR we work with Aboriginal communities to support them to develop their own health messages and campaigns which help deal with many of the risk factors for domestic and family violence. This approach allows local people to share their knowledge in a culturally relevant way for their local community.

At HCR we work with Aboriginal people and support them to use their local knowledge, culture and language to develop health campaigns for their local community.