Tanya Keed, former Chair of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elected Body, and Thomas Emerson MLA, Independent Member for Kurrajong, are today calling on the ACT Government to invest in establishing a culturally safe family and domestic violence crisis service led and operated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Mr Emerson delivered a speech during the Legislative Assembly’s adjournment debate yesterday sharing gut-wrenching first-hand accounts of violence experienced by three local Aboriginal women. 

Ms Keed was present in the Chamber when Mr Emerson questioned the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence about where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women could go for help.

Ms Keed said the Minister’s response showed that a specialist Aboriginal community controlled organisation (ACCO) providing FDV crisis support was needed to fill a glaring gap in the ACT’s gender-based violence service network, and would complement existing mainstream service providers who were stretched thin.

“It’s been 15 years since the launch of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children but nothing’s changed,” said Ms Keed.

“A local Aboriginal woman called me last weekend to say she’d been beaten to the point where she was running for her life. She’s been waitlisted and told she doesn’t meet the criteria. 

“Many of us don’t feel safe seeking help from mainstream service providers who don’t understand our unique cultural needs.

“Being told ‘we can’t help you’ is a common occurrence for our people.

“On International Women’s Day, there will be women in our community living in fear, without support.”

Earlier this week, a $6.1 million federal funding package was announced to address gender-based violence in the ACT. Mr Emerson called for the ACT Government to commit a significant portion of this funding to support the establishment of an Aboriginal community controlled FDV crisis support service in Canberra.

“Overburdened support services are forced to turn away frightened, injured, vulnerable women,” said Mr Emerson.

“Women are being waitlisted or triaged out of a system that’s struggling to meet their specific cultural needs. Left with nowhere to turn, often the only alternative is to go back to the violence.

“The stark reality is that here in our city, a cohort of women being abused in their own homes are discovering that support services can’t help them. 

“Through the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Agreement 2019-2028, our government made a commitment to supporting the self-determination of First Nations people in Canberra. It’s hard to imagine anything more eroding to self-determination than being beaten in your own home and not being able to get help.

“It’s long been agreed, reported on, detailed in action plans, discussed in committees, and declared in promises that the ACT needs more culturally safe services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“It’s time to deliver on those promises.”

Target 13 of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is to reduce the rate of all forms of family violence and abuse against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children by at least 50 per cent by 2031. 

The Productivity Commission’s 2024 review of progress under the National Agreement shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women continue to be disproportionately affected by domestic and family violence, yet remain underserved by current support systems.

A recent response from the ACT Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to a Question on Notice asked by Mr Emerson indicates data is not available to demonstrate the ACT’s progress against Target 13.

The need for culturally appropriate support services is a focus of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan 2023-2025.