2023-02-27
About 40% of the tens of thousands of children in the child protection system are First Nations. Aboriginal communities are also some of the worst affected by domestic and family violence. The two issues are inextricably linked, according to a new report out today.
The report, You can’t pour from an empty cup: Strengthening our service and systems responses for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people who experience domestic and family violence, is a collaboration between Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) and Australian Catholic University (ACU), and finds the failure to enable Indigenous communities to design their own solutions to family violence is pushing more children into the protection system.
Quotes attributable to Australian Greens spokesperson for First Nations, and Yamatji Noongar woman, Senator Dorinda Cox:
“Intergenerational trauma affects the lives of First Nations families in many ways. Child survivors of family and domestic violence have their childhood taken away, impacting their ability to form healthy relationships as adults. Trauma is carried into adulthood and when untreated, passed on to the next generation.
“Access to age-appropriate, culturally-sensitive healing and support services needs to be available, well-resourced, and co-designed with community.
“First Nations women who are subjected to domestic abuse face the added trauma of having their children removed from their care. It’s easy to understand when confronted with this choice, why First Nations women don’t report incidents of abuse.
“Help-seeking behaviour positions the police centrally in these situations. Yet as a police officer, I saw how repeated failures to respond, lack of understanding trauma responses, oppressive techniques and child removals amplify the distress of everyone involved. We need to address this.
“I’m a descendant of five generations of stolen children, and a line of strong women who have faced domestic violence. That trauma lives on in my family, like many other First Nations families across the country.
“This report supports the calls of the state and territory based Aboriginal Children’s Commissioners, Guardians and Advocates for a National Commissioner to advance the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, a nationally consistent approach to monitoring over-representation of First Nations youth in child protection and the justice system, raising the age of criminality, and elevating awareness of missing First Nations children - which is currently being highlighted through the Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children Senate inquiry.”