Domestic violence disproportionately affects First Nations women. In fact, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence than non-Indigenous women.
Antoinette Braybrook AM has been working on the frontline of Indigenous women’s safety for more than two decades, and she has only seen the rate of male violence against women increase. Yet in her work with governments on coming up with solutions, she is still sidelined, excluded and shut out of important conversations.
“This is because what I have to say represents the real experiences of Aboriginal women and children and makes some people uncomfortable,” Braybrook said.
“It’s also because what I have to say is about Aboriginal women leading and determining solutions for ourselves.”
Antoinette Braybrook is the CEO of Djirra, Victoria’s first specialty family violence legal service established, designed and led by and for Aboriginal women. Her organisation provides holistic care for First Nations women in Victoria who experience family, domestic and sexual violence.
“All Djirra’s programs support Aboriginal women’s journey to safety and wellbeing,” Braybrook said.
“We identified a gap in support services in Victoria that rendered Aboriginal women invisible at a time when staying silent was often the safest option and where existing legal and other support services reinforced the paternalistic and racist practices of the past 200 years.”
As family, domestic and sexual violence continues to have detrimental health impacts on Aboriginal women in Australia, Braybrook is committed to accessing more government funding and support – now more than ever.
“Djirra means everything to me. It is in my blood, it is who I am,” Braybrook said.
“Along the journey I have been surrounded by amazing people who have brought their expertise to make Djirra what it is today.”
More on Antoinette
Antoinette Braybrook grew up in a small country town outside of Melbourne. For several years, hers was the only Aboriginal family in an “all-white world”.
“I didn’t always know how to label or expose the racism, discrimination, put downs by teachers, surveillance by police, shopkeepers, and parents of kids at the local school who weren’t allowed to play with us,” Braybrook said.
Braybrook left school at 15 years of age, pushed out by racism and discrimination. Struggling with unemployment and not knowing what to do next, she took up a role at Northern TAFE as the Koori Liaison Officer. This job eventually led her to study law at Deakin University, inciting a dream to become a criminal law barrister.
Throughout her early career, including working as a Judge’s Associate at the County Court, Braybrook began “connecting the dots” to “the big picture of colonisation”, its role in shaping Australia’s legal system, and how that then impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“I recall one judge in particular saying to me, ‘you won’t choose your area of legal specialisation: it will choose you’. And it did,” Braybrook said.
Establishing holistic care at Djirra
In 2002, Braybrook helped establish Djirra, the first speciality family violence legal service for Aboriginal women in Victoria. As the inaugural CEO, Braybrook opened Djirra with just one desk, one phone and one staff member.
“Since then, we have worked around the clock to ensure that Aboriginal people – predominantly women and children – experiencing family violence have a voice and are safe,” Braybrook said.
“Many mainstream services are based on a siloed delivery model – so a woman leaving violence can be expected to deal with different agencies and services and tell her story multiple times.
“When a woman comes to Djirra it is important to us that she only has to tell her story once, and that the legal and non-legal services she wants and needs are informed by her unique circumstances. All Djirra’s programs support Aboriginal women’s journey to safety and wellbeing.”
As an organisation providing holistic care to First Nations women who have suffered family, domestic and/or sexual violence, Djirra offers frontline legal counselling and case management services, cultural programs, early intervention and prevention programs.
“Djirra’s holistic service model means that all the services we offer are equally important and it is their combined impact that makes a critical difference to the lives of Aboriginal women,” Braybrook said.
First Nations women and domestic violence
The way Australia’s systems and institutions operate make it hard for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to access help from family, domestic and sexual violence. It’s what makes organisations like Djirra absolutely essential.
“Our voices, our solutions, and our truth-telling have been ignored by successive governments and decision-makers,” Braybrook said.
“All the while, governments and the systems that report to them continue to implement punitive and racist policies that punish, hurt, and dehumanise us. They do not believe us.”
According to statistics from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence than non-Indigenous women. What’s more, Indigenous women are eight times more likely to die from domestic violence.
Despite these devastating statistics, Braybrook said Aboriginal women are still being turned away. Last year, at least one in four women who came to Djirra for help were misidentified as the perpetrators of violence.
“This is due to racist, victim-blaming attitudes and poor police practices,” Braybrook said.
As a result, Braybrook said Indigenous women are at greater risk of experiencing poor health outcomes, including emotional wellbeing issues, pregnancy loss, and even acquired brain injuries (ABIs) – something Braybrook said isn’t widely spoken about.
“Djirra works with many Aboriginal women who have, or likely have, ABIs and who have experienced family violence,” Braybrook said.
“Aboriginal women are 69 times more likely to be hospitalised with head injury from assault than other women… Any level of cognitive impairment from an ABI affects a woman for the rest of her life.”
Braybrook and the team at Djirra work with many women who have a head injury due to family violence, but do not seek medical help for fear of retribution by their perpetrator. That’s why Djirra is calling for ABI screenings for Aboriginal people experiencing family and sexual violence to become standardised in health settings.
Keeping the fire burning
This year, the theme for NAIDOC Week chosen by the National NAIDOC Committee is Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud & Proud.
The team at Djirra always has and always will be Blak, Loud and Proud, Braybrook said, and they are determined to keep the fire burning.
To do so, Djirra “now more than ever” needs funding and support to provide their vital services; in the last 12 months, demand for Djirra grew by 33 per cent.
“Following the referendum result last year, the fire in us is burning brighter than ever,” Braybrook said.
“We are proud Aboriginal women, and we will never be silent in our fight to make sure our women’s voices, experiences and solutions are heard and listened to in every corner of this country.”
To mark NAIDOC Week 2024, Women’s Agenda has produced a special edition eMagazine in honour and celebration of incredible First Nations women trailblazing across different sectors in healthcare. Thanks to Charles Sturt University’s First Nations Pathways for its support bringing this eMagazine to life.