First Nations women face a murder rate eight times higher than non-Indigenous women, according to data shared at a Senate inquiry.
The first hearing of a Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children took place on Wednesday, where Australian Crime Institute deputy director Rick Brown said overall homicide rates are declining in Australia, but the murder rates for Indigenous women are not following the same trend.
The inquiry was set up after Yamatji Noongar woman and Western Australia senator Dorinda Cox successfully moved a motion in November last year to hold the inquiry. She had previously called for it during her first speech to the Senate in October.
At the time, Cox, who is a former police officer, said she had heard from countless families left behind and devastated by the lack of urgency to get to the bottom of their loved ones’ deaths.
“This is necessary because we have a justice system that does not take seriously the issues of missing and murdered First Nations women and children in this country, so this inquiry will ask those questions for those families,” she said.
“It is devastating to hear from families who don’t understand why the system does not take these cases seriously… As a former police officer, I know there is a different urgency into looking for First Nations women and girls.”
It also comes after Senator Lidia Thorpe called out the media for its lack of coverage on issues relating to violence against First Nations women.
“When a white woman dies, or a white woman is murdered, it’s a front page [article]. There’s rallies,” Senator Thorpe said last year. “When a black woman dies, when a black woman is murdered, you don’t hear about it.”
The Senate inquiry will also look at the current and historical practices used to investigate the deaths and missing person reports of First Nations women and children, and look to identify actions that can be taken to remove systemic causes of violence and to increase the safety of First Nations women and children.
Research has previously found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 11 times more likely to die due to assault and are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence than non-Indigenous women.
Submissions for the Senate inquiry are still open, and close on November 11. The committee will hand down its report by July 31, 2023.
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