NAAFLS has formed a new community legal education project team, with the aim of improving legal literacy and service delivery awareness about domestic violence in remote communities. In the NT Aboriginal people are disproportionately affected by domestic violence and face huge barriers in accessing the justice system. Domestic violence orders are poorly understood in remote communities, so this is a focus area for the project team.
Collaborating with the Galiwin’ku Women’s Space
Arguably the most crucial aspect of this work involves creating partnerships with services that already exist in communities, as research overwhelmingly suggests that locally-led projects have a higher likelihood of positive outcomes. The Galiwin’ku Women’s Space in Arnhem Land is a grassroots, community-based domestic violence service, and the perfect starting place for the team.
“We need to be led by the local community” says Harriet Murphy, solicitor in the team. “We consulted with Galiwin’ku Women’s Space about how we can best support them. They want to receive training about domestic violence orders and mandatory reporting so that they are better informed when providing services to their clients.”
Initially the team will focus on training Galiwin’ku Women’s Space staff and then work with them to reach the wider community. “We are trying to set up a sustainable model that targets both service providers and community members” said Rachael Hill, project officer in the team.
Early days in creating a model
Each community is unique and there are many reasons why one community may have better legal literacy than another. It’s the job of the project team to find out what supports each community wants, whether that be resource development or face-to-face training.
“We are a new team, and this isn’t something that NAAFLS has done before” says social worker, Gia Crocetti. “It’s really important that from the get-go we ensure our practice is culturally appropriate, trauma informed and legally sound.”
“We are currently working with the Galiwin’ku Women’s Space, and we are listening and learning about what is needed in Galiwin’ku and how we can tailor our services to meet the needs on the ground. Every community is different so there is no real blueprint but going forward we will continue to prioritise collaborative and community-led projects.”
Plenty of travel around the corner
Initially the pandemic wreaked havoc on the team’s plan for service delivery by stopping travel to remote communities to engage community residents. Things are looking brighter now, with plans for lots of travel in the future to a number of communities to assess their different needs and approaches, which the team is really excited about.
