North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS) welcomes the national report of the Senate Inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children as an initial step to seeking justice for our women and children.
“Our women and children have been invisible for too long, it’s time to bring justice to the lives lost and their families” said NAAFLS CEO, Cindy Torrens, “we welcome the report’s recommendation to better fund Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS), as the experts in this work and we call for the government to utilise the report’s recommendations as a starting point to real, transformative change”.
The report acknowledges that change must be driven by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, including leadership from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and empowering men to drive change. To echo Djirra’s CEO, Antoinette Braybrook, specialist, self-determined change can only come from significant investment in Aboriginal driven services and initiatives.
Ms Torrens stated that “NAAFLS backs First Nations Advocates Against Family Violence calls to strengthen geographical presence by funding FVPLSs as an essential means to prevent violence against women and their children,” and reiterated that “the families NAAFLS supports need far more than access to tertiary legal supports. The safety of our women, children and their families are dependent on safe, stable housing, financial security and access to culturally safe services across all areas of their life.”
NAAFLS submission to the inquiry called for government and police accountability. The internal reviews of government agencies recommended in the report does not go far enough to ensure real, transformative change as committed to by all governments under Priority Reform 3: Transforming Government Agencies of the National Closing the Gap Agreement. “Addressing racial discrimination in our government systems must be done in consultation with our people. An independent oversight of such a review is the only way we can assure real accountability is taken” Ms Torrens states.
The Inquiry into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children has been a long and heartbreaking experience for the families revisiting the trauma of the loss of their loved ones. NAAFLS would like to see these families honoured through real immediate action and commitment to Aboriginal-led solutions.
For further information contact:
Ren Flannery
Executive Policy Officer
rflannery@naafls.com.au
