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Aboriginal Self-Determination

Aboriginal self-determination and the family violence reform

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Overview

Aboriginal people know what is best for themselves, their families and communities. We acknowledge the right of Aboriginal Victorians to have decision-making control over the issues that affect their lives.

Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023

Family violence has a disproportionate impact on Aboriginal people in Victoria, particularly women and children, regardless of whether they live in rural, regional or urban areas.

Victorian Aboriginal women are 45 times more likely to experience family violence and, where violence occurs, 25 times more likely to be killed or injured than non-Aboriginal women.

We acknowledge that colonisation, dispossession, child removal and other discriminatory government policies have resulted in significant intergenerational trauma, structural disadvantage and racism with long-lasting and far-reaching consequences. We recognise that family violence is not part of Aboriginal culture and that family violence against Aboriginal people is perpetrated by both non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people.

Embedding Aboriginal self-determination in the family violence reform aims to ensure a holistic, culturally safe approach to our delivery of prevention, response and intervention activities.

In a family violence context, Aboriginal self-determination requires a systemic shift of power and control from government and the non-Aboriginal service sector. It requires the transfer of power, control, decision-making and resources to Aboriginal communities and their organisations.

The bigger picture

Victoria has a nation-leading agenda to progress Aboriginal self-determination. In partnership with Aboriginal Victorians we are creating policies and establishing structures that put Aboriginal communities at the heart of decision-making on the matters that affect their lives.

The necessary reform to achieve and embed Aboriginal self-determination is large and will take time. Perhaps most significantly, this is being progressed through the Victorian Government’s commitment to advancing a treaty process with Aboriginal Victorians via:

2018

2019

2020

Since 2014, the Victorian Government has been committed to self-determination as the guiding principle in Aboriginal affairs. This is expressed in the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023 (VAAF), which recognises government practices and institutions have systematically discriminated and excluded Aboriginal people.

The VAAF commits government to undertake systemic and structural transformation to better enable self-determination. The VAAF applies to the family violence reforms.

The VAAF identifies four critical enablers for self-determination which require government action:

Aboriginal self-determination and the family violence reform

Systemic change to embed these enablers will take time. However, family violence reform activities are working to progress the enablers and to support the achievement of key VAAF goals. For example:

Nargneit Birrang Family Violence Holistic Healing Framework

Umalek Balit

Aboriginal Housing Victoria

Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families

![Two young women performing an Aboriginal dance ](/sites/default/files/2020-12/Copy of Untitled.png)

Royal Commission into Family Violence

The Victorian Government has committed to implement all 227 recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Of the recommendations left to be implemented, five relate to Dhelk Dja.

Recommendations Title
144 Implement recommendations from the Indigenous Family Violence Ten Year Plan
146 Prioritise adequate funding for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations
147 Ensure that all Aboriginal family violence interventions are evaluated in a culturally appropriate manner
148 Require services to conduct cultural safety reviews and action plans
152 Improve the collection of Indigenous specific data relating to family violence

Download the frameworks

Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018-2023 PDF 6.94 MB (opens in a new window)

Self-Determination Reform Framework PDF 8.64 MB (opens in a new window)

Connections to existing strategies

The Self-Determination Reform Framework and the Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Framework 2018 are both critical to Victoria’s commitment to self-determination and support delivering self-determination across government.

They work alongside and align to existing strategies, including:

Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way – Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families

Korin Korin Balit-Djak (Growing very strong)

Wungurilwil Gapgapduir (Strong families)

Updated 19 April 2021

Family violence reform Rolling Action Plan 2020-2023 Activity Summarypdf341.63 KB

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