Utoo Radio with Other Sources - Canberra, Australia - August 15 2024 - The Senate Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Children has released its final report, which includes 10 recommendations for the government to consider.

The report, which was presented in Parliament, found that Indigenous women are eight times more likely to be killed from family, domestic, and sexual violence than their non-Indigenous counterparts, and Indigenous children are three times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous children.

However, the inquiry found that these numbers could be much higher, as Australia is failing to appropriately report and recognise these women and children.

Deputy Chair of the inquiry and ALP Queensland Senator Nita Green said the inquiry has "personally" changed her and hopes to see broader change in society as a result.

The report also calls for a review into police practices, a First Nations person to be appointed in the Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Commission, funding to frontline services supporting First Nations women and children experiencing violence, and the Australian Press Council to consider and reflect on media portrayal of cases of murdered and missing First Nations women and children.

Antoinette Braybrook, the founding CEO of Djirra, a Victoria-based specialty family violence legal service, has highlighted the disproportionate impact of violence on First Nations women and children.

Braybrook believes that violence against these women is a national epidemic, and that reports of harm, disappearance, or killing are often dismissed or not taken seriously by police and other investigating bodies.

According to Djirra, Aboriginal women in Victoria are 45 times more likely to experience family violence than non-Indigenous women, 69 times more likely to experience a head injury from an assault, and 10 times more likely to be killed by domestic violence than non-Indigenous women.

Braybrook and her organization are demanding justice for First Nations women and girls who continue to experience high rates of male violence. She calls on all levels of government to work together and invest in specialist, self-determined solutions that advocate for First Nations women and girls' safety.