She just wanted the violence to stop

Mick Dodson (b. April 10, 1950), long term Indigenous advocate and 2009 Australian of the Year, once said in his 2003 National Press Club speech: “As Indigenous people it is sad that even if we haven’t personally experienced violence, then we know somebody close to us who has.”

I preface this article by stating categorically that I’ve no recollection of my father hitting my mother and I have never, nor will I ever, assault my wife, Rhonda.

Recently I received a telephone call from Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin’s office inviting me to Canberra to attend a specially convened forum for 20 Indigenous leaders to speak on the topic of Indigenous violence. The call initially took me by surprise as I’ve had no history of contact with the Minister’s office previously nor have I been involved at any level: regional, state or federal, on deliberations on this critical subject that afflicts many Indigenous people.

My preliminary thought on receiving the Minister’s auspicious invitation was to forfeit my seat at the forum table for someone who works daily at the coalface and who would have more empirical evidence to substantiate their viewpoint than myself who operates at a social commentator’s level on anecdotal signals from family members and friends.

I was talked out of surrendering my seat by the Minister’s office as it was revealed their strategic approach in this instance was to bring to Parliament House a cross section of critical thinkers from Indigenous communities nationwide who would offer divergent views on this escalating problem.

This unorthodox approach did, in fact, deliver recommendations that perhaps otherwise may well have been overlooked by those who are generally so immersed in the day to day conflict resolution stratagem that they could have missed the bigger picture discerned in more simplistic ways, by lay persons several steps removed.

In attendance at the forum were Ministers Macklin and Plibersek (Office of Women), their staff, and executive members from the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. High profile Indigenous leaders seated around the table included Sue Gordon, Tammy Williams, Marcia Ella Duncan, Hannah McGlade, Bonnie Robertson, Warren Mundine, Rodney Dillon, Charlie King, and Shane Phillips.

Bessie Nungarrayi Price from the Northern Territory gave a heart wrenching address during the opening session that was a precursor for raw emotional recollections from delegates for the balance of the day.

Bessie said she witnessed violence against women every day of her life in the remote Indigenous community of Yuendumu and spoke of the “scars that decorate my body” as evidence of the personal anguish she has had to endure.

The most sobering observation for me of Bessie’s reflective speech were the sombre words used to describe the farcical nature in which her fatally wounded granddaughter - stabbed by her ex husband - was attended to by ambulance officers: “The ambulance took an hour to get to her while it waited for a police escort. She could have been saved, if it had got there earlier.”

In Australia 2009 it defies belief that public no-go zones exist in alcohol fuelled town camps throughout the nation, which continue to thrive in a state of anarchy where it necessitates police escorts for paramedics to perform their duty in life and death emergencies where every minute counts.

Another delegate spoke informally to me of her clients who have also been victims of grave acts of domestic violence in her community. One such case that left an impression on me was the story of the efforts required to satisfy bail conditions for one of her clients who stabbed her brother after he had raped her in a town camp.

The strict conditions of bail were that the client must return to her community and remain there until the trial. These conditions were culturally inappropriate in this case as the client informed her that she would be dealt with in a punitive manner by female relatives in her home town - with a customary beating - as they would find the repugnant allegation of sibling rape incomprehensible to accept.

When the case worker appealed to alter the bail conditions of her client she said she was totally staggered when told: “Don’t let it worry you love she’s only a drunken black from the river bed.”

Thankfully for the client in this unfortunate situation her case worker’s protests on culturally appropriate grounds and threats to go a higher authority brought about the desired outcome with a more flexible and satisfactory bail condition.

Delegates in unison shared their concerns about another of Bessie’s poignant points of “children who have grown to think that violence is part of our life and that it’s normal,” as they grappled with potential solutions to address this growing dilemma.

The creation of a safe home environment for Indigenous women and their children was paramount to the long-term strategy of Sergeant Travis Lupton of the Western Australian Police Service. Based in his home town of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley, where he rose from Aboriginal police aide to the rank of Sergeant, Sgt Lupton has witnessed a remarkable transformation in the way offences of domestic violence are handled.

Sgt Lupton spoke of his desire to have his team of officers return to a style of community policing of old where they ventured into the community and engaged informally with residents over a cup of tea or coffee. The journey, however, to this ideal position was not without its teething problems as Sgt Lupton reported to the forum that he had to let seven dissenting officers from his team go who found community policing problematic.

Sgt Lupton proudly reported new domestic violence statistics that would not translate too well in Canberra if viewed literally, but for him the increase in incidents of reported assaults in the community was a sign that community policing was working.

Whereby other Indigenous communities’ female residents fail to report acts of violence committed against them as a result of apathy shown in past dealings with incompetent and distrustful police officers, Fitzroy Crossing’s Indigenous women are now assertively reporting abusive partners because they know their stories will be acted on and not disregarded. A case in point was a story shared by Sgt Lupton when he was called to a house to investigate a stabbing incident.

When Sgt Lupton interviewed the offender he was informed by her that she was severely beaten by her partner when he returned home late the previous night after his fill of alcohol and she waited until he went to sleep and stabbed him. When asked if she wanted to press charges, for the obvious assault committed by her partner, she said no. When asked why not - the offender said that she loved her partner and didn’t want him sent to jail.

She just wanted the violence to stop.

It would appear Fitzroy Crossing is typical however of most Indigenous communities whereby the women have indicated that they don’t particularly want to have their partners arrested and incarcerated - they simply want the violence to come to an end.

High profile Darwin radio commentator and former star Aussie Rules footballer, Charlie King, spoke of his campaign to form men’s groups throughout the Northern Territory. His current project involves signing up Indigenous community Aussie Rules teams to a contract where players who assault their partners would be excluded from team selection. Teams have also agreed to link arms before each game played to send a clear message of solidarity against violence to women and their children.

Charlie displayed a calendar of Indigenous teams from Central Australia with players linking arms and an accompanying personalised team message on domestic violence to go with each month.

Charlie also encouraged men to stay strong within their men’s groups; to take responsibility of men who have been incarcerated from their community; to visit them on the inside; and to encourage them to undergo anger management and life skills training during their period of imprisonment. When they are released Charlie encourages men to meet their fellow brothers at the bus or train station and take them first to their men’s group to reassure them that they are there for them - even before they are reunited with their families - as a preventative measure to limit the potential for reoffending.

Men from the forum agreed to promote a national campaign whereby they would start all their public addresses - immediately after they did the official acknowledgement of traditional owners - by saying they “are opposed to acts of violence against women and their children”. Minister Macklin and Human Rights Commissioner, Tom Calma, who joined the forum late in the day, endorsed the proposal of the public address and offered to be part of a national promotions campaign.

Men agreed unanimously that the best thing a man can do for his children is to love and respect their mother in a safe environment free from violence.

If Indigenous men can provide that safe and violence-free home environment for their families then we can, for our next generation, render obsolete the message from Professor Dodson’s 2003 National Press Club speech about the intimate relationship between domestic violence and the Indigenous community.