First Nations women and children with disability are at greater risk of family and domestic violence and its consequences than their non-Indigenous peers. Despite this, the voices of Aboriginal people are largely missing from disability research in Australia (Dew et al. 2019). The aim of this project is to engage with First Nations communities and key stakeholders in Western Australia (WA) to: gain an understanding of their experiences of family and domestic violence, identify factors they believe open them up to the risk of harm, document their observations and experiences of barriers and/or enablers to seeking assistance and support, obtain their views on what works in currently available programs, and make recommendations for future culturally safe prevention and protection programs. The project responds to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability terms of reference with regard to human rights and Australia’s international obligations to provide persons with disability respect, individual autonomy, and a safe environment.
Project objectives are to:
• advise the Royal Commission on the nature and extent of domestic and family
violence experienced by First Nations women and children with disability in
Western Australia; and
• make recommendations for ways in which to capture the experiences of family
and domestic violence of First Nations women and children with disability post
the completion of this study.