A fear of being criminalised means Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women often do not report domestic and family violence, a Senate inquiry has been told.

Antoinette Gentile, the acting chief executive of Indigenous-run service Djirra which supports women affected by family violence, said 90 per cent of family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women went unreported in Victoria.

Women are often reluctant to report violence for fear of being criminalised themselves, Ms Gentile told the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women.

She said almost a quarter of women Djirra worked with in 2023 were mistaken by police as perpetrators of family violence.

“Misidentification leads to criminalisation, incarceration and is a major contributor to the removal of our children,” Ms Gentile said.

“Djirra has supported women who have reported violence to police only to be issued with a warrant for their arrest, often over poverty-related offending such as unpaid fines.”

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 45 times more likely to experience family violence in Victoria, Ms Gentile told the hearing in Melbourne on Tuesday. 

“These numbers don’t include the instances of family violence that go unreported or the deaths and disappearances that are not properly investigated by police and other services,” Ms Gentile said.

“Without reliable and comprehensive data we cannot meaningfully catch, capture or tell our stories. First Nations women are made invisible to policy and lawmakers.”

Ms Gentile called for a royal commission into the issue of missing and murdered First Nations women and said a complete system overhaul was needed.

“We are tired of seeing our women being killed, seriously injured or missing, whether that be by a person who uses violence or because of failed government systems and processes, which see our women incarcerated and die,” she said.

“We need to end this crisis. Aboriginal women have been invisible for too long, we must be seen, heard and counted, but not through a deficit lens.”

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This post was originally published on Michael West.