Australia: UN Expert Finds High Percentage of Indigenous Women and Children Are Victims of Violence


After her first official visit to Australia, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women has found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls are far more likely than other Australian women to be victims of domestic or sexual violence. She also found that they are more likely to be imprisoned. In addition, indigenous children are far more likely than non-indigenous children to be victims of abuse or neglect or to be removed from their homes.
 Although government programs to improve the lives of Australian indigenous peoples exist, critics have voiced concern that funding for these programs is inadequate. Overall, the Special Rapporteur found that violence against all women and children in Australia is “disturbingly common." 

To view the Special Rapporteur Dubravka Šimonović’s full end of mission statement, please visit the website of the UN High Commissioner for Human rights

Compiled from:  Packham, Colin, Australia must do more to protect indigenous women:  U.N., Reuters (February 27, 2017).