Valuing and engaging the expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Responsible government
- Western Australia
Fourth Action Plan actions
- Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children
- 6 Value and engage the expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and men, communities and organisations to lead in the creation and implementation of community-led solutions to build and manage change.
What are we doing?
The Western Australian Government’s Path to Safety: Western Australia’s strategy to reduce family and domestic violence 2020-2030 includes a priority action to work with Aboriginal people and communities to co-design and implement a dedicated Aboriginal Family Safety Strategy (the Strategy).
The State Government is committed to collaborating with Aboriginal people to develop this Strategy to support locally informed and led responses that are based on strengths, culture and local solutions to enable healing and safety.
It will be co-designed and delivered with Aboriginal people to prevent and respond to family violence in ways that are culturally secure and responsive to the experiences of Aboriginal people across the State. At the centre of the approach will be a recognition of and response to the diversity of Aboriginal people living in Western Australia.
The proposed vision of the Aboriginal Family Safety Strategy is to ensure that all Aboriginal people in Western Australia live safe and healthy lives free of family violence. To achieve this vision, the Strategy will set out a model of culturally inclusive and safe engagement practices that will guide the implementation of specific actions by local place-based Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations.
What have we achieved so far?
We have engaged with over 350 Aboriginal community members and stakeholders across the State throughout 2020 and 2021, through a mix of online and face-to-face engagement. These engagement sessions have generated clear themes, values and priorities which will ensure the Strategy is driven by Aboriginal voices. An Aboriginal-led consultancy has been engaged to draft the strategy, integrating feedback received from the consultation sessions.
What is next?
The Aboriginal Family Safety Strategy will set out a clear plan to respond to family violence in Aboriginal communities. Feedback from the consultation sessions will be collated and integrated into the Strategy, which will build on a range of new and existing initiatives focussed on reducing the incidence and impact of family violence in Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. It builds on the successful work of Path to Safety: Western Australia’s strategy to reduce family and domestic violence 2020-2030 and is a key response to Closing the Gap targets.
What difference will we make?
The Aboriginal Family Safety Strategy will bring together the State Government’s commitment and locally-based Aboriginal community solutions to improve outcomes and safety for Aboriginal women, children, men and communities.