From the roots up: Principles of good practice to prevent violence against women in the Northern Territory.

Abstract

Violence against women is a global problem that transcends all ethnic, economic, and social boundaries. However, Indigenous women are disproportionately affected and are overrepresented as the victims of this violence. In Australia, Indigenous women are far more likely to be hospitalised due to assault than non-Indigenous women or Indigenous males. Australia's Northern Territory has the highest rates of domestic, family, and sexual violence in Australia and Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory are the most victimised group of people in the entire world. This research aimed to answer the central question: what works to prevent violence against women?

This research used an Indigenist feminist standpoint and participatory action approach to undertake two case studies of programs working in the Northern Territory to prevent violence against women. The research made use of an adapted Transtheoretical model to evaluate two case study programs and identify principles of good practice in their work. The adapted model was also used in interviews with external stakeholders to assess community change and to draw out further principles of good practice to prevent violence. The principles identified in the research were compiled into a longlist and considered alongside principles in national and international literature in a series of collaborative workshops with stakeholders throughout the Northern Territory. This thesis presents a framework of principles and context-specific indicators to prevent violence against women in the Northern Territory.

This thesis argues that a reframed approach away from victim-based responses to violence against women is needed to address and prevent violence. It emphasises that interventions focused on the choice to use violence and that target community attitudes which condone violence are needed to effectively prevent gender-based violence against women. It further argues that context-specific approaches are necessary in order to address regional complexities, and that collaborative participatory processes are needed to develop these frameworks in order to harness localised practice-based knowledge. This thesis details one such participatory approach in the development of a place-based framework which focuses on preventing violence against women by addressing risk factors and focusing on the choice to use violence. This thesis further argues that government needs to respond to the high levels of violence against women, particularly against Indigenous women, in Australia by deeply listening to grassroots knowledge and developing interventions 'from the roots up'. Show more