Indigenous communities hit with sexual violence and abuse
The endemic levels of sexual abuse and violence taking place in some indigenous communities in Central Australia have been highlighted in a dossier authored by the Northern Territories Chief Crown Prosecutor, Nanette Rogers. The report details shocking stories of sexual abuse of children as young as just seven months, and paints a worrying picture of witnesses being intimidated into silence by the relatives of those who have committed abuse and violence. The NT Opposition leader Jodeen Carney has seized on the report as evidence that customary aboriginal law is being quote “used as a shield behind which violent Aboriginal men can hide”. But are solutions available that can see traditional aboriginal practices kept alive whilst sending a strong message to communities where these problems exist that abuse and violence will not be tolerated?