* This information does not replace legal advice. The information was current at the time of publishing in 2009 but may change.

Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families: Towards a Safer Future for Indigenous Families and Communities 2008

* What is it?
A ten year action plan to address family violence in Aboriginal communities.

* Background to Policy Development:
This is stage 3 of the Government’s process to develop and implement an Indigenous family violence strategy in Victoria. Stage 1 involved the establishment of the Victorian Indigenous Family Violence Taskforce and its report to Government (2004). Stage 2 saw the Victorian Government respond to the Task Force Final Report and the establishment of the Indigenous Family Violence Partnership Forum in 2005. The Forum is charged with overseeing the development and implementation of the 10 year plan.

* Key points:
Values include: safety and security for victims of violence; shared responsibility and support for one another; healthy lifestyles, harmonious relationships and respect for self and others; cultural integrity/respect and cultural safety within Aboriginal and mainstream services; healing for victims and perpetrators; no more violence in the home, in the family, in workplaces.

* Objectives:
Cultural safety, healthy families, education, awareness, prevention, safety for victims, accountability (of perpetrators), particularly through the justice system, healing.

Indigenous Family Violence Action Groups across the state provide a link between services and the Forum.

The detail of the plan is probably not relevant to Elizabeth Hoffman House Aboriginal Women’s Service planning process but Elizabeth Hoffman House Aboriginal Women’s Service may want to consider the relevant values and objectives in terms of Elizabeth Hoffman House Aboriginal Women’s Service values etc.

More info: www.aboriginalaffairs.vic.gov.au

Code of Practice for Women’s Domestic Violence Services – Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic is the peak body for women’s family/domestic violence services in Victoria). The Code is designed to interlink with other documents that have been developed as part of the integrated response to Family Violence in Victoria. (A Code of Practice has also been developed by Victoria Police – both Codes are based on the principles outlined in the State-wide Steering Committee to Reduce Family Violence document, Reforming the Service System in Victoria.)

The Code provides detailed advice about all aspects of service design and delivery. DHS funded service providers are expected to operate according to these standards. For more info: www.dvvic.org.au

Dardee Boorai: Victorian Charter of Safety and Wellbeing for Aboriginal Children and Young People

The Charter outlines the Victorian Government’s commitment to working in partnership with Aboriginal communities to improve the outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people across the Charter’s five domains of safety, health, development, learning and wellbeing. The Charter asserts the strength and resilience of Victoria’s Aboriginal culture and the key role played by family and community in promoting positive outcomes for children. Work will be undertaken to minimise risk factors to young people including family violence.

Download a copy of the Charter at www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/aboriginal/charter/charter.html

Human Rights Frameworks for Indigenous Women and Children

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights states that: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights (Article 1); Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person, (Article 3); No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, (Article 5). All of these principles are fundamental to the protection of women and children against violence.

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is one of the six core international human rights instruments. The Convention is a condemnation of discrimination against women and a commitment to eliminate this through the development and advancement of women and equal rights for women and men. Given that Aboriginal women have been and continue to be subject to multiple forms of discrimination, the Convention is obviously of great relevance to Indigenous peoples’ rights.

The Association for Women’s Rights in Development has produced a guide to Indigenous women’s rights under the Convention that can be downloaded from their website: www.awid.or/eng/Tools/Latest-Tools2/A-Guide-to-Indigenous-Women-s-Rights-under-the-International-Convention-on-the-Elimination-of-all-Forms-of-Discrimination-Against-Women

The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women states that non state or private actor violence against women is a human rights abuse that governments have an obligation to prevent, investigate and punish with due diligence. The Declaration recognizes ‘that violence against women is a manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have led to domination over and discrimination against women by men and to the prevention of the full advancement of women, and that violence against women is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men’ and that ‘some groups of women, such as …Indigenous women… (and) women living in rural or remote communities… are especially vulnerable to violence’.

The Declaration is available at www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r104.html

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 30 of the Convention explicitly refers to the rights of Indigenous children to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.

Convention is available at: www.ohchr.org/English/law/crc.htm. Summary available at: www.unicef/crc/files/Rights-overview.pdf

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration sets out the individual and collective rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as their rights to culture, identity, language, employment, health, education and other issues. It also emphasizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures and traditions, and to pursue their development in keeping with their own needs and aspirations. It prohibits discrimination against Indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them.

The Declaration also provides that States will take measures, in conjunction with Indigenous peoples, to ensure that Indigenous women and children enjoy the full protection and guarantees against all forms of violence and discrimination.

The Declaration is available at: www.daccess.dds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G06/125/71/PDF/G0612571.pdf?OpenElement