Aboriginal women are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence assault compared to non-Aboriginal women. One in four of all children and one in two Aboriginal children are exposed to family and domestic violence during childhood.
Family and domestic violence takes many forms. It can include:
- Emotional/psychological abuse — mind games, manipulation, humiliation, insults, threats, put-downs, and making the person feel worthless or no good.
- Physical assault — pushing, slapping, punching, choking, kicking, and any other behaviour that is intended to cause harm.
- Sexual assault — forced sexual contact/activity. ‘Forced’ in this context refers to individuals who are physically coerced to participate or who are not in a position to say no as a result of fear, threats or intimidation.
- Social isolation — keeping the victim away from friends, family, work and/or other social opportunities.
- Financial abuse — controlling the money and decisions around its use, taking or limiting money, stealing.
- Spiritual abuse — keeping someone away from places of worship or forcing them to participate in spiritual or religious practice that they do not want to be involved with.
There are many useful links to access support from this site.
Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women
