The key aim of this project has been to elevate the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls, and to reflect the holistic and interconnected nature of their lives. Crucially, the project would also provide recommendations to improve the lives of women and girls across a broad range of subject areas.

This report builds upon past research work through a strengths-based national engagement process, seeking community reflections on the status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls’ rights over the past 34 years, and into the present day.

The issues raised by women and girls across the national consultations often had significant human rights implications. They reflect a sense that human rights are often denied to Indigenous women and girls, although the precise language of human rights treaties is not used to describe this.

Throughout the report, Australia’s human rights obligations under the seven major treaties that it has ratified are referred to. There is significant guidance as to the content and meaning of the human rights obligations that Australia has entered into—such as in relation to the right to education, health, adequate standard of living, as well as the rights of women and children more broadly.

The recommended way forward in this report is informed by a human rights-based approach, and by the need to better respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls.