This overview of research and findings by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission during 2001–2006 was prepared by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. This paper is intended to ensure that any program responses to family violence in Indigenous communities are built on solid evidence and facts. It demonstrates how violence relates to almost every aspect of policy making and service delivery to Indigenous communities.

This paper examines the issue of family violence and abuse in Indigenous communities in many contexts, including:

• the relationship to substance abuse;
• the interaction of Aboriginal customary law, violence and human rights;
• the need for human rights education among Indigenous communities;
• the significant role of violence and abuse as a causative factor in Indigenous women entering and then re-entering prison at alarmingly high rates;
• international models for programs aimed at addressing inter-generational trauma and grief through healing;
• the impact of violence on Indigenous youth in developing cognitive disabilities, in under-performance in schools and entry into the juvenile and then adult criminal justice processes;
• its relationship to the high incidence of mental illness and youth suicide among Indigenous peoples; and
• it being both a reflection of, and a cause of, poor health among Indigenous peoples.

This paper seeks to ensure that any program responses to family violence in Indigenous communities are built on solid evidence and facts. It demonstrates how violence relates to almost every aspect of policy making and service delivery to Indigenous communities.