The Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service has welcomed additional funding to support First Nations-led approaches to responding to domestic, family violence, and sexual violence.
QIFVLS said the funding, announced by Queensland Minister for Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Amanda Camm, will play a "vital" role in bolstering the safety of victims and driving perpetrator accountability for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the state.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prevention Group Chair, Wynetta Dewis, who is also QIFVLS chief executive, was at Parliament House in Brisbane for the announcement last Thursday.
Ms Dewis said the funding was a key step in tackling domestic, family and sexual violence for First Nations peoples.
"We thank Minister Camm for this funding for the Prevention Group and the Remote Indigenous Women's Shelter Network, which will strengthen First Nations-led approaches to addressing domestic, family, and sexual violence," she said.
"This funding will support culturally informed, community-driven solutions, designed by those who know their communities best."
With Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women 35 times more likely to be hospitalised due to violence than other Australian women, and the disproportionately high rates of domestic and family violence amount First Nations peoples, QIFVLS said the funding is "critical in empowering culturally grounded and effective solutions".
