"Police will look at you and it's like 'Oh, it's just another blackfella, it's normal in their lives' …I think that's how they stereotype blackfellas."

"Literally the only thing you can do is find your one good copper. And he might be retired, he might have moved, he might be on holidays. You got to hope to God he's on duty that day and I just beg for my copper."

These experiences form part of a landmark study of First Nations victims of crime in Victoria, released on Thursday.

Conducted by researchers at RMIT's Centre for Innovative Justice in partnership with Djirra, Dardi Munwurro and Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women's Service, the report finds while Aboriginal people are "over-represented" as victims of crime, they are simultaneously "under-represented" in accessing or receiving victim-focused services.

Based on long-form interviews with 23 victims, the report revealed most participants had either never reported a crime to police, or would never do so again out of fear of not being believed.

One respondent told the interviewers: "So many of the [people] we support have had negative experiences with police and so have fear around contact with police. Even if they need protection, they've had that trauma around contact with police and negative experiences."

Participants described "significant pre-existing support needs which had not been met," effectively putting them at even greater risk of experiencing crime and harm.

Furthermore, they described "the impacts of crime and harm on their physical and mental health, their family and community relationships, their employment, their access to housing and their overall sense of safety".

One participant described a "total loss of faith in police" after their repeated experiences of racial profiling and mistreatment.

This included recent experiences of police brutality resulting in physical injury and which was witnessed by their family, which in turn caused "lasting psychological impacts across the family unit".

The experience, the report said, was compounded by what the participant said was "overt racism" by the police officers involved, and the lack of any accountability in the aftermath of the events, which they perceived as a "direct result of systemic racism".

"Guaranteed if it would have happened to some rich guy in Toorak, [police] would have been reprimanded, people would have been sacked and straight into court but, because it happened to black people, it's just brushed under the carpet," the participant said.

Another described the overall lack of faith in policing.

"So many of the [people] we support have had negative experiences with police and so have fear around contact with police. Even if they need protection, they've had that trauma around contact with police and negative experiences," they said.

The court process was described as "overwhelming and confusing at best" and "alienating at worst".

Some participants felt "forgotten" or "unsupported" by the process, whilst in some cases, they said they felt as if they "were on trial themselves".

The report notes Aboriginal people are two to five times more likely to experience violence (as both victims and offenders) than non-Indigenous Australians, with current national data revealing Indigenous women are 35 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence-related assaults.

In June, the Yoorrook Justice Commission heard police treated family violence call outs as "roll your eyes" matters, and wrongfully accused Aboriginal women of being perpetrators of domestic violence.

Head of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Nerita Waight, said a lack of refuges means women often do not report family violence out of a fear of losing their children.

"[it] teaches... you shouldn't report family violence because you risk losing your children to a system that will harm them," she said.

The report said participants shared a common view that police were unlikely to believe victims of crime, which in turn prevented them from pursuing their cases further.

"The other thing you think is 'the cops probably aren't going to believe me'. Half of them … have no training at all and they don't pursue the perpetrator … or they don't take what you've reported seriously enough."

The report makes both short and long-term recommendations, including the need to develop and pilot a community-based reporting process for Aboriginal victims of crime and ensuring the Aboriginal Engagement Worker role is supported and resourced to work with Aboriginal victims of crime to report to police.