The scourge of violence against First Nations women in the Northern Territory is an epidemic which continues to take innocent lives, legal services in the NT say.

The death of a 51-year-old Aboriginal woman who was found near an Alice Springs riverbed marked the first alleged domestic violence-related homicide of the year in the NT, less than two weeks into the new year.

The woman's 49-year-old partner had been arrested and remained in custody, Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said on Monday.

It comes after a horror 2024 in the NT, in which eight Aboriginal women died as a result of domestic violence between June and November.

In her findings into the death of four Aboriginal women last year, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage said the killings of four women by their partners was part of a "plague" of domestic violence homicides contributing to a "national shame".

The deaths of Kumanjayi Haywood, Ngeygo Ragurrk, Miss Yunupiŋu and Kumarn Rubuntja were described as "truly shocking" by counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer SC in her submission.

At least 83 women have been killed by domestic violence in the Territory since 2000—more than 90 per cent being Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

It has been described as a "national shame" by coroner Armitage, and the lack of reporting around murdered Indigenous women in stark contrast to that of non-Indigenous women was highlighted on ABC's Media Watch in November.

North Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Service (NAAFLS) chief executive Cindy Torrens said it had been two months since Ms Armitage handed down her findings.

"The Coroner found the level of domestic, family, and sexual violence to be an 'epidemic' across the NT," she said.

In a joint statement on Monday afternoon, Ms Torrens, along with the Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU) chief executive, PC Clarke, said the crisis was continuing.

"An alleged domestic violence assault has claimed the life of yet another Aboriginal woman in the Northern Territory (NT) and our hearts are with her family, friends and the community," Ms Clarke said.

Both Ms Clarke and Ms Torrens added: "The epidemic continues, and our women deserve better."

The NT has the worst domestic violence rates in the country, with intimate partner homicides seven times higher than the national average.

Of the at least 476 First Nations women killed since 1989, a third were Territorian, according to a report by Australian Institute of Criminology.

- with AAP

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

13YARN 13 92 76