The Northern Territory has experienced another jump in domestic violence cases, with those on the frontline warning it will take a "lot of work" to turn the situation around.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there were 5733 victims of family and domestic violence in the territory in 2021 — growing by more than 2000 cases in three years.
The figures were released a day after the NT's two newest federal representatives - Marion Scrymgour and Jacinta Price - focused heavily on the issue during their maiden speeches in Canberra.
The report, released on Thursday, also shows a rise in assault cases, with two-thirds Indigenous or Torres Strait Islander.
Nine out of 10 victims of sexual assault were women, and 38 per cent of victims were under the age of 18.
Regina Bennett, who works at the Darwin Aboriginal and Islander Women's Shelter, said her centre had to turn away at least 20 women some weeks because of demand.
"This is evidence that DV services are stretched, and more is needed," Ms Bennett said.
"There has been a huge increase in domestic and family violence in the community, which is felt by all the domestic violence services and is very concerning," she said.
Ms Bennett said many Indigenous people were struggling to navigate government assistance programs through Centrelink, especially in remote areas, which could help them leave dangerous situations.
"There's a lot of lost people out there and to get it back to how it was years ago is going to be a lot of work," Ms Bennett said.
"I believe myself they need to re-empower people to look after their own communities and manage their own communities like they used to."
Siobhan Mackay from the Katherine Women's Legal Service echoed these calls, saying there needed to be "place-based" solutions to assist Indigenous women experiencing family and domestic violence.
"In Katherine, a lot of those options are so severely limited. We only have the one crisis centre and it's often at capacity," she said.
"These stats, and the people who do walk through our door, those are only the matters that are coming to the attention to the police or the women who are seeking us out.
"There are also huge rates of violence that isn't captured in these stats."
'For one bottle of alcohol we had to replace a whole door'
The ABS report suggested a factor behind the increases was a return to pre-pandemic conditions in the Northern Territory.
Unlawful entry with intent jumped by 27 per cent in 2021, with the ABS noting that "this increase returns the number of victims to similar levels recorded in 2019 [4652 victims] prior to the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions".
There were 708 victims of motor vehicle theft, and 6503 victims of 'other theft' - a 23 per cent increase on 2020.
Among those who bore the brunt of these figures last year was cafe Fresh Point, which had its two locations in Parap and Bellamack targeted on multiple occasions.
The cafe's assistant manager Bhawana Pokhrel said the culprits were kids looking to steal alcohol.
"Pretty much, in both of our stores it was every fortnight," he said.
"For one bottle of alcohol we had to replace a whole door."
Governments push for action
The Northern Territory's first minister for prevention of domestic violence, Kate Worden, recently called for more funding on the basis of need, arguing the territory was underfunded.
"We have the capability to stop this. We have the capability as a community to say no more to this," she said last week, after the horrific deaths of a 30-year-old Indigenous woman and her infant child north of Alice Springs.
On Thursday, federal Social Services Minister, Amanda Rishworth and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney, said they would meet with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council to discuss ways to address violence against Indigenous women and children.
"The tragic reality is that Indigenous women are up to 35 times more likely to experience family violence than non-Indigenous Australian women," Ms Burney said.
"Every woman and child has the right to live in a safe and healthy community."
