Queensland’s child protection system is failing First Nations children exposed to domestic and family violence, with some victims going through their entire childhood without receiving therapy or specialist support despite being in and out of home care, a report has found.
Often it is only when a man is later recognised as a perpetrator of violence himself that he receives help for his experiences as a child, according to the New Ways for Our Families report, released on Thursday.
The failures in the system are increasing young people’s interaction with the youth justice system and fuelling the intergenerational trauma that can perpetuate domestic and family violence, the report found.
The research was led by the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak, with support from the Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety and Australian Catholic University’s Institute of Child Protection Studies. Researchers interviewed people working in eight community-controlled child and family services in Queensland.
The research is the first step in a series of activities working to improve support for First Nations children experiencing violence. This includes giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children a role to play in designing programs that meet their needs.
The report recommends Aboriginal-controlled organisations be better resourced to drive culturally appropriate support.
“To break the cycle of intergenerational trauma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people need opportunities to heal from experiencing domestic and family violence including being heard,” said Garth Morgan, the CEO of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Protection Peak.
“Support is also needed for their families and communities to address domestic and family violence in holistic and culturally strong ways.”
When a child is a victim of domestic and family violence, the main response is to remove the child from their family and community and place them in out of home care. The report said this is despite the fear of child removal being one of the greatest deterrents for First Nations women to report violence or seek assistance.
Prof Daryl Higgins, the director of the ACU’s Institute of Child Protection Studies, said the problems expressed in the report are not unique to Queensland and there is an overrepresentation of First Nations children in child protection systems nationwide.
The report found there are few culturally appropriate family violence services available to First Nations people. Of those that do exist, they mainly focus on adults and not on the specific needs of children and young people.
In the communities the research focused on, it found that less than a quarter of domestic and family violence referrals supported First Nations families and less than 5% on average were for children or young people who were victims of domestic and family violence. In some of the areas studied, this was only 1%.
The report said there are First Nations communities in Queensland that are driving successful programs to address domestic and family violence. But the report said underfunding is hampering these efforts.
The 2019 National Children’s Commissioner’s Children’s Rights Report highlighted a lack of resourcing and ability to track government expenditure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. The New Ways for Our Families report stated little has changed since then to address the funding disparity.
The minister for women’s safety, Anne Ruston, said the Morrison government was developing two five-year Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander action plans, in addition to the national plan to end violence against women and children.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children have the greatest knowledge about the issues that affect them and we must work in genuine partnership to design programs that meet their needs,” Ruston told Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, which was a co-author on the report.
“The [New Ways for Our Families] report will be a useful tool to help inform the Action Plan as we build on the $45m the Morrison government provided in the 2022-23 Budget for Indigenous-specific measures.”
