Web resource:	http://ncis.anu.edu.au/_lib/doc/MD_Press_Club_110603.pdf
Type:	Speech
Title:	Violence, dysfunction, Aboriginality : speech delivered at the National Press Club, 11 June 2003
Authors:	Dodson, Mick
Keywords:	Indigenous issues
Year:	2003
Publisher:	ANU Institute for Indigenous Australia (ANUIIA)
Notes:	Professor Dodson's speech to the National Press Club notes that violence is not part of the Aboriginal tradition, and that violence is a difficult subject to talk about, "but we all must." He talks about the centrality of violence in Aboriginal communities and its traumatising and debilitating effects on individuals, families and entire communities, and how the victims of violence often move on to become perpetrators. He says that the extreme level of violence is threatening the future of Aboriginal communities. Dodson provides statistics on the nature and extent of the problem of family violence, and gives the example that Aboriginal women experience violence at a rate 45 times higher than for non-indigenous women. In his speech he points to colonisation, impoverished and marginalised communities, and experiences of violence as children, all as causal factors of the violence affecting Aboriginal communities today. Dodson says Aboriginal people need to take responsibility for the problem, and move beyond the silence, shame and numbed acceptance. He argues that Aboriginal leaders, including the men, need to seek solutions to combat family violence, as a national priority. The speech concludes with a call for communities to publicly admit the problem of violence within their community and acknowledge the need for collective actions towards healing and combating family violence.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/21522
Physical description:	10p
Appears in Collections:	Educational tools, guidelines & resources

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