Police Launch Training Program That Considers Past Trauma of Indigenous Australians

The trauma experienced by Aboriginal Australians across multiple generations will be taught as part of a new training program aimed at breaking the cycle of family violence in that community, Victoria Police announced on Wednesday, May 24.

Aboriginal women are estimated to experience family violence at 45 times the rate of non-Aboriginal women, the police said in a statement citing the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

Recommendations to address the issue included making Victorian police officers more aware of the trauma Aboriginal people have experienced and its role in continuing the cycle of violence. Training will feature interviews with Aboriginal community leaders and a victim-survivor of family violence and police.

“Since 2011 we have seen a 56 per cent increase in the number of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander victims at recorded family violence incidents,” Family Violence Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter said.

“While this shows that more Aboriginal people are reporting family violence to police, we know we have a lot more work to do to understand the full picture.” Credit: Victoria Police via Storyful