Towards healing: recognizing the trauma surrounding Aboriginal family violence

Aboriginal communities in Australia experience violence – sexual assault, family violence and child abuse – at rates far in excess of the wider community (AIHW [Australian Institute of Health and Welfare], Al-Yaman, Van Doeland and Wallis, 2006). This violence is primarily perpetrated on Aboriginal Australians by other Aboriginal people (Fitzgerald and Weatherburn, 2002). It is argued in this chapter that in order to understand this violence and abuse and to develop appropriate responses, it is imperative to locate the current violence within the context of the historical and traumatic experiences endured by Aboriginal people as a result of unjust and oppressive state policies and practices. This will be illustrated using the example of child welfare policies and practices in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), examining both their implementation over time and their traumatic legacies from colonization to the present day.