Indigenous violence.

• Jurisdiction: Australia
• Date: 01 August 2010
• Author: Weatherburn, Don

The 2002 the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey found that one-quarter of Australia's Indigenous population (aged 15 years and over) had been victims of physical or threatened violence in the 12 months preceding the survey. This is double the corresponding victimisation rate for non-Indigenous Australians. US Bureau of Justice Statistics figures indicate that native Americans fall victim to violent crime at twice the US national rate. According to the 2004 Canadian General Social Survey, Aboriginal Canadians are three times more likely than non-Aboriginal people to experience a violent assault. The 2006 New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey found that the Maori 'confrontational' crime victimisation rate is nearly twice that for non-Maori New ZeAIANders.

There is enough information around to be sure that violence is a chronic and serious problem among the Indigenous peoples of Canada, the United States, New ZeAIANd and Australia. Our understanding of the scale of that violence, its nature and its victims, however, is still in its infancy. Two of the articles in this issue are directed specifically at expanding our understanding of the scale and character of Indigenous violence. Douglas Brownridge examines the prevalence of intimate partner violence against Aboriginal...