‘Speaking Out’: Podcast episode with Larissa Behrendt and Karen Iles
Karen Iles joins ABC Radio’s Speaking Out with Larissa Behrendt to discuss her campaign to end violence against First Nations women and children.
Listen to the full podcast here.
‘Speaking Out’ with Larissa Behrendt offers an Indigenous perspective on Australia’s issues, politics, arts and culture. On February 28, Karen Iles joined the podcast to discuss how the Make Police Investigate campaign is pushing to change police and justice system responses to violence against women, particularly Aboriginal women and children.
While Australian politicians often describe our policing approach as ‘tough on crime’, that rhetoric is not reflected in outcomes for victim-survivors. Instead, police are repeatedly failing to hold perpetrators of violence accountable - failing to intervene in known domestic violence matters, failing to investigate missing or murdered Aboriginal women and children, and frequently misidentifying victim-survivors, especially Aboriginal women, as the perpetrators themselves.
“Our system is weak or non-existent on crime perpetrated against Aboriginal women and girls,” says Karen Iles.
Police are failing to meet the needs of the community. Karen and Larissa noted how the so-called ‘tough on crime’ model does not serve First Nations people, who are over-targeted and over-represented in detention. Meanwhile, systemic failures leave First Nations women and children unprotected.
There have been many National Inquiries - into Missing and Murdered First Nations Women and Children, into LGBTQI+ hate crimes, and many reports of violence and deaths which legislators and police are continuing to neglect.
The Make Police Investigate Campaign
The Make Police Investigate (MPI) campaign, launched by Karen in 2020, is born out of her lived experience and those of Violet Co’s clients, alongside clients Karen saw from the National Justice Project and Aboriginal Legal Service. To prevent and reduce violence, the first step is to improve police responses.
The campaign is aimed at implementing three key reforms to better protect victim-survivors of sexual violence, specifically Aboriginal women and girls. These reforms are as follows:
Duty of care for victim-survivors: Police currently do not owe any legal obligation to treat victim-survivors or their families with basic respect, compassion or even reasonable communication.
Minimum standards of investigation: Existing standards are inconsistent and discretionary, allowing systemic sexism and racism to prejudice investigations, rather than complying with a mandated even-handed set of responsibilities.
Independent accountability mechanisms: When police fail in these duties, they must be held accountable - independent oversight ensures transparency and accountability when victim-survivors are failed by the frontline justice response.
To find out more about the campaign, visit the campaign website. You can also get involved by sharing the campaign, signing the petition, and contacting your local MP. Ensuring these asks, and the recommendations of the Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence are enacted requires continued pressure and keeping these issues in the public eye.
How Violet Co supports First Nations women and children
Our legal practice involves not just sexual assault matters, but matters of discrimination, and harassment - in the workplace and beyond.
We offer legal advice and representation for individuals who’ve experienced violence and discrimination, and we consult with organisations to help them develop culturally safe, trauma-informed policies.
If you have experienced violence or discrimination, and are looking for legal advice or representation, contact us at 1300 VIOLET or fill out our new client form.
Violet Co is a social enterprise, meaning our work is driven by purpose, not profit. We offer many of our services pro bono, particularly for First Nations, women and gender-diverse people, because justice should always be accessible.
Reforming the system
In this episode, Larissa Behrendt also speaks to Kirsten Gray from The Healing Foundation about their recent report calling for better support for survivors of the stolen generation and their families. This intergenerational trauma is one facet of Australia’s ongoing justice and policy failures - and it cannot be separated from the Government’s inadequate response to domestic, family and sexual violence in First Nations communities. Reform for one cannot succeed without reform for the other. To change the system, we must start with the frontline: how police respond to violence, how victim-survivors are treated and how accountability is enforced.
