Inequality and discrimination the reason for NT's violence issues
The Northern Territory coroner investigating the domestic violence killings of four Aboriginal women, has heard domestic and family violence 'flourishes' in the Territory in part because of inequality and discrimination.
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00:00 In a jurisdiction with the highest rates of domestic family and sexual violence of anywhere
00:06 in the country, the Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Armitage isn't the first to investigate
00:11 the NT's domestic violence response.
00:13 But over five weeks, since June this year, she's heard evidence about the NT's domestic
00:20 violence system and is unpacking why Territorians are seven times more likely to be killed by
00:27 their partner than anywhere else in the country.
00:30 Penny Drysdale was the first of the expert witnesses to be called to the stand today
00:34 after a career in the NT's domestic violence sector spanning more than a decade.
00:40 She told the Coroner the series of inquests this year was an important opportunity to
00:44 highlight the scale of violence in the NT and that she hoped the Coroner's inquiry could
00:49 bring about real change.
00:52 She said domestic and family violence flourishes in environments with high levels of inequality,
00:57 whether it be gender inequality, racism or the impacts of colonisation.
01:02 Ms Drysdale said there was an enormous degree of inequality and discrimination in the NT,
01:08 where she said domestic and family violence was so pervasive that it's become normalised.
01:14 She told the Coroner all government agencies involved in the sector needed to work together.
01:19 She said a coordinated and well-resourced response was the only way to tackle the problem.
01:25 Ms Drysdale also spoke about justice reinvestment, telling the Coroner that ultimately the government
01:30 would save money in the long run if it invested more in preventing domestic and family violence.
01:37 The court heard currently more than 60 per cent of prisoners in the Northern Territory
01:42 are there because of domestic violence-related offences.
01:46 The inquest has another two weeks of expert evidence and institutional responses scheduled
01:51 to be heard in Darwin before the Coroner adjourns to write her findings and recommendations.
01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]