This project investigates the misidentification of Aboriginal women as primary perpetrators of domestic, family, and sexual violence (DFSV) in the Central Australia. Despite the NT having the highest rates of DFSV in Australia, there is no place-based research examining the drivers and consequences of misidentification or how to prevent it. This project fills that gap through a community-led, transdisciplinary approach, combining criminology, gender studies, Indigenous studies, and public health to generate an evidence base to inform policing, legal, and service reforms. Led by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including two Aboriginal early career researchers, the project is co-designed with Aboriginal-led organisations and centres First Nations women’s voices, using culturally safe methodologies such as yarning circles and peer-led interviews. The project will not only produce policy recommendations and training materials for frontline responders but also build capacity within Aboriginal organisations, ensuring that the research drives long-term advocacy and systemic change to better protect Aboriginal women from misidentification and its consequences.

Objectives
1. Identify the contexts and drivers of misidentification of Aboriginal women in Central
Australia, examining how and why it occurs within policing, legal, and service systems.
2. Examine the legal, social, and carceral consequences of misidentification, including its role in
pathways to incarceration, barriers to victim support services, and its long-term impacts on
Aboriginal women’s safety, wellbeing, and access to justice.
3. Develop evidence-based recommendations for legal and service responses.

Project Team

ANU researchers: Dr Hayley Boxall (project lead) - Associate Professor Janet Hunt - Dr Mandy Yap

External Collaborators

Dr Chay Brown (Her Story Mparntwe) - Ms. Hannah Taylor-Civitarese (Queensland University of Technology) - Ms. Kayla Glynn-Braun (Her Story Mparntwe)

This project benefits from collaborations with four key organisations/partners: Kunga Stopping Violence, Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit (CAAFLU), Her Story Mparntwe, and the Tangentyere Women's Family Safety Group. These collaborators are prospective and secured partners who have long-standing, trusted relationships with Aboriginal communities and extensive experience in addressing DFSV. Each partner contributes unique expertise—from direct service delivery and legal support to culturally appropriate program design and community safety initiatives.