I LISTENED TO the radio broadcast of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Closing the Gap address in parliament on 12 February 2018 and, gritting my teeth, expected the worst. I was surprised to hear him mention, if only briefly, violence against Indigenous women as one of the challenges facing the strategy. I expected this matter of high priority to be ignored yet again. But times are changing.

In the last half century, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women have drawn attention to the family violence and other forms of violence, such as inter-clan disputes, in Indigenous communities, and established programs to ensure the safety of women and children. Indigenous women dominate in this history of advocacy and campaigning for policy reforms to address the need for safe communities. Yet, until recently, their work has gone almost unnoticed.