Critics have accused the ACT government of failing to improve access to domestic violence justice and support services among Indigenous Canberrans, even as the community continued to be rocked by high rates of abuse.
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Beryl Women's Refuge manager Robyn Martin said the government hadn't taken meaningful action on a report which looked at domestic violence among the ACT's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population six years ago.
Victim Support ACT released the findings of its We don't shoot our wounded' report, which looked at victim experiences and access to justice and support for members of the local Aboriginal community, in 2009.
The report found Indigenous Canberrans were five times more likely to be victims of domestic violence than non-Indigenous residents and highlighted significant barriers victims and perpetrators faced in getting help.
It agitated for improved access to justice and support and funding for services that recognised "the more complex and intensive case management requirements" for Indigenous victims.
Ms Martin said while the report was often spoken about in the sector, there had never been any "follow-through action".
"For me as an Aboriginal person it makes me wonder what commitment there is to addressing this issue in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community from the government."
She said the lack of action was frustrating.
"I think it's too complex, too hard, people aren't skilled, it's time consuming."
ACT Victims of Crime commissioner John Hinchey said Victim Support, the government and community had failed to focus their efforts on the recommendations.
"The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community put a lot of time, effort and hope into the drafting of this report and they stand in hope still that their efforts will be rewarded with some long-term, concrete, resourced outcomes."
The ACT's Domestic Violence Prevention Council noted Indigenous Canberrans were "very much over-represented as service users" in its submission to last year's Senate inquiry into domestic violence.
Indigenous people made up 1.8 per cent of the territory's population, but about 4 per cent of clients who accessed the ACT Domestic Violence Crisis Service identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander in 2013-14.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Minister Yvette Berry said the government had a "strong and ongoing commitment" to reducing family violence.
She said more needed to be done by all levels of government to curb family violence among the Indigenous population.
