Homicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women

By Samantha Bricknell, Hannah Miles

This study uses 34 years of data from the National Homicide Monitoring Program to describe the prevalence and characteristics of homicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, finding Indigenous women experienced a homicide victimisation rate up to seven times the national average.

These data complement the findings from the currently small number of studies about the homicide of Indigenous women and contribute long-term data with which to measure national targets to reduce rates of victimisation and eliminate the circumstances that initiate lethal violence.

Key findings

• Between 1 July 1989 and 30 June 2023, 476 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were victims of homicide.

• 96% of the 473 homicide incidents involving an Indigenous woman were cleared by police.

• 97% of victims from cleared incidents were killed by someone they knew.

• 72% of Indigenous women were killed by a current or former male intimate partner, with smaller proportions killed by another family member or a friend or acquaintance (13% each).

• 92% percent of the male intimate partner offenders were also Indigenous.

• The homicide of Indigenous women mostly occurred in a private residence, although over a third took place in a community setting, specifically an open area or streetscape. This pattern differs from homicide generally, which less commonly occur in public locations.

• Around half of the homicides were immediately preceded by some form of domestic conflict or enmity.

Statistical Bulletin 46 Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, 2024. 17p.