Targeted Call for Research: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health – Addressing Violence for Safer Families and Communities

Violence against women, children and gender diverse people is an Australian societal problem, not primarily an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander problem. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children and gender diverse people are disproportionally affected by violence.  

This TCR was prioritised by the NHMRC Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research priorities (advised by Indigenous Advisory Group).

Successful applications for this TCR will:

• Value community led partnerships. Ensure that governance, research processes and health outcomes are culturally responsive, meaningful, and ethical from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.
• Apply a multidisciplinary, trauma-informed approach. Build a strong evidence base for targeted interventions addressing current and future risks to family and community health systems.
• Expand research capacity. Strengthen the capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers and the research team to partner with community and organisations to deliver meaningful positive impact on communities. The focus should be on transformative exchange of skills and knowledge to create safer family and community health service delivery programs in relation to family and community violence in Australia.
• Cultivate strength and resilience. Empower individuals, families, and communities to address violence to foster safer and flourishing families and communities.  
• Understand challenges. Gain in-depth understanding into the violence-related health and wellbeing challenges faced by families, communities and clinicians and meeting the needs of at-risk populations.
• Generate community-driven data. Focus on achieving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander data sovereignty at all stages of the health project from research design to research translation and implementation while building the capacity to support this objective.  
• Investigate the effectiveness of existing services. Provide evidence to support the widespread adoption of effective models of care that are proven to improve outcomes and healthcare journeys in relation to family and community violence.

The expected outcomes of this TCR are to:

• Accelerate implementation of evidence-based interventions for safer and thriving communities in Australian health settings.
• Reduce health impacts and inequities associated with family and community violence by creating an enabling health ecosystem.  
• Mitigate health system demands caused by family and community violence.
• Improve understanding of family and community violence by geographic area to inform models of care and service delivery.  
• Enhance communication with and understanding of health policymakers to drive policy changes related to family and community violence.
• Increase knowledge among communities and clinicians by integrating lived experiences, geographical insights, clinical expertise, and systems knowledge as part of violence-related knowledge translation and workforce capacity development in a sustainable setting.  
• Design health informed prevention strategies to prevent and reduce violence, in true partnership with communities.