In the days before the riot, a violent sexual assault by a
known heroin dealer had prompted a group of Redfern’s mothers and aunts to say
“enough is enough”. They organised an anti-violence rally at the
Block for Thursday, February 19. The Sunday riot put paid to those plans.
Later, a rescheduled rally drew 100 people who set about publicly shaming those
responsible for the sexual assault. Within weeks, the alleged rapist had left
the area, as had his brother and alleged partner in crime, said Rob Welsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Local
Aboriginal Land Council.
So began the Blackout Violence campaign, which won a NSW
Violence Against Women Prevention Award in 2004 and has now received federal
funding to employ a part-time officer.
Designed to inform assault victims of their rights and
educate offenders, it was launched at the 2004 NSW Aboriginal Rugby League
Knockout, the state’s biggest annual gathering of indigenous people, where all
85 teams wore purple armbands as an anti-violence gesture and about 2000
information kits were handed out.
The NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Catherine Burn said the campaign hit home. “I
noticed it particularly with the women in the community. They became more
willing to talk about it and confront domestic violence,” said Ms Burn,
who was the local area commander for Redfern until December last year.
Dixie
Link-Gordon, one of the pioneers of the campaign and a survivor of violence,
said it showed indigenous people were “taking care of business”.
“No one’s lying down, taking being beaten,” said
Ms Link-Gordon, mother of the South Sydney rugby league player Yileen
“Buddy” Gordon and a co-ordinator at the Mudgin-Gal Aboriginal
Women’s Centre.
Mr Welsh used to play with the Redfern All Blacks rugby
league club and now coaches the All Blacks boys teams.
Blackout Violence is one of 15 programs highlighted in
Success Stories in Indigenous Health, a book launched last week by the Federal
Health Minister, Tony Abbott, and the Opposition health spokeswoman, Nicola
Roxon, and published by Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation.
Other programs featured in the book include one by Marie
Stopes International, which gave red, black and yellow condoms to indigenous
teenagers in regional Victoria
and claims a 30 per cent reduction in unsafe sex practices.
Gary
Highland, the national
director of Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, said the book
showed the appalling state of indigenous health – evident in the 17-year life
expectancy gap with non-indigenous Australians – could be fixed with
“bottom-up” programs.
But these had been inadequate to cope with the scale of
the problem, largely because of insufficient funding.
Mr Abbot said: “It’s important that we don’t just
dwell on the bad news but acknowledge the improvements on indigenous health. We
also need to celebrate the people who have made this happen.”
Labor policy has drawn on programs in the book.
Photo: Brendan Esposito Hard yards … a young player from
one of the Redfern All Blacks boys’ rugby league teams goes for a run across
the paddock.