Embedding existing frameworks and commitments under the standalone National Plan We know that violence against Indigenous women is really underpinned by human rights abuses and inequalities. And the framework of human rights must be treated as critical to all our responses … states have a duty to prevent violence against Indigenous women, to protect Indigenous women and also offer the appropriate responses for women to heal from that violence. Unfortunately, what we have seen since colonisation in fact has been racism, throughout history, and continuing. And of course, this is gendered for Aboriginal women. And these are reflections of our failure to really progress as a nation committed to human rights.6 Associate Professor, Dr Hannah McGlade, Forum panelist The rate of family violence in Australia has led governments to describe violence against women and children as a national crisis, demanding national responses. Consequently, and with the tireless efforts from advocates and victim-survivors, there has been increased attention from state, territory, and Commonwealth levels of government to address the causes and consequences of violence against women and children. Several inquiries and reviews have been conducted alongside the development of government plans, as mentioned above. Participants at the Forum were clear that future plans to end violence against First Nations women and children must not begin from scratch but should build on the findings and recommendations that already exist. They highlighted that many of the same recommendations are repeated across reports and research over decades but lack a consistent approach for taking action and tracking progress. Achieving the goal of ending violence against First Nations women and children requires a commitment to transformational change, not only to the systems and structures that impact women and children’s lives, but in the approach that the government takes to design, develop, measure and deliver the Action Plan and standalone National Plan. Many participants also spoke of the need to use existing frameworks to take action in moving forward. In particular, participants highlighted how the Closing the Gap Agreement’s principles, targets and the four priority reform areas can help to drive the development of plans to end violence through an inclusive, transparent and self-determining process, supported by adequate and secure long-term funding. What decades of reform and commitments have demonstrated is that the absence of an overarching strategy for effective and transparent monitoring has led to a system of dispersed accountability, where work is duplicated, and outcomes are sought in a vacuum. Wiyi Yani U Thangani • First Nations Women’s Safety Policy Forum • Outcomes Report | 16