Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the UN Committee On The Elimination Of Racial Discrimination, 30 October 2017 crisis. Indigenous women, men and children must be included in national discussions to appropriately identify and address violence. 103. The Commission notes that the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022, which has been developed to support all women (including Indigenous women) and their children experiencing violence, builds on the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG’s) commitment under the Close the Gap framework.123 104. The Commission considers that action on violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children should be developed in close consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, and other relevant stakeholders. 105. Several of the recommendations made to Australia at the Universal Periodic Review in 2015 concerned violence against women and their children and in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children.124 106. Noting that a federal approach is needed to address imprisonment rates and the experience of violence, the Commission welcomes the Change the Record Coalition’s Blueprint for change.125 Recommendation 23: That all Australian governments:  implement policies to reduce disproportionate rates of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to close the gap by 2040, with priority strategies for women and children, and  prioritise early intervention and prevention initiatives that provide comprehensive support and protection from violence to vulnerable Indigenous populations, including women, children and the elderly. Support to human rights defenders and related bodies (CERD article 2; CO 15 & 19) 107. The Australian Government has provided some funding support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peak organisations. However, it has provided limited funding support to the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples despite it being a newly established national representative body.126 108. The Commission emphasises the importance of Indigenous legal aid services to assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with legal issues in relation to their interactions with the criminal and civil justice systems. 109. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders noted that: 'many indigenous human rights defenders still experience severe disadvantages compared with non-indigenous defenders. They are marginalised and unsupported by state and territory governments. This situation is compounded by the tendency of the central government to use the 22