7 Submissions In addition to the survey responses, guided submissions were sought from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, as well as other individuals and organisations with experience and expertise in the native title system. The submissions provided an opportunity for respondents to provide more detailed information than was possible via the survey. In total, we received 24 submissions, 18 from individuals and six from organisations. Of the submissions received from individuals: ƒ nine submissions were from people working in native title in some capacity (two male, one of whom is Aboriginal) ƒ nine submissions were from First Nations women with personal experience in native title. Submissions were also received from the following organisations: ƒ Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) ƒ First Nations Legal Research Services (FNLRS) ƒ Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations (FVTOC) ƒ Women in Native Title Anthropology (WiNTA) ƒ NTSCORP Limited (NTSCORP) ƒ Kimberley Land Council (KLC). The themes discussed in the submissions aligned with the themes highlighted by the survey results and pre-empted many of the themes which emerged out of the subsequent interviews. Notably, they talked of the impact of the native title system on the lives of women, families and communities, including intra-community conflict and lateral violence. They spoke of the way the Native Title Act requires us to prove our identity in a ‘foreign’ system for recognition of what we already know to be ours. They discussed the systemic power imbalance in the Act, particularly when it comes to negotiating ‘future acts’. Submissions, particularly those from individuals, also spoke of the struggles many First Nations women face in participating in native title claims and decision-making processes. Many women spoke about problems with the system which impact all Traditional Owners and native title claimants/holders affecting First Nations women to a heightened extent. For example, when native title meetings are conflict-ridden, women feel particularly unsafe to attend. Several professionals, organisations and individuals noted the cumulative impact of generational and compounding bias towards elevating men’s knowledge over women’s knowledge in circumstances where it does not appear to reflect gendered hierarchies extant within the cultures themselves. The following is a summary of the themes in the submissions and some representative quotes. 48 Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024