Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains references to a deceased person.

After two years and 16 hearings, the Senate Select Committee on Missing and Murdered First Nations Women released its report yesterday. While it was important, it was not the moment of reckoning many of us had hoped for.

The Senate inquiry was launched and chaired by Western Australia’s Greens Senator Dorinda Cox, who today described the report’s recommendations as “weak” and “toothless”.

The inquiry came after other countries, such as Canada and the United States, conducted their own investigations into missing and murdered Indigenous women. Australia’s own report on the horrific levels of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women was comparatively tame.

Nobody counts

The study focused on missing and murdered First Nations women and children. The aim was to examine the extent of the problem, compare investigative practices in First Nations and international cases, examine systemic causes, examine the effectiveness of existing policies, and explore measures to reduce violence and improve safety.

They are also considering how to honor and remember the victims and survivors. The committee said it was deeply shocked and disturbed by the stories it heard.

The study found exactly what First Nations women have been saying for decades: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children are disproportionately affected by violence by men.

That their stories and lives are ignored by the mainstream media.

That the police often do not adequately investigate First Nations women and children, do not search for them, or do not respond to calls for help.

And that the data is shockingly incomplete and inadequate. No one is doing an accurate count.

Janet Hunt of the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research said in the research that there is a gender bias in public policy:

“Despite the fact that a comparable number of First Nations women died as a result of violence against them as First Nations men died in custody, it was the latter issue that attracted far more public attention, including through an initial royal commission (…) There is now data on deaths in custody. There is still no data on national deaths of First Nations women from violence.”

Extreme rates of violence

Despite the flawed data, the data collected shows extreme and disproportionate rates of violence against First Nations women.

National Homicide Monitoring Program data on murdered First Nations women and children from 1989–1990 to 2022–2023 show that 476 women were recorded as victims of murder and manslaughter and 158 children were recorded as victims of murder and manslaughter.

16% of all female murder victims in Australia were First Nations women, although they made up only 2–3% of the adult female population.

13% of all child murder victims were First Nations children.

Counting missing First Nations women and children was equally problematic, partly because some jurisdictions did not include the status of Indigenous people in their counts.

Despite the flawed data, the Senate inquiry concluded that 20% of missing women in Australia are Aboriginal women. The report found that First Nations children and young people are over-represented in the out-of-home care system (about one in 18) and “are significantly over-represented in reports of missing children. These children make up 53% of reports of missing children.”

Not only do First Nations women and children disappear more often, they also have a lower chance of being found.

The research also found that the language of “missing” is problematic because it is passive and somehow implies that people are intentionally disappearing. We agree with Amy McQuire’s argument that these First Nations women and children are not missing, but have disappeared.

Consistent legal deficiencies

The Senate Committee also heard that these missing and disappeared First Nations women and children, and their families and communities, were regularly and routinely failed by the police and justice systems.

These systems were often viewed by First Nations women and children as an additional danger or threat. They were sometimes excessive and sometimes under-controlled.

In addition, First Nations women are disproportionately often falsely labelled as perpetrators rather than victims. This criminalises them and presents a further barrier to those affected getting help.

These problems are closely linked to the dehumanisation of First Nations women and children, which is reflected in the lack of searches for them, the lack of media mourning and the lack of accountability for their murders.

What is truly missing from this report is exactly that: accountability. The narrative lacks focus on the perpetrators of violence and the state systems that have caused suffering and repeatedly failed to support First Nations women and children.

It is this lack of accountability that led Cox to say the report was simply “not enough.”

Far below expectations

The report contains ten recommendations, one of which is the joint development of a culturally appropriate method for recognizing murdered or missing First Nations women and children.

Another possibility is to appoint a First Nations person specifically responsible for advocating for and combating violence against these women and children. This role would be located within the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission.

It also recommends harmonizing policing across the country to fill data gaps and creating guidelines for reviewing past cases and monitoring them for progress.

It also recommended a sustainable funding mechanism for work in this area and called on the media to reflect on the report’s findings, particularly on the way these cases are portrayed in the news.

Reporting guidelines already exist.

The Senate inquiry was an important step. And the recommendations are welcome. But they do not go far enough.

Some of the authors of this article have testified at this inquiry. And we have all lost loved ones. We all know First Nations women and children who have been murdered and disappeared. We think about them every day.

We remember R. Rubuntja, our sister and friend, whose life was stolen and whom we spoke of with fond memories during this Senate inquiry.

It is not enough.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.