Ardent supporter of the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research Dr Jackie Huggins. Photo supplied by The University of Queensland.Dr Jackie Huggins AM, one of only two women on the Prime Minister's 2020 Summit Steering Committee, and co-chair of the 2020 Summit's Indigenous Affairs Panel, will lend her passion and expertise to the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research's 5^th annual Indigenous Family Violence Prevention Forum to be held in May.

Dr Huggins is an ardent supporter of the Centre and has been a member of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reference Group for 5 years.

Centre Director, Heather Nancarrow, says: "the annual Forum is an important opportunity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to share their knowledge, expertise and vision to achieve a future free from violence".

"The continual media focus on the prevalence of Indigenous family violence, rather than a focus on the efforts of Indigenous people themselves to end it, can lead to feelings of despair and hopelessness.

"The annual Forum aims to redress this imbalance, while sharing knowledge and expertise to support the good work being done."

Dr Huggins and Ms Nancarrow will lead over 120 Indigenous people in the development of strategies for the future at the culmination of the 2-day Forum.

Drawing on expert advice provided by 18 keynote speakers and workshop presenters, they will lead yarning circles to consider ways of building on the work being done to end family violence.

The opening keynote speaker at the Forum is Pat Anderson, Co-chair Board of Inquiry into Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse and co-author 'Little Children are Sacred Report', which triggered the Federal Government's controversial intervention in the Northern Territory in 2007.

Professor Chris Cunneen, NewSouth Global Chair in Criminology, UNSW, will discuss his current research on Indigenous women's access to Queensland's domestic and family violence protection legislation; and Randal Ross from James Cook University's Indigenous Health Unit will speak about research and programs aimed at supporting men and boys to reject violence.

Panels  and ‘yarning circles' will enable community members from remote areas of Queensland, such as Bamaga, Doomadgee and Mt Isa to share their experiences within the family violence sector and establish partnerships and networks to strengthen efforts to address family violence. 

Outcomes of strategies developed in the final yarning circles, facilitated by Dr Huggins and Ms Nancarrow, will be made available to relevant government and non-government agencies, as well as to Indigenous communities, by the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research.

The Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research is a division of Central Queensland University (CQU) and is located at the University's Mackay Campus.

More details are available here: http://www.noviolence.com.au/