RESEARCH REPORT Attitudes matter: The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS), Findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents
The NCAS measures understanding and attitudes about violence against women and attitudes towards gender inequality. In 2021, it pointed towards systemic issues experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents.
The NCAS is a periodic and representative survey of the Australian population, conducted every four years. The 2021 NCAS Findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents report focuses on findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who participated in the survey.
The 2021 NCAS survey included 442 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents. Of these respondents:
- 405 identified as Aboriginal (92%)
- 20 identified as Torres Strait Islander (5%)
- 17 identified as both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (4%)
- 56% were women
- 55% were employed as their main activity (as opposed to, for example, being a student, retired, or volunteering)
- 23% had a university education.
The report includes findings about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents’ understanding and attitudes about violence against women, their attitudes towards gender inequality, and their perceptions of how fair and trustworthy community and system responses to violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are.
The NCAS was established as a key means of monitoring progress against the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 and continues to evaluate progress against the current National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032.
Key implications
Key implicationsThe NCAS findings provide insights for initiatives to prevent violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Systems-level change is needed to:
- identify and eradicate systemic racism to create fair, accessible and trustworthy systems and services
- work in true partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to prevent violence against women. This work could include:
- conducting research into the factors that shape attitudes and understanding
- delivering education to increase understanding of the high prevalence and negative impacts of violence
- prioritising strengthening capability to recognise and report violence and to challenge attitudes that condone or normalise it
- providing and increasing access to culturally responsive services to facilitate reporting and access to justice and healing.
For more details, see the Key insights summarised in the fact sheet for this report.
Publication details
This report addresses work covered in ANROWS’s National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) Research Program. Please consult the NCAS website for more information on this project.
Authors
DR CHRISTINE COUMARELOS
Director, Research Program (NCAS), ANROWS
DR NICOLE WEEKS
Principal Research Officer (NCAS), ANROWS
DR BELINDA PARKER
Senior Research Officer (NCAS), ANROWS
DR ELLA GORMAN
Research and Administration Officer (NCAS), ANROWS
ISBN: 978-1-922645-96-8 (paperback)
ISBN: 978-1-922645-98-2 (PDF)
106 pp.
Suggested citation
Coumarelos, C., Weeks, N., Parker, B., & Gorman, E. (2024). Attitudes matter: The 2021 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS), Findings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents (Research report, 09/2024). ANROWS.