Meet the Redfern women fighting to stop domestic and family violence

Ochre Ribbon Week, hosted annually by Mudgin-Gal, platforms lived experience and brings together community.

Boxer Shanell Dargan and Mudgin-Gal CEO Ashlee Donohue at the Ochre Ribbon Week Event. Credit: Ashlee Donohue

Every year, Mudgin-Gal Women's Centre comes together to mark Ochre Ribbon Week.

It casts a spotlight on the impacts of domestic and family violence on Aboriginal women and their families.

Mudgin-Gal CEO and Dunghutti woman Ashlee Donohue said it was a chance for First Nations women to speak for themselves.

"And not have non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and people tell us how to feel, how to act and what to do to keep ourselves safe," she told NITV.

The week, which takes place between February 12 and 19, began in 2015.

Formed by the Aboriginal Family Law Services, it was created in response to the death of an Aboriginal woman by domestic violence in Western Australia.

"Her family went to the Aboriginal Family Legal Service, and they helped with the funeral and memorial and the following year they started Ochre Ribbon Week," explained Mudgin-Gal's Domestic Violence Manager, Megan Ridgeway.

Ms Ridgeway was instrumental in organising the event at Redfern Community Centre on the Block on Valentine's Day.

She said it was a chance to bring "Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women together" to highlight lived experience and "do something" about violence.

Aboriginal community members, representatives from local frontline services and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations filled the room.

Platforming strength and survival

Rayma Johnson and her niece dancing at the Ochre Ribbon Event. Credit: Ashlee Donohue

The crowd was Welcomed by Aunty Bronwyn Penrith before dances led by Rayma Johnson and addresses from a range of speakers, including Wiradjuri and Mununjali woman, Shanell Dargan.

Ms Dargan, known for her incredible voice and esteemed boxing career, shared her lived experience of violence.

"I have a story that I’ve been through ... so I’m sharing a little bit about that and how I’ve overcome certain obstacles in life and where I’m at today," she told NITV.

"It’s really important to show yourself not as a victim but as a survivor and being able to speak openly about this will give strength to other women who would in turn not have a voice.

"It’s giving a voice to the voiceless."

Time for self-determination

As it stands in Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are disproportionately affected by domestic and family violence.

As per the federal government's Health Performance Framework, Indigenous women are 7.6 times more likely to die by homicide than non-Indigenous women.

Between July 2017 and June 2019, Indigenous women were reported to be 27 times more likely to be hospitalised for assault than non-Indigenous women. In remote areas, Indigenous women were 51 times more likely to be hospitalised than non-Indigenous women.

Ochre Ribbon Week Banner at Mudgin-Gal's event at Redfern Community Centre. Credit: Rachael Knowles/NITV

For Ms Ridgeway, community have the answers.

"We need to break down the barriers, we need to take Aboriginal people seriously, we need to be listened to we need to be heard - and go from there," said the Dhunghutti Worimi woman.

"We really need to focus on healing and doing things differently - instead of us fitting into all the boxes we need the system to change for us."

For Ms Donohue, the "powers that be" have dictated the reality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women for too long.

"They silence our voices," she said.

"Days like this enable us to have our own voice, in our own space, creating our own platform."

Making change for Redfern's next generation

Megan Ridgeway and Ashlee Donohue at the event. Credit: Ashlee Donohue

For 31 years, the Aboriginal women's service has been a safe space for the Redfern community, advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who experience domestic and family violence.

"I believe every single town and suburb needs a Mudgin-Gal. We are the only 100 per cent run for and by Aboriginal women centre in metropolitan Sydney," said Ms Donohue.

"It's something every town needs because there are no spaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women anymore ... so have an option, to have a choice is great."

This work is especially close to Ms Donohue's heart, being a survivor of domestic violence herself, a story she shares in her book, 'Because I Loved Him'.

For her, it's all about strength, survival and building a better world for the next generation.

"If we're not doing that, what are we doing? Why are we in this space?" she asked.

"Days like this make change. What we've been through ... we can't change that or erase that.

"What we can do is change the outlook for the future around domestic and family violence for our people. That is what this is all about."