This month Djirra celebrated NAIDOC Week, a special time where we celebrate our culture and reflect on our achievements.

This year’s NAIDOC theme – ‘The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy’ truly resonates with me. It powerfully reflects the journey Djirra has been on for over two decades: standing strong, and advocating for justice, voice and visibility for Aboriginal women and their children.  

Djirra is what we are today because of the strength of Aboriginal women. Our vision for more than two decades for regional expansion and establishing an Aboriginal Women’s Centre in Victoria, is because of Aboriginal women. Because we have heard and listened to Aboriginal women. Djirra will leave a legacy for future generations.

As we witness critical developments like the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s Final Report and its 100 recommendations, as well as Treaty negotiations underway across Victoria, the message is clear: the time for long-lasting change is now. This is a pivotal moment in history.  It is time for governments to act with urgency and for our allies to step forward to walk alongside us to leverage this momentum.

We again witnessed the strength of Aboriginal women during our NAIDOC Family Day event, where we celebrated with over 500 people, including 150 Aboriginal kids at our Djirra in the West regional centre.

While Djirra has supported Aboriginal women and children across the west for over 20 years, it wasn’t until 2023 that we took the bold step to realise Melton – aka Djirra in the West – as our very first regional expansion site.

The demand for our services across Melbourne’s west continues to grow.  Djirra’s ability to realise our vision is powered by the strength of Aboriginal women. Sadly, the demand for our services and programs continues to exceed our funding allocations now even more than before due to greater awareness of what family violence is, and because of the undeniable trust and confidence women have in Djirra.

We will keep calling for greater investment.  We will not stop until Aboriginal women and their children’s lives and safety are a priority and are invested in.  

Djirra has been loudly advocating for our vision: to expand regionally so that no Aboriginal woman in Victoria must travel more than 1 hour or 100km to access our life-saving services. This includes our vision to establish an Aboriginal Women’s Centre – the first of its kind in Victoria and a gift to the people of Victoria. Djirra’s Aboriginal Women’s Centre will be a place where Aboriginal women can access our critical lifesaving services, be safe in culture and identity, support her children, and continue to thrive.

With the recent tabling of the Yoorrook’s reports in the Victorian Parliament, we see a clear pathway to achieving this to ensure Aboriginal women’s lives are valued and invested in.

Djirra is proud to have been part of this historic process, providing submissions and giving evidence to the four-year truth-telling inquiry. Not only did it shine a light on the injustices experienced by Victoria’s First Peoples since colonisation began, but it has also provided clear recommendations for the government to implement and action.

We are especially encouraged to see our years of advocacy on key issues addressed in Yoorrook’s findings. This included highlighting the need to invest in specialist self-determined solutions like Djirra’s tried and proven solutions that keep Aboriginal women and children together. With government support for Yoorrook’s recommendations, we will see long-lasting positive change for our people.

So, while we have wrapped up our NAIDOC celebrations for now, we take with us the knowledge that Djirra will continue to use our power to elevate the strength of Aboriginal women’s voices, to listen so that we can realise her vision, and to advocate so that we can gift her the legacy she deserves.

Because Aboriginal women’s lives matter – in this generation, and the next.

🖤💛❤️

Antoinette Braybrook AM

Djirra CEO

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