Bad dreaming : Aboriginal men’s violence against women and children

Louis Nowra has a profound interest and respect for Aboriginal culture and said he was moved to write about the issue when he read of the anal rape of a 13 year-old girl ‘promised’ to an Aboriginal elder and, almost at the same time, he spent three days in the Alice Springs Hospital surrounded by bashed women and girls and wondered why no male had written about this problem although a few brave women had. It is a man’s problem and one that our society must deal with immediately. A wide range of reports from various governments, health professionals, the media and from Aboriginal women and men are examined. Louis Nowra studies Aboriginal male culture and its attitude towards women and girls before the coming of the white man then looks at the terrifying reality of domestic violence and sexual abuse of young girls in many Aboriginal communities and concludes that Aboriginal men are the answer to the problem and that they have to face many important questions, most importantly – has Aboriginal culture contributed towards this situation and what does it mean when Aboriginal men defend their violence or sexual abuse as ‘traditional’?

ix, 102, [16] p. ; 24 cm. #0521

Women, Aboriginal Australian — Violence against.  |  Children, Aboriginal Australian — Abuse of.  |  Aboriginal Australians — Social life and customs.  |  Aboriginal Australians — Social conditions.  |  Aboriginal Australians — Legal status, laws, etc.  |  Family – Violence.  |  Law – Indigenous.  |  Sex relations – Child sexual abuse.  |  Sex relations – Coercive.  |  Substance use.  |  Sex relations – Extramarital.  |  Gender relations – Betrothal.  |  Homosexuality.