Too many Indigenous women are killed by domestic violence. They are more than just numbers

Australia’s latest homicide data lay bare a grim reality for Indigenous women: lethal domestic violence is not abating. The Australian Institute of Criminology’s report confirms what communities have long known – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are killed at rates up to six times higher than non-Indigenous women, overwhelmingly by intimate partners (76%) or family members. Just eight weeks into 2026, four more Indigenous women have died violently in such circumstances, including the devastating Lake Cargelligo killings of Sophie Quinn along with her unborn child, “baby Troy”, her partner and her aunt, Nerida Quinn. For grieving families, the questions are raw: are we just another statistic? Will there be justice? And what does justice even mean?