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An editorail is presented the challenges faced by minority and marginalized women in accessing healthcare following experiences of violence. Topics include the impact of broader social inequities on violence prevalence, the role of healthcare systems in providing critical care and early intervention, and the importance of research in advancing healthcare policies and practices for these women.

Globally, traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been recognised as a serious health issue not only because of the immediate impacts at the time the injury occurs but even more so due to the longstanding impacts. Even though TBI is a globally recognised condition, the research is disproportionately focused on its incidence in, and immediate and long-term effects on men. A growing body of research suggests that generally, women who experience family violence are at high risk of TBI and suffer its impacts in ways that reflect gendered differences in the patterns and frequency of violence. In Australia, the social and physical costs of TBI are multiplied for Indigenous women, whose experience of disability and access to healthcare lies at the intersection of gender and race in the historical context of settler colonialism. The present study addresses the need for research into the sociodemographic inequalities that affect access to culturally appropriate hospital care, timely response systems, and flexible, safe and engaged social services. This paper draws on data from interviews and focus groups with Indigenous women, hospital staff and community-based service providers and suggests potential pathways for further research in settler-colonial settings elsewhere in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious yet commonly under-recognised injury sustained by women as a direct outcome of family violence. Although healthcare and support services are critical, many women do not access support services following this injury. At present, there are few relevant qualitative studies that have elevated the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. This article describes the barriers that prevent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from accessing hospital and support services after experiencing a TBI from family violence in one regional (Queensland) and one remote location (Northern Territory). Interviews and focus-group discussions were conducted with 28 community members and 90 service professionals. Thematic analysis identified four key factors influencing women's access to health care: all women fear child removal; fear of escalating violence; prioritisation of other competing demands; and insufficient awareness of the signs of brain injury. Given child protection systems perpetuate cycles of discrimination based on poverty and structural inequalities that have generated fear and contributed to the reluctance of women to engage with services, child protection processes and practices need to be transformed to consider the impact of head injury on the everyday lives of women. Pathways need to be implemented to assist women to access healthcare and support services as well as strengthen families to maintain the care of their children. IMPLICATIONS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women living with a head injury experience severe trauma, coercive control, disadvantage, and poverty, which prevents them from accessing healthcare and support services. Communities should be resourced to design, implement, and evaluate TBI prevention and intervention solutions as increased awareness and insight into the long-term consequences for the brain that can result from violence, including education for school-aged children, community campaigns, and targeted education for community members. TBI should be incorporated into child protection frameworks, workforce training, and assessment tools, along with training and education for community members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost a quarter (23.9%) of Indigenous Australians report living with a disability. While most of them are cared for at home by female family members, there is limited understanding and insight into their lives. There is even less known about Indigenous primary carers who often also live with a disability and/or serious health condition requiring ongoing medical healthcare and support. This paper explicitly explores Indigenous disabled carer experiences who are navigating complex infrastructures of social protection for those that they care for and to gain support for their own health and disability needs as a disabled carer. The paper illustrates the significant disadvantages they experience given their regional locations of residency and the historicity of disability-carer support availability. Drawing upon their narratives from semi-structured interviews and yarning circles, three significant themes emerge: (i) Extended carer responsibilities for the family, (ii) Challenges applying for and receiving financial support as carers to support their own wellbeing as a disabled person and the disabled family member they cared for, (iii) Living in unsuitable accommodation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many Australians living with a disability find themselves recipients of Newstart Allowance when applying for the Disability Support Pension (DSP). Newstart Allowance is designed as a short-term payment for people looking for work, with a lower fortnightly payment and limited medical and transport subsidies compared to the DSP. This paper describes the financial challenges of living with a disability while on Newstart Allowance. With a focus on the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians from two regional towns, qualitative semistructured interviews and focus groups documented experiences of 39 community members and 21 medical and nonmedical service providers supporting clients living with a disability on Newstart Allowance. Four themes were identified: (i) living with severe financial hardship, (ii) challenges complying with the DSP application, (iii) being financially penalised for not complying with Newstart Allowance conditions, and (iv) supporting community members to manage severe financial stress. Although people living with a disability on Newstart were experiencing severe hardship and poverty, there was limited participation of Centrelink-employed social workers within their described experiences with Centrelink. We argue that social workers can work to humanise human service settings and potentially help to mitigate these financial challenges. IMPLICATIONS Indigenous Australians living with a disability experience severe disadvantage and poverty while living on Newstart Allowance. Social workers must be easily accessible at Centrelink customer service centres and to Newstart Allowance recipients to help coordinate service engagement. Newstart Allowance should be increased to ensure recipients can respond to cost of living pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Disability Support Pension (DSP), the primary social security payment for Australians living with disability, has undergone considerable reform since the early 2000s. Limited research has examined the impact of such reforms on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians living with disability. This article pays particular attention to the experiences of Indigenous Australians applying for the DSP, with a strong focus on reforms since 2015 as these modifications have been arguably the most rigorous changes to the assessment process and eligibility criteria. The article illustrates the challenges that Indigenous Australians with disability experience in applying for the disability pension under the new process and the supports they require in submitting their application. The article draws on sociological theories of social sorting identified for the disability category by Grover and Piggott and examines the application and implications within the Australian context of such processes for Indigenous Australians living with disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study investigates the prevalence and characteristics of first drink driving convictions among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians (aged from 14 to 24) and considers some of the risk factors associated with recidivism.Methods: Convictions recorded between 2006 and 2013 were extracted from the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney General database. Convictions were regrouped by gender, age, Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia classification, and sentence severity. Chi-square analyses and logistic regression were conducted to identify group differences in offense characteristics for gender and recidivism (recidivists versus nonrecidivists).Results: The sample consisted of 1,583 individuals (74.1% males) convicted in the 8-year period. Gender comparisons showed that there was no significant difference in age at time of first offense, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level at apprehension, or type of penalty received between males and females. However, males received larger fines and longer periods of license disqualification. Comparisons for reoffending and non-reoffending revealed that males, drivers aged 14-17 years of age and 18 to 20 years of age, and inner regional drivers were more likely to reoffend.Conclusions: There were limited differences between females and males or recidivists and nonrecidivists at first conviction. Convictions for drink driving may provide an opportunity for early alcohol intervention with Indigenous young drivers (<20 years) because it is likely to be an individual's first alcohol-related conviction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]