More than 140 NT youths charged with domestic violence crimes in six months
Northern Territory Police have charged more than 140 youths with domestic violence-related offences in the past six months, as domestic and family violence services call for specialised supports to help young people experiencing abuse.
NT Police figures obtained by the ABC reveal that between March and September, police laid 233 domestic violence-related charges against people under 18.
The most common charge was serious assault, followed by choking, strangulation or suffocation, and making threats to kill.
In the past month alone, 22 youths have been charged with domestic violence-related assaults, three with choking or strangulation and two with making threats to kill.
Other charges include distributing intimate images, recording intimate images without consent, endangering serious harm and sexual intercourse without consent.
One in eight of the clients accessing KWILS are under the age of 25. (ABC News: Jessica Henderson)
Hannah George, who is the chief executive of the Katherine Women's Information and Legal Service (KWILS), which offers legal support to women and girls around the Big Rivers region, said the numbers were not a surprise.
"Domestic violence doesn't have an age limit,"
she said.
The data provided by NT Police does not specify who the victims of the charges were, meaning they may include family members as well as intimate partners.
It also does not provide the ages of the victims.
However, Ms George said the statistics shed light on the problem of domestic violence among young Territorians.
She said the service had recorded an uptick in the number of young women and girls reaching out for support over the past year.
"One in eight of our clients are under 25," she said.
Technology plays a part in the increase in non-physical abuse. (ABC News: James Elton)
Ms George said the proliferation of social media and access to technology had contributed to an increase in non-physical abuse.
"We're definitely seeing an increase in threats that young women are receiving to share intimate images or videos of them as a form of control," she said.
Young women in remote communities most at risk
Four women have died allegedly at the hands of their male partners in the NT so far this year.
Two of those deaths were girls under 18, both from remote communities.
In July, a 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for cultural reasons, was found dead in a home on Elcho Island, 500 kilometres east of Darwin, from what police allege were blunt force injuries.
A 34-year-old man was charged with her murder, with police alleging they were in a "domestic relationship" at the time of her death.
Three months later, a 16-year-old girl from the remote community of Alpurrurulam, west of Mount Isa on the Queensland-NT border, died after attending the local health clinic following an alleged physical assault.
A 26-year-old man police believe was in a relationship with the girl was later charged with her murder.
In the wake of the girls' deaths, community and family members spoke out, calling for an end to the domestic violence crisis gripping the NT.
The NT's rates of domestic and family violence are the highest in the country, with Aboriginal women in 2015 accounting for nearly 90 per cent of all domestic assaults in the Territory.
Data from the ABS shows the offending rate for family and domestic violence in the NT is 2,124 offenders per 100,000 persons, with the second highest rate recorded in NSW sitting at a significantly lower figure of 482 offenders per 100,000 persons.
Hannah George says the figures aren't surprising. (ABC News: James Elton)
Ms George said young girls, particularly those living in remote areas, faced added challenges in accessing support, including limited service availability and physical isolation.
"Is there a legal service there or a health service that can support them?" she said.
"Is there transport there if they need to get help?
"Everyone knows everyone so, how do they keep their story or information safe?"
Chief Executive of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) Donna Ah Chee said health clinics were often shouldering the load of domestic violence support in small communities.
Donna Ah Chee says health services often function as a safe space for victims. (ABC News: Eleni Roussos)
"The health clinic is one of the few places a young woman can go for help," Ms Ah Chee said.
"Health services can treat injuries and help identify young women at risk.
"But there must be somewhere safe for them to go, and specialist support they can reach before violence escalates."
'Massive gap' in services tailored to young people
Newly appointed chief executive of the NT Council of Social Services Trish Connolly said teenagers and young people have been "forgotten" in the domestic violence response nationally.
"We know this from the national domestic and family violence plan, [programs] are geared toward adult women and their children," she said.
"There's a massive gap for children and young people who experience domestic and family violence without a caregiver."
With frontline services already unable to meet demand for crisis accommodation, Ms Connolly said additional funding is needed.
Trish Connolly has called for additional funding for frontline services. (ABC News: Dane Hirst)
"We need age-appropriate responses for children and young people who experience domestic violence on their own," she said.
A key part of the NT government's response to domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) is the Circuit Breaker program, which it describes as a "voluntary early intervention program" funded through the NT DFSV Reduction Strategy 2025-2028.
In the 2025-26 financial year, 439 Circuit Breaker cases were commenced, however the program is not available in remote communities.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.