We walk alongside Aboriginal women and their children on their journey to safety and wellbeing.
Welcome to Djirra
Djirra is safe place where culture is shared and celebrated.
We offer a range of practical supports to Aboriginal women and their children in Victoria, particularly those who are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, family violence.
The work we do is designed by and for Aboriginal women, with self-determination at its heart.
Through supports, programs and loud advocacy, we are committed to a future where Aboriginal women don’t just survive, we thrive.
What we do
Legal Service
Prevention & Cultural Programs
If you are experiencing family violence and need support please call 1800DJIRRA (1800 354 772).
If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
We are on Instagram
Next week, we take Aboriginal women’s voices to the global stage at @women_deliver.
We’re proud to stand alongside First Nations women from across the Oceanic Pacific Region sharing our knowledge, our solutions, and our vision for safety, justice and self-determination.
By attending and speaking at Women Deliver, we will make sure Aboriginal women are not only heard but centred at this major event.
Djirra’s participation at Women Deliver includes:
✨ CEO @Antoinette_Braybrook AM’s speech at the pre-conference on 26 April: Decolonizing Futures: First Nations Indigenous Women Advancing Treaty and Global Solidarity
✨ CEO’s plenary speech on 28 April: Decolonization and Self-Determination: Indigenous Feminist Leadership
✨ Concurrent session on 28 April: Restoring Power: Decolonising Responses to Violence Against Women and Girls
✨ Concurrent session on 30 April: Tackling Systemic Racism Against First Nations Women with Aboriginal leaders including Antoinette Braybrook AM, Hannah McGlade, @kirbybentley, Wynetta Dewis, Kelly Faldon and Monique Chong.
Djirra will also hold a stall at the Exhibition Hall and run a bag making workshop with @gamminthreads at the gathering space, Baggarrook Biik.
Follow along - because the world must listen, and real change cannot wait.
Check the full Women Deliver Program at link in bio!
#WD2026 #DjirraAtWomenDeliver #WomenDeliver #AboriginalWomensLivesMatter
This week our CEO @Antoinette_Braybrook travelled to Arrernte Country (Alice Springs) to speak to members of the National Judicial College of Australia at their Indigenous Justice Program.
Antoinette presented alongside Dr Hannah McGlade, and together they shared their decades of advocacy on the rights and safety of Aboriginal women and girls.
When asked what judges and magistrates should do differently, Antoinette said, “It is important to understand that the Aboriginal women before you have already experienced extreme levels of systemic racism and systems abuse, often by non-Aboriginal perpetrators. Many will have had their children taken and been criminalised rather than supported for their safety.” She said that as judges and magistrates, “You are in an important position to show every Aboriginal woman that she is heard and believed.”
This gathering was also an opportunity for Aboriginal lawyers, judges and magistrates to strengthen connections and share experiences from across the country. It was clear that while the jurisdictions we practice in are different, the issues for Aboriginal women are devastatingly similar, prevalent and preventable.
Also while on Arrernte Country, Antoinette met with the CEOs of Djirra’s sister FVPLS organisations, Phynea Clarke from @CAAFLU and Andrea Mason from @npyWomensCouncil, and bumped into many other staunch women including Cleonie Quayle and @barkaa__!
#AboriginalWomensLivesMatter #WeHaveTheSolutuions
image descriptions:
1) Djirra CEO Antoinette Braybrook with Magistrate Kim Farmer, Magistrate Rosa Falla, Justice Louise Taylor, Antoinette Braybrook, Dr Hannah McGlade, Commissioner @sueanne_hunter, Professor Megan Davis @mdavisqlder
2) Conference materials on a table
3) Phynea Clarke, Magistrate Kim Farmer, Antoinette Braybrook and Commissioner Sue-Anne Hunter
4) Antoinette and Phynea Clarke, CEO of @caaflu, outside their office
5) Antoinette with Andrea Mason, CEO of @npywomenscouncil
6) Cleonie Quayle (L), @barkaa__ (middle) with Antoinette and Djirra staff
7) @barkaa__ and @antoinette_braybrook
It’s time for a big shout out to some of our most recent supporters! ️🖤💛❤️
🎉 @mooneevalleycitycouncil for their generous donation at their International Women’s Day Breakfast
🎉 Sammy from @girlguidesvictoria for raising funds for Djirra via Moomba’s Birdman Rally
🎉 Hot Cross Buns from Trenerry Café for our Easter Drive
🎉 @paradisealleycollingwood for sending us the proceeds of their meat raffle
We greatly appreciate our supporters and thank all of you for investing in Aboriginal women.
Some of you have run marathons, held a breakfast or a morning tea – other have asked their customers to give through container deposits. Again, thank you.
When you support Djirra you are supporting Aboriginal women and their children to stay safe, strong and together.
There are so many ways you too can be part of Djirra’s story.
Visit link in bio to find out more.
Djirra listens, believes and will never judge Aboriginal women. Our truths are well documented - it’s time for action.
#AboriginalWomensLivesMatter #TruthTelling @antoinette_braybrook
Djirra’s long standing vision to establish an Aboriginal Women’s Centre in Victoria is not only informed by decades of working on the frontline of Aboriginal Women and children’s safety. It is also backed by powerful evidence including testimony given to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, and our CEO @Antoinette_Braybrook AM’s Churchill Report.
In 2023, Antoinette’s Churchill Fellowship took her across the world to meet First Nations women and organisations leading the way and determining for themselves.
Djirra’s Aboriginal Women’s Centre will be more than a building. It will celebrate and validate Aboriginal women’s strength courage and resilience and build a strong foundation for women and children today and for future generations to thrive.
“As Aboriginal women, we must design and lead our own solutions. Djirra’s Aboriginal Women’s Centre will be the first of its kind in Victoria, a game changer for Aboriginal women. A centre designed by us, for us.
After more than 20 years of vision, advocacy and determination, we are ready. Now is the time to bring it to life. We invite governments and partners to stand with us and invest in a lasting legacy for future generations.” - Antoinette Braybrook AM, CEO of Djirra
ITS TIME FOR ACTION. Keep us visible and amplify our call for an investment in Djirra’s Aboriginal Women’s Centre – start by sharing our post.
Read more via the Churchill Trust at link in bio👆🏽
@ingridstittmp
@sonyakilkennymp
#AboriginalWomensLivesMatter #SelfDetermination #FamilyViolence
Djirra congratulates Justice Louise Taylor on becoming the first Aboriginal woman in Australia to be appointed chief magistrate.
Proud Kamilaroi woman Justice Taylor made history in 2023 when she became the first Aboriginal woman to be appointed to a superior court by joining the ACT Supreme Court as resident judge.
She will take up her appointment as chief magistrate of the ACT Magistrates Court from May.
#AboriginalWomenHaveTheSolutions @antoinette_braybrook
On this 35th Anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, we again take a moment to reflect on the devastating realty for our people.
630 Aboriginal people have died in custody since the Royal Commission. This number continues to rise and we will never stop counting.
Last year saw the highest number of our people dying in custody since reporting began.
So far this year, there have been 43 deaths in custody. Devastatingly, almost 30% of these deaths are Aboriginal people despite our people making up only 3.8% of the country’s population. This is unacceptable.
For Aboriginal women, these statistics sit alongside other crises: family violence, over-policing, racial targeting, criminalisation and the removal of our children.
Aboriginal women are the fastest growing prison population in the country. Aboriginal women comprise around 3% of the Australia’s female population yet we make up close to 40% of the female prison population.
Of the Aboriginal women Djirra supports who have had contact with the criminal justice system:
• 100% have experienced family violence.
• 86% are mothers.
• The vast majority are misidentified, racially targeted, punished and blamed for the violence they experience.
These are not just statistics. These are Aboriginal women.
Aboriginal women do not belong in prison.
Aboriginal women and children deserve to be supported for their safety, not prosecuted.
The only way forward for ensuring Aboriginal women and their children remain safe and together, not torn apart, not thrown behind bars, is by investing in our individual and collective self-determined solutions.
Aboriginal women deserve an advocate.
Aboriginal women deserve access to Djirra’s life changing and life saving services and early intervention and prevention programs.
Share this post to stand with our women.
#RCIADIC #StopDeathsInCustody #AboriginalWomensLivesMatter @antoinette_braybrook
The countdown is on for Women Deliver 2026!
In less than two weeks, global changemakers will convene in Narrm for the world’s largest gender equality conference.
Djirra will amplify Aboriginal women’s voices on this global stage, sharing the truth of our experiences and the strength of our solutions to over six thousand people.
Djirra CEO @antoinette_braybrook AM is speaking at various points throughout the conference, including:
Wednesday 29 April, 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Plenary Session: “Building Economies that Deliver: Care, Public Services, and Shared Prosperity”
Thursday 30 April, 9:30 - 11:00 am
Djirra Panel: “Tackling systemic racism against First Nations women in Australia” with a strong panel of Aboriginal women, including Djirra staff Kelly Faldon and Monique Chong and Djirra ambassador @kirbybentley, together with Dr Hannah McGlade and Wynetta Dewis.
If you haven’t already registered to attend the Women Deliver conference, you can do so via our link in bio👆🏽
Stay tuned on our socials for more info!
#WD2026
@women_deliver
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to our Koori Women’s Place Easter Drive 🐰
Because of your generosity, Aboriginal women and their children were able to enjoy Easter goodies, including eggs, hot cross buns, colouring activities, and warm pyjamas and slippers.
In the lead-up to the school holidays, it meant a lot for families to have a little extra support and something special to share together. One mum was especially delighted to find matching pyjamas for her twins - those moments matter.
At Djirra, we walk alongside Aboriginal women through every stage of their journey - from safety and stability to healing, connection and wellbeing.
Sometimes that support is legal or practical. Other times, it’s about creating spaces where women and children feel seen, valued and celebrated. This Easter Drive is a beautiful reflection of the strength of community and the care we hold for one another.
If you’d like to support our work, you can donate at link in bio.
Thank you for walking alongside Aboriginal women and their children 🖤💛❤️
