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An Aboriginal woman has spoken of the scars which criss-cross her body as she called for a fresh approach to family violence in indigenous communities.
Bess Price travelled from the Northern Territory to parliament house in Canberra to tell her story to a summit of Aboriginal leaders.
"I've got scars all over my body, decoration from my previous marriage," Price told the summit on Friday. "I've seen violence every day of my life."
One of her granddaughters had her jaw broken by her boyfriend.
"Another granddaughter was killed by her ex-husband ... he only had to stab her once."
Price said children grew up thinking violence was normal. She said if traditional Aboriginal laws gave power to men over women, then it was time those laws were changed.
Some Aborigines wanted to change their traditions so they could have houses, cars and grog, so they could change their traditional laws as well, Price said.
"Our very own men in our community are saying that women do not have any power in the eyes of Aboriginal men.
"How can we change their views on how to treat their women?"
The summit, held to tackle family violence in indigenous communities, attracted 22 leaders from around the country.
Suggestions discussed included tighter alcohol restrictions, more housing to stop overcrowding, more police, more counsellors and more education programs.
Women had to be encouraged to report abuse instead of staying silent, the summit heard.
Indigenous leader Warren Mundine, a former national president of the Australian Labor Party, traced the violence back to colonisation and the ensuing breakdown of Aboriginal communities and families.
"We need to make those family units stronger, make those communities stronger, and to rebuild self-esteem," Mundine said during a break in the summit.
"We need, as men, to look at what tools will help us to be the men that our society needs."
Mundine said men had to be part of the conversation and the solution.
Families Minister Jenny Macklin told the summit that Aboriginal women were 35 times more likely than non-indigenous women to be hospitalised after being assaulted by a partner.
"This has to stop, it has to stop," Macklin said.
She noted family violence was also a serious problem in non-indigenous communities, citing the father who allegedly threw his four-year-old daughter off a bridge in Melbourne on Thursday.
The government is working on a new strategy to counter violence against women and children. A committee appointed by the government is due to hand down its report within weeks.
Minister for the Status of Women Tanya Plibersek said the report would specifically look at Aboriginal communities, as well as wider society.
