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3.10 Deaths from homicide and hospitalisations forassaultBox 3.10.1 Key messages• Homicide makes up a very small proportion of total deaths but can indicate broaderlevels of family and community violence. There were 37 Indigenous homicidevictims in Australia in 2004-05 (table 3A.10.6).• Of 245 homicides in Australia in 2004-05, Indigenous people accounted for15.1 per cent of homicide victims and 16.3 per cent of homicide offenders(table 3A.10.6).• After adjusting for age differences, the homicide rate in the Indigenous populationwas 5 to 15 times the rate in the non-Indigenous population in Queensland, WA, SAand the NT (figure 3.10.1).• From 1999-2000 to 2004-05 the rate of Indigenous homicides in remote, outerregional and very remote areas (13.1–16.7 per 100 000 population) was around 3times the rate in major cities and inner regional areas (4.6–4.9 per 100 000).Indigenous homicide rates were higher than non-Indigenous rates in all remotenessareas (1.4–2.4 per 100 000) (figure 3.10.5).• In 2004-05, in the four jurisdictions for which data are available, Indigenous peoplewere hospitalised for assault at 17.3 times the rate of non-Indigenous people.Indigenous females were 44.1 times more likely to be hospitalised for assault thannon-Indigenous females (figure 3.10.1 and table 3A.10.12).The indicator ‘Deaths from homicide and hospitalisations for assault’ comparesinformation on violence for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across Australia,including homicide victimisation and offending rates, factors associated withhomicide and trends over time. This indicator also provides statistics onhospitalisations resulting from interpersonal violence.Indigenous people are over-represented in all forms of violent crime in Australia(Memmott et al. 2001). Indigenous people are much more likely to be both victimsand perpetrators of homicide than other Australians (AIC 1993; Mouzos 2001).Violence in Indigenous communities is frequently associated with substance abuse,and often occurs within family networks (Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderSocial Justice Commissioner 2006; Bolger 1991; Gordon, Hallahan and Henry2002; Memmott et al. 2001; Mouzos 2001).Mouzos (2001) found that, compared to non-Indigenous homicides (see footnote totable 3.10.1 for definitions), Indigenous homicides are more likely to occur in nonurbanareas. However, this may be expected because there are proportionally more90 OVERCOMINGINDIGENOUSDISADVANTAGE 2007