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• Indigenous women reported higher levels of physical, sexual and any violenceduring the 12 months preceding the IVAWS compared with non-Indigenouswomen (Mouzos and Makkai 2004)• 20 per cent of Indigenous women reported experiencing physical violence,compared with 7 per cent of non-Indigenous women (Mouzos and Makkai 2004)• Three times as many Indigenous women reported experiencing an incident ofsexual violence, compared to non-Indigenous women (12 per cent comparedwith 4 per cent) (Mouzos and Makkai 2004).The Australian Institute of Criminology conducted a survey of police about theirperceptions of negative outcomes associated with illicit drug use in Indigenouscommunities. The survey included urban and country areas in Queensland, WA, SAand the NT. Some of the findings included:• Police indicated that heavy cannabis use exacerbated many existing problemsamong local Indigenous residents, especially domestic/family violence (73 percent urban; 76 per cent non-urban) and mental health problems (73 per centurban; 74 per cent non-urban) (Putt and Delahunty 2006).• Nearly every community involved in the field research for the survey voicedconcerns about the impact substance use has on family violence, decliningparticipation in community life, child neglect, and sexual exploitation of youngpeople (Putt and Delahunty 2006).SAAP National Data CollectionThe SAAP National Data Collection provides information on the number of peopleseeking assistance from agencies funded under the SAAP, for reasons to do withfamily violence.These data will under-estimate the true extent of family violence occurring withinthe community, because:• not all victims of violence access these services• victims may be turned away because the support required cannot be provided(AIHW 2006).The number of people seeking SAAP assistance in 2005-06 for reasons to do withfamily violence as a proportion of the total number of people seeking assistance areshown in figure 3.11.1.107