❤️HER NAME IS: KUNANJAYI EMITJA!❤️
She was mum to two little girls.
They were her heart.
Her youngest was still not old enough to walk.
Her name is Kumanjayi Emitja. She died as a direct result of her abuser’s actions on May 24, 2022. She was only 24.
Kumanjayi was raised on an outstation near Ntaria in the NT.
Growing up, she loved school and she was the centre of her family’s universe.
Jonah Multa subjected the bright and vibrant young woman to abuse throughout their relationship.
On that last day, he forced Kumanjayi from his car. CCTV shows her trying to escape, but he hits her three times with a hammer. She staggers into the road, comes to a stop and lies down.
A car hits Kumanjayi and drags her 20 metres.
Both Multa and the driver left without calling 000.
Multa was not charged over Kumanjayi’s death.
He was convicted on aggravated assault and breaching a domestic violence order and ordered to serve a minimum of 12 months.
He is currently in prison in South Australia on more domestic violence offences.
The driver was charged with fail to render assistance.
Police had many opportunities to intervene and keep Kumanjayi safe – but they failed her every time.
Their failures included:
Not recognising a National Domestic Violence Order designed to protect Kumanjayi; and failing to link multiple mandatory reports – a move that would have potentially saved her.
When Kumanjayi called police she was stone-walled and demeaned.
One officer spoke to her in a ‘frustrated’ tone, saying ‘what do you want police to do though?’, as she begged for help because he was hitting her.
The call taker antagonised Kumanjayi with questions like: ‘how old is he?’ He’s your partner you should know how old he is’.’
Kumanjayi, who had a black eye and a swollen foot from days of abuse, was locked in the paddy wagon and questioned her.
Cops did not take him into custody or charge him.
Kumanjayi never contacted police again.
The NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage held an inquest into Kumanjayi’s death recently.
Kumanjayi’s family – and sector workers – believe Multa should be charged with causing her death.
Many women die as an indirect result of domestic violence across Australia each week.
As long as authorities fail to charge abusers for causing their deaths, we will never know the true extent of femicide in Australia.
WoSSCA CEO Larissa Ellis and Tangentyere Council / FDV researcher Dr Chay Brown called for the roll-out of a peak family violence body for the NT.
This was a recommendation put forward following a landmark Inquest into the killing of four Aboriginal women.
The Northern Territory Government has ignored the recommendation.
The NT is the only jurisdiction in the country without a peak body.
Its average rate of intimate partner homicide is seven times higher than the rest of Australia.
Dr Brown told the coroner ‘domestic violence is the number one community safety issue’, but efforts and investment to address the ‘perfect storm for DV’ in the Northern Territory were not nearly enough.
Assistant Commissioner Michael White says police ‘increased their understanding and response to DV’ since Kumanjayi was killed.
He apologised to her family for their treatment and inaction.
“When I read this statement, I can see her in my mind,” Kumanjayi’s brother Troy told the inquest.
“We were always looking after her.”
“I think the systems need to wake up, she had been calling police for help.”
“Her kids look like her. They will be searching for their mother for their whole lives.”
KUNANJAYI EMITJA MATTERS! ❤️
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