An investigation into the deaths of six Aboriginal women and the police responses that left families reeling ‘If you think it’s hard being a white woman in Australia, try being a black woman.’ These were the words that set a team of journalists at the Adelaide Advertiser on an investigation into the mysterious deaths of six young Aboriginal women. Each year dozens of Indigenous women or girls die by murder or suicide. Rose Hunter-Hebberman was one of them. When her mother, Courtney, uttered those words at an International Women’s Day lunch, she had been craving answers for three years as to how her 19-year-old daughter, who had so much to live for, came to die in a run-down backyard shed, apparently by suicide. Inspired by Courtney’s courage and grief, The Advertiser team hoped to shed light on Rose’s death and put Courtney’s mind to rest. But what they found, as their investigation of one death rolled into another five, was disturbing. Lack of urgency, sloppy searches, poor communication, and assumptions by police were just some of hallmarks that surrounded the deaths of these girls. As the team probed further, the answers, or lack thereof, gave rise to even bigger questions about whether Aboriginal Australians, especially women, have a voice, and if they are heard when they speak. Based on the podcast Dying Rose, this is a compelling look at what it means to be an Aboriginal woman in a world where family love, cultural connection and hope for a better future can be eroded by prejudice, mistrust and danger.
