A disturbing video shows a 16-year-old Aboriginal girl being brutally beaten by ten women in what has been described as a case of ‘cultural payback’.
Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has condemned the “romanticism” of traditional Aboriginal culture after footage emerged of the attack which took place in Alice Springs at around 3am on Saturday.
The young girl was brutally beaten and stomped by her attackers moments after they were involved in a separate brawl.
She was taken to hospital and treated for serious chest injuries.
Senator Nampijinpa Price told Daily Mail Australia she had since been told “this was a case of traditional cultural payback”.
‘I am very concerned about this issue and these images. “This is incredible, appalling behavior that is becoming the norm in places like Alice Springs,” she said.
Senator Nampijinpa Price said such violent crimes and “violence” would not be tolerated in Australia’s larger cities.
“But because it’s out of sight and out of mind, people are happy to let it go,” she said.
Disturbing video shows 16-year-old Aboriginal girl brutally beaten by 10 women in what’s described as a case of ‘cultural payback’
‘It makes me sick that people romanticise traditional culture so much that we are now too cowardly to intervene when this happens in towns like Alice Springs.’
She described it as “toxic tolerance” and said it “must stop.”
“When this type of behavior is happening, it is time to step in and put an end to it,” she said.
The Country Liberal senator from Alice Springs also spoke about the attack in the Senate on Monday afternoon, after seeing the violent images herself.
“These women, I heard in the video, are Warlpiri women. I am a Warlpiri woman. I am completely disturbed when I see this kind of behavior,” she said in the Senate.
“I want this room, and the Australian public, to know that traditional cultural payback, also known as vigilantism, has no place in our society in 2024.”
Referring to the recent spate of crimes in the Northern Territory, Senator Nampijinpa Price said that as a society we are “ignoring the fact that traditional culture plays a role in this because we are all too scared.
“This romance must stop if we are to support the most marginalized in our communities,” she said.
Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (pictured) has condemned the ‘romanticism’ of traditional Aboriginal culture after footage emerged of the Alice Springs attack
The teenage girl at the center of the incident took herself to Alice Springs Hospital and then home to the Yuendumu community.
Police later found her and returned her to hospital for further examination and treatment.
The Alice Springs Criminal Investigation Branch is urging all witnesses to come forward as they continue to investigate the incident.
Senior Sergeant Michael Curtiss said: “The violence we saw this weekend was completely unacceptable.
‘Thirty witnesses can be seen on CCTV who have yet to come forward and make a statement to the police.’
Ms Nampijinpa Price is now calling on Warlpiri elders to more widely condemn the violent actions and traditional cultural payback.
“(That’s a) 16-year-old girl. Imagine if those were the daughters of people on the streets of Sydney. Her clothes tore from her body and she stomped on.
“We should not treat Indigenous Australians any differently than anyone else. We should not lower standards and we should not accept this type of behavior.”
‘Enough is enough.’