Analysis

The rate at which First Nations women are murdered or go missing is an unfolding crisis

This week there was an important breakthrough in a long-running criminal case which is at the heart of an unfolding crisis that few Australians are aware of.

Almost 11 years to the day after she went missing in Cape York, a man has been charged with the murder of Ms Bernard, a Kowanyama woman who was last seen in February 2013.

Ms Bernard is one of hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who have been murdered or who have gone missing in the past 25 years. Many of the cases remain unsolved.

We may never know the true scale of the epidemic of missing and murdered, and that's because — as a Four Corners investigation found — few agencies are keeping data and records of Indigenous women who have been killed or disappeared.

For Ms Bernard's family, a decade of heartache has led to this moment: They may be finally edging closer to some justice and to finding out where her body lies after years spent pressing for a more comprehensive investigation by police.

The search continues

In 2022, The Northern Coroner for Queensland Nerida Wilson directed the Queensland Police Commissioner to review the adequacy of their investigation and ordered a renewed search for Ms Bernard.

Ms Bernard's family and her children have endured unimaginable pain, and hope to be able to bury Ms Bernard on her ancestral country if her body is ever found.

Her family says the 23-year-old loved to dance and to swim in the fresh water on her country. They described her as "a cheeky little girl who grew into a quiet, proud and loving mother".

There is a photo of Ms Bernard that gives us a glimpse of her love and warmth. She's balancing her two babies on her knee, her arms wrapped around their little bodies with a huge smile on her face. She had her whole life ahead of her with her children.

Why don't the deaths of First Nations women make headlines?

That Ms Bernard has not been eulogised or remembered by the Australian media or public in the way that she ought to have been is a tragedy — it's rare we see the deaths of Aboriginal women make headlines.

A Senate inquiry is examining the systemic issues that have led to scores of missing and murdered First Nations women and children, but it has had a low-profile and there have been concerns it cannot be comprehensive enough to come to terms with the scale of the crisis.

In October last year, WA Police failed to show up at a hearing.

Families have told the inquiry they feel let down by police, and that they have had to urge officers to improve their investigations of unsolved missing persons cases and alleged murders of Indigenous women.

In Canada, a national inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls found that what had happened to the women amounted to a genocide.

In the Northern Territory, the coroner has led a landmark inquiry that has examined the escalating rate of domestic violence against Aboriginal women, hearing evidence from under-funded services crying out for more funding.

As parliament resumes in Canberra on Tuesday, Indigenous communities want Australian politicians to begin to heed the long-running calls from Aboriginal families to properly investigate why so many young black mothers are dying.

And as journalists, it's time we paid tribute to the scores of First Nations women who have been killed. It's what Ms Bernard deserves.