What can surgeons do to address the suffering caused by injury in Australian Aboriginal communities? The answer lies in two areas in which surgeons excel -patient care and community and workplace leadership. In their article regarding the epidemic of stab injuries seen at Alice Springs Hospital, Jacob, Boseto and Ollapillil emphasize the importance of these dual roles. 1 As surgeons, first and foremost, we are tasked with the victims' resuscitation and haemorrhage control, visceral repair and we operate to restore structure and function. We break bad news and we comfort our patients and their families. We coordinate other clinicians and we foster recovery and rehabilitation.Caring for victims of interpersonal violence can be confronting and complex, especially in a cross-cultural setting where there are communication difficulties. Consider, for example, Mary (not her real name), a quiet and withdrawn Aboriginal woman whom I recall limping into a remote community clinic bent over, clutching her abdomen and cradling an injured forearm. She had often presented with beatings after closing time at the club and had previously undergone surgery for burns, fractures, lacerations and an intracranial bleeding. However, her nights spent at a women's refuge centre had always seen her return home to her abusive husband. Her courage in doing so was only matched by her mistrust of