FIRST NATIONS DEATHS IN CUSTODY

Select Committee on the high level of First Nations people in custody

On the 30th anniversary of the landmark 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, NSW Parliament tabled a new report aimed at tackling high levels of Indigenous incarceration in New South Wales. As the report notes, “Much of the evidence to the inquiry focused on the over-representation of First Nations people in the criminal justice system, including the historical, social and economic drivers that contribute to disproportionate incarceration rates of First Nations people.”

ANROWS made a submission to this Inquiry, and our CEO, Dr Heather Nancarrow, provided in-person testimony which, alongside other sector organisations, highlighted that women’s imprisonment wasn’t following the same downward trend as men’s imprisonment. Drawing on ANROWS research on misidentification of victims as perpetrators of domestic violence, Heather highlighted the way First Nations women are disproportionately and inappropriately brought into the criminal justice system under the domestic violence laws designed to protect them.

The final report recommends that the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, in conjunction with the Department of Communities and Justice, conduct research into the growing number of First Nations women in custody, with a view to identifying the causes and factors of this trend.

The ANROWS evidence base was employed to argue for funding for post-release projects like the Miranda Project, the urgent need for housing for First Nations women, Gladue-style reports and better screening of prisoners for mental health conditions including fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), all of which are reflected in the final report’s recommendations.

If you are keen to use submissions to put evidence into the hands of decision-makers, head to our Inquiries and submissions page. Past (published) ANROWS submissions can be found on our Resources page.

ANROWS WEBINAR RECORDING

Evaluation in the violence against women sector

“Building capacity [to complete evaluation] within your organisation is really empowering, because it enables you to move beyond addressing the evaluation questions that your funder asks of you to actually answering the questions that you think are important for your service to grow, and be impactful for your clients.” Annika Kearton, Acting CEO, ARC Justice

Undertaking evaluation in the violence against women sector is often complex and requires managing various risk, safety and ethical issues.

On Tuesday 27 April, an expert panel including Annika Kearton (Acting CEO, ARC Justice) and Cecilia Hemana (Director, Research and Evaluation, Respect Victoria) explored examples of evaluations they have implemented, sharing strategies and tips for workers in the violence against women sector.

The webinar is now available to watch for free through the ANROWS website.

If you are interested in learning more about evaluation in the sector, ANROWS has also developed a series of Evaluation Quick Guides and a guide for evaluating behaviour change programs for men who use domestic and family violence.

New research and resources

You can access the resources in this list and all the other articles in Notepad in the ANROWS Library.

Books and reports

Our Watch. (2021). Respectful relationships education as part of a national approach to preventing gender-based violence. Our Watch. https://education.ourwatch.org.au/resource/respectful-relationships-education-a-brief-for-policy-makers/

Segrave, M., & Pfitzner, N. (2020). Family violence and temporary visa holders during COVID-19. Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre. https://doi.org/10.26180/5f6b1218b1435  

Articles

Callander, E. J., Bull, C., Baird, K., Branjerdporn, G., Gillespie, K., & Creedy, D. (2021). Cost of intimate partner violence during pregnancy and postpartum to health services: A data linkage study in Queensland, Australia. Archives of Women’s Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01130-7

Buiten, D., & Coe, G. (2021). Competing discourses and cultural intelligibility: Familicide, gender and the mental illness/distress frame in news. Crime, Media, Culture. https://doi.org/10.1177/17416590211009275  

Gartland, D., Conway, L. J., Giallo, R., Mensah, F. K., Cook, F., Hegarty, K., Herrman, H., Nicholson, J., Reilly, S., Hiscock, H., Sciberras, E., & Brown, S. J. (2021). Intimate partner violence and child outcomes at age 10: A pregnancy cohort. Archives of Disease in Childhood. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2020-320321

Goodson, A., Garza, A. D., & Franklin, C. A. (2021). Providing support to victims: Police officers’ service referral provision and advocate involvement in domestic violence incidents. Crime &  Delinquency. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287211007742

Gregory, A., Johnson, E., Feder, G., Campbell, J., Konya, J., & Perôt, C. (2021). Perceptions of peer support for victim-survivors of sexual violence and abuse: An exploratory study with key stakeholders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211007931 

Natalier, K., Cortis, N., Seymour, K., Wendt, S., & King, D. (2020). Workplace violence against domestic and family violence and sexual assault workers: A gendered, settings-based approach. The British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaa030

Peterie, M., Marston, G., Humpage, L., Mendes, P., Bielefeld, S., & Staines, Z. (2021). The trope of the vulnerable child in conditional welfare discourses: An Australian case study. Journal of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833211008984

Stewart, R., Wright, B., Smith, L., Roberts, S., & Russell, N. (2021). Gendered stereotypes and norms: A systematic review of interventions designed to shift attitudes and behaviour. Heliyon, 7(4),  e06660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06660

Work with ANROWS

Two project officer roles available in Evidence to Action team

ANROWS is seeking two Project Officers to join its Evidence to Action team, which is responsible for ANROWS’s knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) functions.

The Project Officer (Evidence to Action) will be primarily responsible for the implementation and support of ANROWS’s KTE activities, including publications and resources, media and communications, and events.

The Project Officer (ANROWS conference and webinar program) will support the delivery of ANROWS’s 2022 National Conference and its online webinar program.

Both positions are full-time and available until 30 June 2022. The successful applicants will be based at the ANROWS National Office in Sydney.

Applications for both positions close at midnight on Monday 10 May 2021. For more information about the roles, and to apply, visit the Careers page of the ANROWS website.