Social and cultural resilience and emotional well-being of Aboriginal mothers in prison

1. Social and cultural resilience and emotional well-being of Aboriginal mothers in prison The SCREAM project Those involved in WA: Jocelyn Jones, Marisa Gilles, Mandy Wilson, Pat Dudgeon and Ted Wilkes Those involved in NSW: Elizabeth Sullivan, Juanita Sherwood, Vickie Roach and Jo Courtney

2. SCREAM SCREAM is being conducted across two hubs, WA and NSW Funded for four years by the NH&MRC Recognises that Aboriginal imprisonment in Australia is shaped by unique cultural, historical and political circumstances Focuses on the health and well-being of Aboriginal mothers in prison in WA and NSW

3. Australian Aboriginal women are the fastest growing group within the Australian prison population These women suffer multiple disadvantages and face race, gender and health discrimination “The number of Indigenous women in prison has increased by 343 per cent since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody despite its principle that ‘imprisonment should be utilised only as a sanction of last resort’” (NIDAC 2009) Why do this project?

4. And if anyone needed further convincing … • Female Aboriginal prisoners experience significantly higher levels of mental health issues than non-Aboriginal women and are more likely than Aboriginal males to die prematurely after release (AIC 2010) • 80 percent of Indigenous female prisoners are mothers (Behrendt, Cunneen and Liebesman 2009) • Estimated that 20% of Indigenous children aged between 0-16 years in NSW have experienced parental incarceration (Quilty & Butler 2006).

5. What the study aims to do: • Involving a broad range of stakeholders throughout the research process the study aims to find out more about: • The health and emotional well-being of these women • The health services that are available and what services they access while in prison • Whether the women perceive these services as appropriate for their needs We also aim to identify: • Attributes of culturally safe models of health care for Aboriginal women in prison • Pathways for the transition of culturally safe health care into the community

6. How is it being done … • Prisons in NSW (Berrima, Emu Plains, Grafton and Silverwater Correctional Centres) and WA (Boronia, Bandyup, Broome, Eastern Goldfields, Greenough and Roebourne Prisons) • An audit of the prison medical notes of Aboriginal women; • Narrative data will be collected through talking with Aboriginal women in prison; • Narrative data will be collected through talking with prison health, mental health, Aboriginal liaison and other correctional personnel; and, • Focus group interviews will be conducted with key stakeholders From data collected, develop a tool that seeks to encapsulate the SEWB of these women

7. Why we are here today Our study SCREAM wants to find out how the imprisonment of Aboriginal mothers is impacting on them, their children, their families, communities and community organisations To be able to do this we need to speak to the experts who know this story Those experts are the mothers, families, children, communities and your organisations

8. Today is a first step that we are taking in the project to let you know who we are, what the project aims to do, and simply get the message out. We’d like to hear what you have to say. If you would like to speak to us further at a later date here are our contact details: Mandy Wilson Jocelyn Jones mandy.wilson@curtin.edu.auj.jones@curtin.edu.au 9266 1625 9266 1616