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Baldry, Eileen --- "Home Safely: Aboriginal Women Post-Prison and their Children" [2009] IndigLawB 44; (2009) 7(15) Indigenous Law Bulletin 14


Home Safely: Aboriginal Women Post-Prison and their Children

Eileen Baldry

As is the case across Australia, there has been a dramatic rise in the rate of Aboriginal women prisoners in NSW over the past 20 years. At the same time there has been a concomitant rise in their rate of release to the community post-prison. Indications are that they are the least likely of all groups of prisoners to find appropriate housing and support services post-release, particularly if they have dependent children. Further, they return to prison faster and at a higher rate than others.

This article discusses recent research evidencing the disjuncture between the expressed needs of Aboriginal women with dependent children leaving prison in NSW and the style and availability of services expected to address those needs. Not only are there gaps in services but, just as importantly, there are shortfalls in the types of services and support needed from entry into prison to well after release. The research points to the need for a flexible continuum of support services and programs that are specifically tailored to Aboriginal women and children to reflect their real and current circumstances.

Background to the Study

Aboriginal women represent approximately 30% of the NSW women’s prison population[1] in comparison to their rate of approximately 2.1% of the general NSW female population.[2] In NSW, they live overwhelmingly in urban areas, have higher rates of return to prison, higher numbers of dependent children, higher rates of mental health disorders, experience higher rates of domestic and sexual violence and higher rates of homelessness than their non-Aboriginal counterparts.[3] They also return to highly disadvantaged communities and suburbs with little in the way of housing support, protection from violence, employment opportunities or appropriate health care.[4] These women experience the intergenerational and direct effects of decades of exclusionary policies such as child-removal, removal from land and inferior access to good education, housing and health services.[5] They have been disproportionately over-represented amongst those in state care, in juvenile detention, in psychiatric institutions and in prisons.[6]

Appropriate, stable and supported post-release housing is crucial to reducing recidivism and assisting transition into the community. But Aboriginal women in NSW have significantly higher levels of post-release homelessness compared with their non-Indigenous peers, which is a predictor of returning to prison.[7] It would appear from the very poor outcomes for Aboriginal women leaving prison that they have specific and special housing and other social and personal needs that are not currently being met.[8] Yet there is very little published evidence of successful approaches for Indigenous women post-release.

Approach

In a recent study, 17 Aboriginal women incarcerated in Emu Plains and Dilwynia prisons on the outskirts of Sydney, all of whom had children and most of whom had been imprisoned previously, participated in focus groups regarding their experiences last time they were released and their hopes and needs when next released. Services in an area in Western Sydney, potentially suitable for a support service for Aboriginal women and their children, were mapped for their capacity to assist these mothers and children. Agency and service providers working with Aboriginal women being released from prison were also interviewed. Analysis of the interviews and mapping highlighted a range of service needs, capacity and gaps.[9]

The women focused on six key issues.

Women and their Children

The overwhelming theme in the women’s interviews was the importance of their children in their lives:

I look at my babies and I want them to be safe.

And I’ve just had a rough ride ... But I put my kids first before myself.

They spoke at length of how they aimed to overcome their own barriers and to prioritise the needs of their children as best they could. Some were concerned that their children might follow in their footsteps, and were determined to prevent that. They emphasised over and again the importance to them and their children of maintaining the relationship between mother and child but many said they rarely if ever saw their young children whilst they were in prison. The interviews pointed to the serious issue of custody of and access to children.

I’ll be living with my oldest son, and my baby daughter is with my cousin, and she’s only two streets away, and they said I can only see her once a month until it goes back to court.

The women said it was not uncommon for children of Aboriginal women prisoners to be made wards of the state without direct consultation with, or knowledge of, their mothers. Women were often at a loss as to how to go about regaining custody of their children or how to address the many legal barriers they faced in doing that. They reported feelings of deep ‘loss’ and ‘missing out’ on their children’s lives

But there’s just so much I’ve missed …

At the forefront of the women’s minds was their children’s need for safety, security and love and that they wanted help to provide that.

Housing Issues

The women discussed their universally common experience of unstable housing, both before and after prison. These ranged from always living in other people’s places, to living with partners in volatile, violent relationships to living with extended family members with little security or stability. Upon release they looked forward to short-term accommodation (like refuges); returning to the last, often violent, housing circumstance they were in before custody; or most likely, returning to locations with, in their words, the ‘wrong crowd’.

There’s a lot of issues that I really need to deal with, the first issue is housing.

Some women were on waiting lists for priority public housing. Some were so desperate they even had applications in other states

I got one in Melbourne, I’ve got one for community housing, Aboriginal housing everything. My priority housing has been in for here (in NSW) since 2002.

Even if housing were to become available, accessing it might prove difficult if allocated to an inappropriate area. Women said they were often given parole conditions that precluded associations with the very people with whom they had housing. The women saw this as a hopeless cycle. They knew that ‘going back will be difficult’, but they saw little alternative. The crucial factor was that, without a house, they would not be able to access or regain custody of their children. They expressed the need for legal advice on this matter but said they had never been afforded such aid.

The women fully recognised the need for supportive services in conjunction with their housing. They felt their lack of financial and life skills keenly and commented that these would greatly assist them in holding onto stable housing

Families, Friends and Associates

The women discussed the fact that families, friends and associates can be both strengths and risks:

The only reason that I’m in here is because of other people being around me, coming to my house, wanting me to go here, go there, dropping everything … And it’s people like that around me that puts me down.

The women explained that, once released, it could be very hard to say ‘no’ to people they have had previous associations with. They want to stay ‘clean’, but said that, when back in their old environments, this was almost impossible. Those who were trying to stay away from negative relations faced being ‘isolated’ emotionally and geographically and being unbearably lonely.

On the other hand, some pointed out that other family members and friends supported them, especially their children. Some had the support of their grandmothers but understood the strain this posed:

My Mum passed away… so it’s just me and my Grandma now. And she’s got the [6] kids and she’s 79. So it’s hard for her.

Yeah my Grandma is looking after the kids and she’s 84.

They explain how their extended families were helping to support them and how much this helped them to maintain some sense of control.

Alcohol and other Drug Issues

Alcohol and other drug issues posed a significant barrier to gaining and maintaining custody of children, stable housing, as well as employment and education opportunities.

I just suppressed my emotions, my depression and my sadness and went to alcohol and smoking marijuana. They were my scapegoat. Everything … it’s a horrible burden.

Women said they wanted drug and alcohol counseling but that, in their experience, it was inaccessible, whether due to barriers of culture, geography or timing. Some reported needing assistance and support as soon as they were released, otherwise they would ‘lose hope and get back into the boot’. As one participant said,

I do it to take my pain away. But it doesn’t work. I know that.

However, she continued that this knowledge would not stop her from using drugs and alcohol in future ‘painful’ situations. It was for this reason that she wanted appropriate counseling when released.

Culture

Providing an opportunity for Aboriginal women to come together in cultural healing spaces was the subject of animated discussed with some small, but significant interventions suggested, including meeting in groups to talk about cultural issues.

And even if we just go… and talk about cultural issues it would all be good.

For all the women, separation from families and loss of culture, kinship and heritage has had an ongoing impact.

I was never raised in my Aboriginal family. I was adopted … although my Aboriginal family lived in the same community. I’ve still got issues there, you know.

Linked to this, women reported needing to ‘trust’, but having difficulty in doing so. One woman explained that, to work through the issues she had, she needed to work with a woman she could trust.

Trauma

The impact of sexual and physical abuse – whether childhood or ongoing – and domestic violence was a consistent painful experience. The women knew, and their stories indicated, that their behaviour was often a response to pain and anger arising from personal, generational and cultural trauma. They felt they had not been afforded safe spaces or places in which to begin to address the impacts of this trauma.

Women’s Views: A Summary

The focus groups revealed the competing and complex matters women were facing prior to, inside and after prison, as well as their expressed needs. Protective factors such as a supportive family, or strong feeling for culture and their children, were often outweighed in their own minds and experience by other concerns. These include family and friends who are a bad influence, unresolved trauma such as sexual abuse, domestic violence and untimely death of children and parents, and the lack of suitable housing and support. No services were singled out as being helpful although some women asked about services they had heard of but never been able to use, like Guthrie House. Although they had not benefited much from services in the past, they said they wanted and needed support, but it had to be with people they trusted. Their children were paramount in their thinking. They needed both legal and human services support to get to a position where they would be able to even see their children never mind regain custody or live with them again.

In short, they wanted to start post-release support whilst still in prison. Issues identified were wide ranging. They wanted to see more of their children and sought legal assistance in this regard. They also sought legal advice on parole restrictions, on establishing post-release accommodation, and wanted to build trust with the person working with them before and after release. They wanted Aboriginal-friendly drug and alcohol rehabilitation, support in resisting old habits and bad influences and places to enjoy culture. Most of all, they wanted to provide a good and safe life for their children. For a good number this meant having housing without their children initially, but developing parenting and life skills, dealing with substance abuse and other issues, so they could work towards that goal.

Workers’ Views

The workers’ views tallied with the women’s expressed needs. They were united in seeing the need for

• appropriate planning and support – tailored to post-release reality – to start as soon as possible after women entered prison;

• coordination and integration of services, including ongoing supported housing (not just crisis housing);

• helping women move out of violent and destructive relationships; and

• appropriate mental health and drug and alcohol counseling.

Workers recognised the impossible situation many of the women described of having to return to the same circumstances from which they had come and they too felt rather helpless. The need for a more ordered life was an important factor in most workers’ experience and accorded with the women’s wishes to lead less chaotic lives so that they could better look after their children.

The workers agreed that there was a lack of appropriate services post-release. However, they agreed that it would be a move in the right direction to better integrate the few that are currently available – such as Aboriginal legal and medical services – into a supported housing initiative. They agreed with the women that such housing would need to have a range of options; a three bedroom unit is not necessarily appropriate because, in their experience, most women exiting prison do not have immediate care and custody of their children.

Children’s Needs

Children of women in prison have their own set of health and wellbeing needs but there is little information available to guide Aboriginal mothers or the services supporting them. Problematic circumstances for Aboriginal women leaving prison in regard to their children are numerous. It is difficult for many to maintain ongoing parental bonds without appropriate ongoing support such as family counseling. There is often conflict about returning children to their mother where others have provided the parental role during the period of incarceration. There are significant challenges around cultural identity for Aboriginal children, particularly when they were removed by the state.

Mothers with mental and physical illness may struggle to provide for their children’s well-being; even without health constraints, they often need help in addressing their children’s unresolved trauma and resultant behavioural and emotional difficulties. These difficulties are compounded by unstable housing, geographical dislocation and the lack of culturally appropriate models of development and support for Aboriginal children in these circumstances.[10] There is very little information about how to adequately support Aboriginal children in these contexts.

Service Mapping

Service mapping in Western Sydney indicated that a number of Aboriginal-specific services such as health, education, legal and personal support are keen, and have capacity, to link with a transitional and post-release housing program for Aboriginal women, should such a program be initiated. But even if this were to occur, there are still worrying gaps in the range of services that would be provided. These are most notable in the area of employment, alcohol and drug counseling and mental health services. The lack of Aboriginal or, at the very least, appropriate children’s and parenting support services is of most concern. An up-to-date local resource manual for those working with Aboriginal women that would facilitate case management is also lacking.

The Way Ahead

What emerges from this research and analysis is the need for a transitional and post-release approach informed by Indigenous women and workers themselves. The fundamental elements of this approach are based on case-managed services directed by Aboriginal women. These include a flexible housing service with close links to support workers, Aboriginal legal, health, counseling, employment, educational, parent and children’s services. Such a wrap-around program has the potential to be owned by the Aboriginal women and the communities in Western Sydney, to build a sense of independence, to provide women with a way out of the prison cycle and to provide support and protection for their children. Such a service would be the first of its kind in Australia: a socially just partnership between Aboriginal women leaving prison, state government, non-government agencies and the local Indigenous community to the benefit of those Aboriginal women and their children.

Eileen Baldry is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Sciences & International Studies at the University of New South Wales. This research was auspiced by Homelessness NSW and funded by Community Services NSW as part of the Western Sydney Strategic Plan against Homelessness.


[1] Simon Corben, Department of Corrective Services, New South Wales, NSW Inmate Census 2008 (2009) 4.

[2] Department of Health, New South Wales, Aboriginal Population (2008) <http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/publichealth/chorep/atsi/atsi_pop_agesex_atsi_full.asp> at 7 October 2009.

[3] Rowena Lawrie, Speak Out, Speak Strong: Researching the Needs of Aboriginal Women in Custody (2003) <http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/cpd/ll_cpd.nsf/vwFiles/speak_out_speak_strong_rowena_lawrie_ajac_2003.pdf/$file/speak_out_speak_strong_rowena_lawrie_ajac_2003.pdf> at 7 October 2009; Tony Butler and Lucas Milner, The 2001 New South Wales Inmate Health Survey (2003); Eileen Baldry and Peter Maplestone, ‘Aboriginal Prison Releasees in New South Wales – Preliminary Comments Based on Ex-Prisoner Research’ [2003] IndigLawB 4; (2003) 5(22) Indigenous Law Bulletin 7; Eileen Baldry et al, ‘Ex-Prisoners, Accommodation and the State: Post-Release in Australia’ (2006) 39 Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 20.

[4] Tony Vinson, Dropping off the Edge: The Distribution of Disadvantage in Australia (2007); Eileen Baldry and Peter Maplestone, Women Ex-Prisoners’ Post-Release – Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Prose and Poetry about the Prison (2005); Baldry et al, above n 3.

[5] Lawrie, above n 3; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report 2002 (2003); Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report 2004 (2005).

[6] Lawrie, above n 3; Eileen Baldry and Sue Green, ‘Indigenous Welfare in Australia’ (2002) 1(1) Journal of Societal and Social Policy 1.

[7] Baldry et al, above n 3, 27

[8] Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Social Justice Report 2002, above n 5.

[9] See Eileen Baldry, Jackie Ruddock and Jo Taylor Aboriginal Women with Dependent Children Leaving Prison Project: Needs Analysis Report (2008).

[10] Legislative Council Standing Committee on Social Issues, Parliament of New South Wales, A Report into Children of Imprisoned Parents (1998); Nola Tudball, Doing It Hard: A Study of the Needs of Children and Families of Prisoners in Victoria (2000); Rosemary Woodward, Families of Prisoners: Literature Review on Issues and Difficulties (2003); Simon Quilty et al, ‘Children of Prisoners: A Growing Public Health Problem’ (2004) 28 Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 339.