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Northern Territory of Australia: The Shame of Indigenous Female Incarceration by Matilda Hurst

Matilda Hurst is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Peace and Justice program from the University of San Diego (USD) in California, USA. USD is a change-maker university that strives to put theory into action by giving recognition to lived experiences of people impacted by violence and injustice. For the last two years, Matilda has studied human rights abuses and criminal justice reform. Prior to beginning her graduate degree, she worked as an Intelligence Analyst for the South Australian Police Force (Sturt LSA). During her time working with the police, Matilda witnessed the over-criminalisation of Indigenous women firsthand. Despite the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report being released 28 years ago, Indigenous women are currently the fastest-growing segment of the Australian prison population. The causes of the rise in rates of incarceration of Indigenous women are highly complex and vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Although arguably the most complex, is the Northern Territory. Matilda grew up in the Northern Territory, which inspired her to embark on this project. Ultimately, Matilda wanted to ensure her time would be dedicated to studying on the issues of her home in the Northern Territory and the position of Indigenous women, particularly those affected by the justice system.

The Shame of Indigenous Female Incarceration

Ŋamakuli’ŋu Dhärukku ga Romgu Malaŋuw Bulu Marŋgithirr: Learning about the Law and Legal Language

November, 2017

A pioneering project to help Aboriginal people navigate bush courts has uncovered cost-effective ways to improve communication and potentially cut avoidable Indigenous incarceration in the Northern Territory.

ARDS Aboriginal Corporation and the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA)’s pilot project in a North-East Arnhem Land community found that in-depth legal education in Yolngu language could address what local residents described as widespread confusion about the court process – confusion which makes it hard for the court to do its job.

“There is an overwhelming over-representation of Aboriginal people in the mainstream justice system,” NAAJA chief executive officer Priscilla Atkins said.

“There are many factors that influence this reality, one of which is the lack of understanding of foreign legal concepts and individuals’ obligations in the legal system.”

Believed to be the first project of its kind, NAAJA and ARDS community legal educators attended two bush courts at Ramingining earlier this year. Educators provided information to court attendees before and after their appearance in court.

Working in Yolngu language, the educators found many court attendees do not understand the meaning of basic legal concepts, resulting in people unknowingly breaching court orders or missing court.

Ramingining elder and ARDS director Matthew Dhulumburrk said Yolngu are frequently going to jail because“there is some basic information that no-one has ever explained to them”.

“For example, many Yolngu think that ‘bail’ means ‘bailed out’ – in other words, ‘free to go’. They don’t know there are certain conditions they have to follow,” he said.

“Also, a a lot of people don’t know the difference between saying ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’.

“People who go to court in Ramingining, and families who are involved, want to really understand what the law means. They want to take more control of their situation, and understand what is required of them.

“All the time people are being told by Balanda the ‘what’ but not the ‘why’ about law, and for the ‘why’ to have any meaning it needs to be grounded in a cultural perspective – the Yolngu perspective of Balanda law,” he said. “The ‘why’ needs to be explained Yolngu way.”

The recent Royal Commission Into the Protection and Detention of Children in the NT report recognised that young people often struggle to understand bail conditions, and recommended the development of better ways to explain bail obligations.

“To develop ways of communicating complicated information that will work, we need to engage carefully with community members in their own language and find ways of talking that make sense to them,” said ARDS CEO Jo Ward.

The project also identified simple changes to bush court processes that would keep more people out of prisons.

“Sometimes people’s names are not pronounced correctly, so they don’t know it’s their turn to go inside for their court matter,” Ms Ward said.

“If they don’t go inside, the Judge issues a warrant for their arrest.”

In another case, people travelling by boat from Yurrwi island missed their court and received warrants because the tides meant they couldn’t make it to court on time.

“The courts need to improve their level of cultural competency and be aware of the reality of life in Aboriginal communities,” Ms Ward said.

The project, which was funded by the NT Law Society’s Public Purposes Trust, suggests there is an urgent need in remote communities for access to education about legal and court processes in Aboriginal languages, provided in a culturally meaningful way.

“Programs like this can build foundational knowledge to support the work of lawyers and interpreters who have very limited time to talk to people about individual cases,” Ms Atkins said.

“Some simple changes, and more education, can improve access to justice, and make a big impact on our overstressed court and prison systems.”

One Ramingining resident engaged through the program, who wished to remain anonymous, echoed this sentiment.

“This was the first time that someone has explained the system to me like this,” the resident said. “It is really important that other people learn this, too.

“What if people are illiterate, what if people can’t speak English? People don’t understand this process. I feel very emotional in my heart for those young people in court.”

The organisations released their report on the project, “Ŋamakuli’ŋu Dhärukku ga Romgu Malaŋuw Bulu Marŋgithirr: Learning about the Law and Legal Language” on 23rd November 2017.

We are appreciative of the support of the NT Law Society Public Purpose Trust in making this important project possible.

Download a copy of the report below:

39-0.Ŋamakuliŋu Dhärukku ga Romgu Malaŋuw Bulu Marŋgithirr Learning about th.._