Measurement, Management and Marginalisation: Evaluation and the Diversion of Indigenous Women from Prison

Abstract

Indigenous women make up 3% of the Australian women’s population but 35% of women in prison. They experience higher rates of mental health disorders, cognitive impairment, violence, homelessness and return to prison than their non-Indigenous counterparts. While programs aiming to divert vulnerable people from the criminal justice system have been introduced by the NSW Government in recent years, the numbers of Indigenous women in prison have continued to rise. Yet there is a dearth of research and evaluations that specifically consider the barriers to diversion for Indigenous women.

This thesis examines the apparent dichotomy between the NSW Government’s funding and evaluation of diversionary programs, and the steady increase in Indigenous women imprisoned. I develop a methodological framework drawing on critical Indigenous feminist theory, and engage with the ethics and challenges incumbent on me as a non-Indigenous researcher in this field. A triangulation of policy analysis, qualitative interviews and case studies is employed, with specific focus on three formally evaluated diversionary programs in operation between 2003 and 2015 which were potentially accessible by Indigenous women: an Indigenous circle sentencing court; a custodial program for women with a dual diagnosis; and a post-release program specifically designed for Indigenous women. Findings are considered in the light of critical literature on evaluation and diversion and key themes are extracted. The very premise of diversion for many Indigenous women is problematised.

Evaluation of diversionary programs emerges as characterised for Indigenous women by limited deficit-focused measurement, paternalistic management and the ongoing marginalisation of their experiences and views. The success of diversionary programs appears primarily calculated by available statistics and narrow notions of performance accountability and risk management, which rarely reflect the distinct challenges facing Indigenous women. Despite these limitations, evaluation also presents possibilities for inserting the counter-narratives and agency of Indigenous women into policy processes that have systemically disadvantaged them. The role of evaluation in diversionary policy and programming is reconceptualised for Indigenous women. An alternative approach to evaluation is proposed that could provide more meaningful measures of impact and wellbeing, and better inform policy in this area.