Institutionalised Women
Contents:
The term institutionalisation is used to describe the adverse psychological effects on individuals who have spent long periods living in institutions such as prisons, remand centres, juvenile detention centres, aged care/nursing home facilities, psychiatric units, detoxification/rehabilitation centres, children’s homes and refugee detention centres.
From the moment of colonisation there has been a history of institutionalisation in Australia, when thousands of men, women and children came to Australia as convicts, with Australia itself their prison. Throughout the 20th century the practice of institutionalisation continued, with an estimated 500 000 children and young people sent to live in orphanages or out-of-home ‘care’. These people came to be known as the Forgotten Australians and were the subject of a 2004 Senate Inquiry into the physical, emotional and sexual abuse that they experienced. Some of the Forgotten Australians came from the Stolen Generations, those Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities and placed in institutional ‘care’, fostered out to white families, or made to work in white industry. Others were Child Migrants, who came to Australia as unaccompanied young people under the guise of employment opportunities. Many Forgotten Australians were young women who were found guilty, not of any crime, but of being ‘exposed to moral danger’ which could result from virtually anything, including having a single parent, truancy from school, or hanging out with the ‘wrong’ people. Australia’s culture of institutionalisation remains today, in the form of prisons, remand centres, youth detention centres, mental health facilities and immigration detention centres to name a few.There is significant evidence to suggest that institutionalisation has a profoundly negative impact on people’s health and wellbeing, which continues long after they return to the community.
It is for these reasons that WCHM has remained mindful of the importance of the social determinants of health and of illness, and recognises in its work the significant adverse impact on health and wellbeing of social isolation and marginalisation.
WCHM’s work in this area is focussed on developing strategies to enable women who have lived in or who are living in institutions to connect/reconnect into the community and build networks. By focussing on women who have lived in or who are living in institutions WCHM hopes to develop a profile of them and of their health and wellbeing issues; raise awareness of the issues impacting on their health and wellbeing; and advocate for improved responses to their needs. By focussing on improving their access to women-sensitive health practitioners and services WCHM hopes to help develop increased knowledge about the factors that act as barriers to social inclusion and which impact adversely on women who have lived in or who are living in institutions and to put specific policy proposals and advocacy initiatives in place to increase their social inclusion.
Women And Prisons
Although men continue to dominate the adult prisoner population in Australia—representing 92 percent of all prisoners held in corrective services adult custody—female incarceration is increasing at a faster rate than males. At 30 June 2010, there was a total of 2200 adult women prisoners in Australia, which represents an increase of 60 percent over the past decade. In contrast, men in incarceration increased by 35 percent over the same period (ABS, 2010). The majority of Australians in prison today have experienced some form of institutional or out-of-home ‘care’ as young people. Unsurprisingly, the status of Australian women with lived prison experience is frighteningly poor, with research showing that they are more likely to have experienced physical, emotional and sexual violence than women in the broader community. Women who are or have been incarcerated represent one of the most marginalised groups in our community and they are disproportionately affected by homelessness, violence, mental illness, and substance abuse. A woman’s offending and imprisonment is often closely related to poverty.As women only make up a small proportion of the total prison population, the prison focuses many of its procedures on male prisoners and the gender-specific needs of women are overlooked, creating discrimination against them. Women convicted of a wide range of offences are often imprisoned together, so the overall procedures are also determined by the security requirements of any high-risk prisoners.
Access to health services is central to supporting people’s health. Prisoners are entitled to the same access and standard of health care as the general population, but, while making extensive use of services available within prison, typically make little use of health services in the community (Condon et al., 2007). As most prisoners return to the community, it is important to the overall health of the community that health needs are addressed while in prison and support is continued when back in the community. Women prisoners have different biological and social circumstances and therefore have different health needs. They require care that addresses their reproductive health, histories of abuse and status as primary providers and carers of children. There is a need to improve the continuity and consistency of health care in prison and during the transition back into the community and to promote healthy lifestyle choices.
Since women prisoners are often the sole parent of their children, their imprisonment and separation from their children can cause trauma, including the loss of income and their home and disruptions to the lives of the children. Visits from family and friends can be difficult and women in prison can experience isolation, which can impact on their mental health.
The effects of prison life may result in the worsening of a mental illness, and those who have a mental illness may have to manage without their usual support systems, and in a difficult environment.
The discrimination they suffer as a result of the stigma associated with incarceration further undermines their ability to integrate back into the community. When women are released from prison they face the same barriers to re-entry as men: social stigma; lack of adequate housing; and few or no employment opportunities. Many women cannot obtain government support to secure adequate housing because they do not have custody of their children, and they cannot secure custody of their children because they do not have adequate housing.
Catering for women and other minority groups in prison poses significant challenges to government and the community sector, but failure to do so has enormous social and financial costs for individuals, their families and the wider community.
Forgotten Australians / Care Leavers
In its report Lost Innocents: Righting the Record – Report on child migration the Senate Community Affairs References Committee commented that that inquiry was the second part of a trilogy, the first being the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) report on the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families on indigenous children, Bringing them home: The ‘Stolen Children’ report. A third report was needed about the plight of the many thousands of mainly non-indigenous Australian-born children who suffered under institutional care. This was in recognition that there were many thousands of other Australians who were subjected to similar treatment in care and removal from families and that they also deserved equal recognition and access to services as a result of their childhood experiences. Some refer to themselves as the 'white stolen generation’.
The Senate Community Affairs References Committee conducted an Inquiry and in 2004 produced the report Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children. The Inquiry revealed a history of neglect and cruelty, of abandonment and exploitation that has left roughly half a million Australians, as well as many child migrants, physically and psychologically scarred. The Inquiry found that “children were placed in care for a myriad of reasons including being orphaned; being born to a single mother; family dislocation from domestic violence, divorce or separation; family poverty and parents’ inability to cope with their children often as a result of some form of crisis or hardship. Many children were made wards of the state after being charged with being uncontrollable, neglected or in moral danger, not because they had done anything wrong, but because circumstances in which they found themselves resulted in them being status offenders” (Senate Community Affairs Committees, 2004). The institutions that children were sent to included orphanages, Homes, or industrial or training schools administered by the state, religious bodies or charitable organisations (Senate Community Affairs Committees, 2004).
The report details the abuse of children in institutions, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect, much of which constituted criminal physical and sexual assault, and which often came from members of the clergy (Senate Community Affairs Committees, 2004). A significant common outcome reported by care leavers to the Committee was their loss of identity, stemming from lost childhoods (Senate Community Affairs Committees, 2004).There are long term effects stemming from past experiences of fear, intimidation, humiliation and abuse endured by the care leavers as children. As the Forde Report (1999) noted, “very few children who experienced institutional care for long periods or at crucial stages of their development have escaped detrimental effects in later life and this has often damaged their ability to live as effective members of society”. Their problems often include low levels of literacy and numeracy; high incidences of alcoholism and substance abuse; high levels of unemployment, homelessness and imprisonment and poor health. Submissions referred to a range of legacies such as low self-esteem, lack of confidence, depression, fear and distrust, anger, shame, guilt, obsessiveness, social anxieties, phobias, recurring nightmares, tension, migraines and speech difficulties.
The Senate Community Affairs Committees (2004) concluded that “apart from specific acts of emotional, mental, physical, psychological and sexual abuse, institutional life itself is inherently abusive. It must be acknowledged that children formerly in institutional care are not an homogenous group, and their experiences varied considerably. Some found adults who supported and cared for them: many, unfortunately, found a lack of love and care and even extreme abuse. Their needs for support and assistance will vary considerably. To those whose experiences have scarred them indelibly, we as a nation need to respond with appropriate help, all levels of government have responsibility for the well being of Australian children.”
Current WCHM Projects
The experiences of Women Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers - A Literature Review
This literature review was written as part of a research project by WCHM into the health and wellbeing experiences and needs of women Forgotten Australians in the ACT. It has been published to coincide with the second Anniversary of the National Apology to the Forgotten Australians.
The experiences of Women Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers - A literature Review (491 KB)
The experiences of Women Forgotten Australians and Care Leavers - A literature Review (2528 KB)
Second Anniversary of the National Apology to the Forgotten Australians
On November 16th WCHM supported the Forgotten Australians to hold an event to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of what was a very emotional and significant event - the Apology by the Australian Parliament to the Forgotten Australians. The event was also supported by Woden Community Services and the ACT Women And Prisons group.
At 11am on Monday 16 November 2009, the Australian Parliament, through the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, formally acknowledged and apologised for the experiences of Forgotten Australians and Child Migrants, their harsh treatment and their ongoing trauma. The apology acknowledged that what happened to those half a million people who as children were raised in institutions, orphanages and foster care in the past was both real and wrong. And it made sure that this part of history was put firmly on the record to remind the community of what happened to many of these children – their loss of family, their loss of identity and, in the case of child migrants, the loss of their country. Many also suffered mental and physical harm, and some endured years of sexual abuse. The people who identify as Forgotten Australians today are now adults, some of them in their thirties, some very elderly. The apology recognised that many of them continue today to face a range of complex issues, including mental and physical illness, homelessness, substance abuse, educational and family relationship difficulties, as a result of their experiences in the institutional care system which was the standard form of out-of-home care at that time.
Several Federal and ACT politicians joined the event to show their support for the issues affecting Forgotten Australians and by saying a few words. They included Senator Gary Humphries and Senator Claire Moore who were both members of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee which conducted the Inquiry and which in 2004 produced the report Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children which revealed the history of neglect and cruelty, and of abandonment and of exploitation.
The Senate Committee’s reports identified that many Forgotten Australians will have difficulty in accessing and in fitting into, existing services, many of which have no understanding of the ongoing issues confronting them. The reports recognised that their needs and history need the provision of special services across a wide range of social and legal areas, and the need for specialist counselling, support and advocacy services. In recognition that it is an equally relevant and important issue for the ACT Meredith Hunter MLA (the ACT Greens Parliamentary Leader and Member for Ginninderra), and Jeremy Hanson MLA (Shadow Minister for Health, Police, Indigenous Affairs, Veterans' Affairs, Corrections and Member for Molongolo) both spoke.
These speakers were followed by Forgotten Australians John Murray and Ray Jackson who spoke from a personal perspective.
Research Report: Women in the ACT who are Forgotten Australians
This research project aims to examine the gaps and barriers in service provision available to women living in the ACT who are Forgotten Australians.
The focus will be on developing a better understanding of the local issues which have an impact on the health and wellbeing of these women, and to advocate for improved responses to their needs. Information will be collected from relevant literature as well as gaining the lived experiences of these women through surveys and focus groups. This information will then be collated and published as a report in 2012.
Past WCHM Projects
Invisible Bars: The stories behind the stats
The report Invisible Bars: The stories behind the stats presents the stories of ACT women with lived prison experience and provides significant insight into the impact that imprisonment and institutionalisation has had on these women’s lives. Its release occurred at a pivotal time in the ACT with the Alexander Maconochie Centre, the first prison in the ACT to accommodate women, having recently opened. The Women’s Centre for Health Matters and the ACT Women And Prisons Group hope that this information will assist counsellors, social workers, case managers and other professionals who support women with lived prison experience to better meet their needs, as well as to enlighten the broader community.
This final report can be found here.
Other Research and Reports
New Report on Child Protection
A new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare confirms the need for all levels of government to continue to work together to reduce and prevent child abuse and neglect. The report provides detailed statistical information on state and territory child protection and support services, and some of the characteristics of the children receiving these services. In Australia, child protection is a state and territory government responsibility, and there are significant differences in how each deals with and reports child protection issues. The AIHW report found the number of children on care and protection orders and in out-of-home care continues to rise and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be over-represented in the child protection system. The report can be found at http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737421016
Extending throughcare for offenders
Prisoners and their families are characterised by complex needs and high levels of social exclusion. An extended Throughcare model is critical to supporting the successful reintegration of offenders after release from prison, thereby seeking to reduce re-offending. The high and growing social and financial cost of imprisonment makes it imperative to put in place a coordinated support system to reduce re-offending and return to prison.
The ACT Government has worked over the last 18 months with the community sector to develop a proposal for an extended Throughcare system to ensure continuity of service delivery beyond the corrections setting. This resulted in the report Seeing it Through: Options for improving offender outcomes in the community. http://www.cmd.act.gov.au/policystrategic/throughcare
Based on the findings in the report, a paper proposing options for the co-ordination and governance of Throughcare was developed for consideration by Cabinet. In December 2011 Cabinet agreed to extend the Throughcare policy framework which supports offenders’ reintegration into the community. The framework seeks to recognise the diverse and complex needs of prisoner during transition into the community. The framework will focus on seamless service provision with a view to reducing the risk of re-offending behaviors.
2010 ACT Inmate Health Survey Summary results
On 30 June 2010, there were 29 700 prisoners in Australian prisons. Of these prisoners, 203 were inmates in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) which represents less than one per cent of the nation's prisoners. The 2010 ACT Inmate Health Survey was the first survey conducted in the ACT prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre. Results from this survey will provide evidence to form a baseline assessment of the health needs of prisoners in the ACT.
Counting the cost: estimating the number of deaths among recently released prisoners in Australia
New research by the Burnet Institute reveals ex-prisoners in their first year of release are dying at 10 times the rate of those in custody with many of those deaths drug related. Published in the Medical Journal of Australia, this research provides the first ever national estimate of mortality among ex-prisoners, within four weeks and one year of release. Head of Justice Health Research at the Burnet Institute and lead author of the study, Dr Stuart Kinner, said that based on this estimate, at least one recently released prisoner dies each day in Australia.
http://www.burnet.edu.au/freestyler/gui/media/Kinner%20et%20al%20in%20press-3.pdf
Does it make a Difference? The Human Rights Act and Women Inmates
Previous research in Australia has identified that women inmates' issues—perhaps in part because of their small numbers relative to the overall population of prisoners—have not been dealt with satisfactorily. These issues extend to histories of victimisation, drug and alcohol addiction and rehabilitation, physical and mental health, employment and education programming, children in prison and visits with them, strip-searching and institutional disciplinary regimes.
This paper by Megan Sparke and Patricia Easteal looks at how these matters have been dealt with in the new prison in the ACT, the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), which was designed and is operated in a jurisdiction with a human rights instrument (Human Rights Act 2004). The paper concludes that the ability of the Act to protect the rights of female inmates has been limited both by its judicial interpretation and by certain sections in being applied to the rights of the prison population. The paper reinforces the work the ACT Women And Prisons (WAP) Group and the services that support them, including WCHM, have been doing to advocate for the needs of women prisoners in the AMC.This final report can be found here.
The Health of Australia's Prisoners 2010
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a new report. The health of Australia's prisoners 2010 is the second report on indicators of prisoner health in Australia. The two-week snapshot showed that:
- Almost one in three prison entrants had ever been told they have a mental health disorder and one in five prisoners in custody was taking medication for a mental health condition
- More than four in five prison entrants was a current smoker; over half report drinking alcohol at risk levels and two in three had used illicit drugs during the previous 12 months
- More than one in three prison entrants had not completed Year 10 at school
- One in four prison entrants had a chronic condition such as asthma, cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
The report also contains data relating to communicable diseases, deaths in custody, and the use of prison health services.
Click on the link to view the media release and report.
The housing needs of women leaving prison - WIPAN Housing Discussion Paper
The NSW Women In Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN) has produced a Discussion Paper that outlines the issues women face in finding suitable housing when they exit prison.
The aim of the paper is to generate discussion, primarily between
consumers and the community service sector, but it is also an
opportunity for women leaving prison to identify their needs and to
share these with the NSW community service sector. The consultation with
consumers and the community sector will occur until mid-December 2011,
when WIPAN will consolidate the information gathered into a final
report and recommendations for release early in 2012.
Forgotten Australians: Supporting survivors of childhood institutional care in Australia
This booklet is designed to inform and assist doctors, nurses, mental health professionals, dentists, social workers, counsellors and welfare workers, and is an essential resource for service delivery organisations. It aims to give health and other professionals the background information they need to recognise, relate to and assist people who are experiencing long term trauma because of a childhood spent in orphanages or Homes – the Forgotten Australians. http://www.forgottenaustralians.org.au/PDF/MiniAfaBooklet.pdf
Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children
Upwards of, and possibly more than 500 000 Australians experienced care in an orphanage, Home or other form of out-of-home care during the last century. Forgotten Australians: A report on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children is the Senate Report of its Inquiry on Australians who experienced institutional or out-of-home care as children. The Committee received hundreds of graphic accounts about the treatment of children in out-of-home care, leading them to conclude that “there has been wide scale unsafe, improper and unlawful care of children, a failure of duty of care, and serious and repeated breaches of statutory obligations”. The report was tabled in August 2004 and can be found on the Senate website. (http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/report/index.htm)
The Australian Government Response to the 2004 Senate Inquiry into the Forgotten Australians was tabled on 10 November 2005 and can be found on the Senate website. (http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-07/inst_care/gov_response/gov_response.pdf)
Useful Links
Alliance for Forgotten Australian’s (AFA) (www.forgottenaustralians.org.au) AFA is a national peak group of organisations and selected individuals from across Australia that promotes the interests of the estimated 500,000 people who experienced institutional or other out-of-home care as children in the last century, many of whom suffered physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse.
Care Leavers Australia Network (CLAN) (http://www.clan.org.au/index.php)CLAN is a support, advocacy, research and training group for people were brought up in 'care' as state wards, foster children or Home children raised in orphanages, Children's Homes, and other institutions.
Families Australia (http://www.familiesaustralia.org.au/policy/campaigns.htm#afa)
Families Australia has been assisting the Forgotten Australians by providing secretariat and support services to the Alliance for Forgotten Australians. An information booklet, aimed at educating health and welfare service providers about the experiences and needs of the Forgotten Australians, is available from Families Australia.
Sisters Inside (www.sistersinside.com.au)
Sisters Inside Inc. is an independent community organisation, which exists to advocate for the human rights of women in the criminal justice system, and to address gaps in the services available to them. They work alongside women in prison in determining the best way to fulfil these roles.
ACT Women And Prisons Group (WAP) (www.wchm.org.au/WAP/home)
The ACT Women And Prisons Group (WAP) has been operating since 2005 to highlight the issues for women prisoners—a largely invisible group. WAP is a not for profit community group whose members include ex-prisoners and prisoners incarcerated or involved in the ACT criminal justice system, representatives of various ACT Women’s Services and other interested stakeholders, and aims to advocate with, and educate, the prison system and other stakeholders about gender sensitive and equitable access for women prisoners.
Women In Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN) (www.wipan.net.au)
WIPAN is an advocacy-based organisation managed and directed by a united group of professional women, including ex-prisoners. WIPAN works to raise awareness of and progress the cultural, social, economic and political inequalities that exist for criminalised women by addressing the policies and practices that sustain these injustices. WIPAN takes a grassroots approach to addressing women’s social justice issues by directly engaging criminalised women post-release. The program works to enhance the wellbeing of criminalised women whilst encouraging their autonomy, supporting their community reintegration and learning from their lived experience.
Women’s Legal Centre ACT (www.womenslegalact.org/)
The Women’s Legal Centre is a community legal centre for women in Canberra and the surrounding area. The Centre is run by women and aims to improve women’s access to justice.