Grant, Anna --- "Imprisonment of Indigenous Women in Australia 1988 - 1998" [1999] IndigLawB 100; (1999) 4(25) Indigenous Law Bulletin 30

• Imprisonment Of Indigenous Women In Australia 1988-1998
• How Many Indigenous Women Are In Jail?
• What Offences Are Indigenous Women Imprisoned For?
• Implications

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Imprisonment of Indigenous Women in Australia 1988-1998

By Anna Grant

It is a well know fact that Indigenous men in Australia are jailed at much higher rates than non-Indigenous men.^[1] A new Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) study shows that the rate of imprisonment among Indigenous women is rising

too.^[2]

How many Indigenous women are in jail?

Nationally, the number of Indigenous women prisoners in Australia has increased by 148% in the last ten years, from 105 in 1988 to 261 in 1998.^[3]

In relative terms, the rate of Indigenous women's imprisonment has increased from 162.8 per 100,000 population in 1988 to 223 per 100,000 population in 1998-an increase of 36.9%. Imprisonment rates for Indigenous women increased in most jurisdictions during this period (see Figure 1). Although imprisonment rates for nonIndigenous women also rose in the same period,^[4] Indigenous women in 1998 were still 18 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous women.

Indigenous Australians generally continue to be more likely than non-Indigenous Australians to be in prison. In 1998, Indigenous people were 11 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous offenders. This represents a slight decline since 1988, when Indigenous people were 14 times more likely to be imprisoned. The figures for Indigenous women have however remained fairly stable, with a slight rise from 18.0 in 1988 to 18.6 in 1998.^[5] This may suggest that while the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody6 may have had some positive effect in reducing rates of imprisonment for Indigenous men, they have had little or no effect on reducing rates of imprisonment for Indigenous women.

What offences are Indigenous women imprisoned for?

The figures also show changes in the kind of crimes for which Indigenous women are being imprisoned. Overall, the figures for Indigenous women show a shift away from imprisonment for property offences to offences against the person. Indigenous women are increasingly being imprisoned for violent offences. There have been significant rises in imprisonment on charges of assault (up 10% in I1 years from 7.62% in 1988 to 17.6% in 1998), robbery, (up 3.7%) and breach of justice procedures (ie breach of parole conditions: up approximately 3%) in the period under study. Whilst Indigenous women are statistically most likely to be imprisoned for violent offences, non-Indigenous women, by contrast, have substantially higher rates for drug offences (14% compared to 1.1% for Indigenous women) and slightly higher rates for some of the property offences.

Implications

The patterns and trends identified above for Indigenous women prisoners differ from those for other female prisoners, and indeed other minority groups in prison. Further research is urgently required to determine whether these trends are attributable to changes in charging practices, sentencing or seriousness of offending patterns. It is important that correctional managers continue to address the special needs of all Indigenous prisoners, and that there is continued support for efforts to further reduce the over-representation of Indigenous people in custody.

Anna Grant is a Research Analyst at the Australian Institute for Criminology in Canberra.

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[1] In 1998, Indigenous men were imprisoned at a rate of 3218.8 per 100,000 whilst non-Indigenous men were imprisoned at a rate of 216.98 per 100,000, making Indigenous men approximately 14 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous men. See Australian Bureau of Statistics, Prisoners in Australia (1998).

[2] C Carcach and A Grant 'Imprisonment in Australia: Trends in Prison Populations & Imprisonment Rates 1982-1998' in Australian Institute of Criminology, Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal fustice No 130 (1999).

[3] The results discussed here are based on analyses of data from the National Prison Census on the imprisonment of Indigenous women in Australia during the 10 years from 1988 to 1998 See Australian Bureau of Statistics, Prisoners in Australia (1998); Australian Institute of Criminology, National Prison Census (1988). A discussion of the main features of the National Prison Census is contained in C Carcach and A Grant, (1999) above n 2.

[4] By 32.2%, from 9 per 100,000 population in 1988 to 11.9 per 10d,00o population in 1998.

[5] Carcach & Grant, above n 2. The rate of over-representation is measured by the ratio of Indigenous to non-Indigenous imprisonment rates.