Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #18 - What Is Working With Women: Correctional Practice in the Post Bangkok Rules Era (ACJ18-A002)

Article 2: Early Steps: Improving Correctional System Design and Services for Justice Involved Women in Queensland, Australia (ACJ18-A002)

Abstract

Criminal justice systems have historically focussed on the needs of a predominantly male population of prisoners, disregarding the gender-specific needs of women. In 2023, Queensland Corrective Services established a Women's System Reform Program Management Office to undertake a program of reform for the women's correctional system. The program aims to enhance the delivery of correctional services and disrupt the cycle of women's reoffending by embedding gender-responsive, person-centred, culturally safe, trauma and evidence-informed programs and services, improving women's experiences in the criminal justice system. This paper seeks to present context for the reform, challenges experienced, and the impact of adopting trauma- and gender-responsive best practices for women.

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Authors

Abbie Frith

Principal Advisor, Graduate Policy Officer, Queensland Government's Department of Premier and Cabinet, Australia

Abbie Frith is a Graduate Policy Officer in the 2024 Cohort of the Policy Futures Program, run by the Queensland Government's Department of Premier and Cabinet. With a background in Migration, she started her policy experience in the Women's System Reform Program Management Office at Queensland Corrective Services.

Madura Katta

Graduate Policy Officer, Queensland Government's Department of Premier and Cabinet, Australia

Madura Katta is a Graduate Policy Officer in the 2024 Cohort of the Policy Futures Program, run by the Queensland Government's Department of Premier and Cabinet. She has a Master of Public Health from the University of Queensland, and a Bachelor of Science (Integrated Science) from the University of British Columbia. She started her policy experience in government in the System Policy Branch in Queensland Health.

Jennifer Bell

Director of Research, Evaluation, Data Insights and Analysis Group, Queensland Corrective Services, Australia

Jennifer Bell is Director of the Research, Evaluation, Data Insights and Analysis Group for Queensland Corrective Services. She holds a PhD in Public Policy from the University of Queensland, a MSc in Social Research from the University of Edinburgh, UK and Bachelor of Business (Marketing)/ Bachelor of Arts (Government) from the University of Queensland. She has over 20 years' experience in research related roles within the private sector, government and academia. Prior to her joining QCS in 2018, she worked in several postdoctoral research roles in the fields of public policy, criminology and domestic violence.

Josephine Tait

Acting Director of the Women's System Reform Program Management Office, Queensland Corrective Services, Australia

Josephine Tait is the Acting Director of the Women's System Reform Program Management Office for Queensland Corrective Services. She holds a Master of Business Administration (Human Resources Management) and has many years of experience managing people within the Human Services Environmentas Chief Executive Officer of the Weipa Community Care Association, supporting vulnerable Queenslanders, including women and children fleeing domestic and family violence in Far North Queensland.

Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #18 - What Is Working With Women: Correctional Practice in the Post Bangkok Rules Era (ACJ18-A002)

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