School of Social and Political Sciences - Theses
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ItemWaiting to be heard: a discussion of feminism, criminology and Aboriginal women offenders( 1998)This thesis evaluates studies which have been carried out with women offenders, and in particular it focuses on the apparent silence in these studies of Aboriginal women offenders about their treatment by the criminal justice system. Aboriginal women are in a significantly disadvantaged position in society compared with non-indigenous women including, in particular, the level of incarceration. However, there has been no direct interviewing with Aboriginal women about their experiences of prosecution and sentencing practice in Australia. It has therefore been very difficult to determine the effect of race on the arrest and sentencing of Aboriginal women. I begin by considering a specific case example. In 1988, an Aboriginal woman, Robyn Kina, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of her de-facto husband after a four hour trial in which she was discouraged from giving evidence in her defence. Kina's silence led to a great miscarriage of justice. I argue that Aboriginal women offenders like Kina should be allowed to voice their experiences to assist police and judges in understanding their disadvantage in the criminal justice system. Feminist criminology has been concerned with advancing the research about women and crime, however it has only recently considered many issues concerning black women and crime. I argue that this is possibly because of the emphasis given by the predominantly white women's movement to advancing women's position as a whole, rather than taking account of issues effecting black women. I point out that theorising about gender and race has methodological implications for a white woman researcher who seeks to understand the matrix of oppression which black women experience. Having explored the theoretical debates about race, gender and crime, I turn to empirical studies. Given the paucity of research into Aboriginal women and crime, I examine overseas research. This research is inconsistent about the unequal treatment of black and white offenders. What we do know is that women of colour will have a very different experience of the criminal justice system than white women. They may also have different experiences from each other. This thesis concludes by suggesting that the lack of theoretical and empirical work in Australia results in the continuation of gender and race typifications being imposed on Aboriginal women by the criminal justice system. In trying to speak for all women, feminist criminology is in danger of silencing Aboriginal women unless it seeks out their views and enables them to speak.