Page 521 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 15 February 2017
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Principle 7 states that where practicable inmates should be “placed in correctional facilities with a regard to their community of interest and other support needs”. Is the minister able to advise the Assembly how the specific community interests and support needs of the women are being addressed—I am not sure; I am sure we will find out—given the current exclusion of women from these new industries at the AMC.
A specific standard that I wish to draw the Assembly’s attention to is 3.14, which states:
Programmes and services provided to prisoners, especially women … should be established following close consultation with the appropriate community groups and experts.
Can the minister inform the Assembly in his remarks what consultation occurred in the establishment of the programs and services which are not available to the women incarcerated at the AMC. Were women’s groups contacted and consulted with, or was it simply an industry panel or conversation?
The then Attorney-General, Simon Corbell, in his speech at the opening of the AMC said:
The AMC will ensure better rehabilitation prospects for ACT prisoners, operating under the “healthy prison concept”, which emphasises the importance of providing an environment that is safe, where prisoners are treated with respect and are encouraged to improve and be rehabilitated.
Were women even considered in the establishment of the AMC or were they just a necessary afterthought? How can women who are locked up in the AMC experience respect and be encouraged to improve when they do not have the opportunity to develop the skills necessary to re-enter the workforce? Does the government not have high expectations of women re-entering the workforce post incarceration? Is this not at the forefront of their minds and of the minister’s mind?
The lack of thought or planning around the needs of women in the prison is damning, not just in the lack of work opportunities, but with the recent building works that provided additional accommodation facilities for the men in the prison but not for the women. It seems unusual to me that both sides of the prison were not expanded. However, I am sure the minister will enlighten us as to why.
It is apparent that the women within the AMC are missing out. Women in the AMC are being treated second to the men. They were clearly not being dealt with in primary thought and therefore, it could be concluded, were being dealt with as an afterthought. When will the AMC be inclusive, in the same way, of the women incarcerated there? And when will the new industries be inclusive of the women? When will additional accommodation be built for the increasing female population? What is the current number of women in the prison, and how many more women can be accommodated? While I acknowledge that efforts have been made to improve facilities for the men in the AMC, I am eager to see the women also get equal and much-needed opportunities for rehabilitation.
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