Elena Marchetti

Intersectional Race and Gender Analyses: Why Legal Processes Just Don't Get It:

Legal processes, particularly those relating to criminal justice, have frequently been criticized for their inability to accommodate the experiences of racialized women. Recognizing categories of difference is difficult for processes that are framed within an ideology that emphasizes objectivity and universalism. The Australian Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) was a quasi-legal entity that investigated 99 Indigenous deaths in custody, as well as the underlying social, cultural and legal issues that may have had a bearing on those deaths. The RCIADIC, like many other legal processes, appears to have been unable to take an intersectional race and gender approach in its analysis. This article uses the RCIADIC inquiry to identify, describe and critically analyse the ways in which the dominant liberal ideology can, at times, operate to exclude racialized women. The reasons identified are based on the opinions and information collected from 48 interviews of people who either worked for the RCIADIC or were in some other way associated with the RCIADIC. The critical analysis presented in this article provides insights into how legal processes remain patriarchal in focus even when embarking on an inquiry about race.

Barriers to Qualitative Dementia Research The Elephant in the Room

As our population is aging, the global prevalence of dementia is rising. Recent extensive reviews of the dementia literature highlight a clear need for additional qualitative research to address the experiences of people with dementia and their carers. To date, the vast majority of published dementia research is quantitative in nature and, perhaps not surprisingly, attracts the bulk of government funding. In contrast, qualitative dementia research is poorly resourced and less frequently published. Although a myriad of factors are responsible for this dichotomy, we propose that inadequate funding represents the “elephant in the room” of dementia research. In this article, we describe and emphasize the need for qualitative dementia research, highlight existing barriers, and outline potential solutions. Examples of barriers are provided and theoretical underpinnings are proposed.

Driving, dementia and Australian physicians: primum non nocere?

Older Australians are increasingly reliant on automobiles as their sole form of transport. As our population is ageing and the prevalence of dementia is increasing, it is anticipated that the number of drivers with dementia will rise over time. Much of the literature relating to driving and dementia focuses on safety rather than mobility. The objective of this paper is to highlight several topical ethical issues that pertain to Australian drivers with dementia. It is recommended that future research, policy and practice should centre on the crucial mobility and transport needs of our senior citizens.

Attitudes of criminal justice students to Australian indigenous people: Does higher education influence student perceptions?

Over the past 10–15 years Australian universities have established degrees for those who wish to work in the criminal justice system in areas such as policing, corrections, and crime prevention. This paper explores the sensitivity of undergraduates to issues of race and diversity. It investigates the beliefs that criminal justice students bring with them to university, their readiness for content that focuses on Aboriginality, and whether their views change in ways over time. The study finds that policing majors are more negative than other criminal justice students and that, in any case, there tends to be little change in attitudes over time for students as a whole. To explain these findings, the paper then looks at the teaching of indigenous issues in Australian criminal justice programs based on a survey of program convenors. The consensus is that pedagogy/curriculum in the area lacks thoroughness and rigour when confronting the complexities of the problem.

Indigenous Sentencing Courts and Partner Violence: Perspectives of Court Practitioners and Elders on Gender Power Imbalances During the Sentencing Hearing:

Abstract One of the most common forms of violence in Indigenous communities is violence between intimate partners. Indigenous sentencing courts and specialist family violence courts (as well as mainstream courts) are used in Australia to sentence Indigenous partner violence offenders. Currently, there are over 50 Indigenous sentencing courts operating in all Australian states and territories, except Tasmania, which use Indigenous Elders to assist a judicial officer in sentencing an offender. Debates exist surrounding the issue of whether alternative justice forums are appropriate in cases involving domestic and family violence. Feminist advocates are concerned with the appearance of a ‘too lenient’ response to violent men and the danger of exposing a victim to further power imbalances during a hearing, whereas Indigenous advocates focus on the need for justice practices that are more culturally relevant, sensitive and appropriate. This article explores the extent to which gendered power imbalances are present in Australian Indigenous sentencing court hearings concerning intimate partner violence offending, and how, if at all, such power imbalances are managed by a process which aims to be more culturally appropriate.

Driving with dementia: Equity, obligation, and insurance

Driving is a complex task, yet some people with dementia are capable of driving safely.1–5 As driving a vehicle is a privilege and not a right,6–8 clinicians are often called upon to provide guidance regarding their patients’ ability to drive safely.1,9,10 The Australian Bureau of Statistics has predicted that by 2056, one in four Australians will be aged over 65.11 Older members of our community are increasingly dependent upon the private car as their preferred, and in some cases only viable, mode of transport.5,8 Given that the prevalence of dementia rises with age, we can expect an increased number of drivers with dementia on our roads.5 As outlined in the National Health and Medical Research Council 2013–15 Strategic Plan, Australian health ministers have designated dementia and injury prevention as national health priority areas.12 Thus, there now exists both an impetus and an opportunity to address the issue of driving and dementia on a national level. The purpose of this editorial is to consider: (1) the social impact of a loss of licence; (2) driver and health professional obligations to report conditions that can adversely affect driving; and (3) the response of motor vehicle insurers to the issue of driving with dementia.

Indigenous Partner Violence, Indigenous Sentencing Courts, and Pathways to Desistance:

Mainstream sentencing courts do little to change the behavior of partner violence offenders, let alone members of more socially marginal groups. Indigenous offenders face a court system that has little relevance to the complexity of their relations and lived experiences. Assisted by respected Elders and Community Representatives, Australian Indigenous sentencing courts seek to create a more meaningful sentencing process that has a deeper impact on Indigenous offenders’ attitudes and, ultimately, their behavior. Drawing from interviews with 30 Indigenous offenders, we explore the ways in which the courts can motivate Indigenous partner violence offenders on pathways to desistence.

Unconscious Racism: Scrutinizing Judicial Reasoning in 'Stolen Generation' Cases

Like other western legal systems, Australian law is based on notions of the rule of law, justice and equality. Legal formalistic ideology would have us believe that as long as the law as it appears on the books is applied equally for all, justice will prevail. For Indigenous Australian people, formal equality means that their claims for land, compensation and the recognition of their culture must be assessed through the eyes of white judges in white courts. Even when those judges strive to apply the law equally, they will inevitably be applying Eurocentric beliefs and values. In two recent significant cases concerning Indigenous claims for their removal from their families as children, those beliefs and values have tended to invalidate not only the legal claims themselves, but also aspects of the Indigenous culture. This article argues that the formal application of legal principles to these claims by Australian courts and judges leads to the exclusion of Indigenous narratives, which ultimately can be construed as evidence of unconscious racism. Charles Lawrences cultural meaning test is used to critique the reasoning of the judges in two leading Australian cases concerning the stolen generation and to expose the unconscious racism that still exists in the Australian liberal legal system.

Victims or offenders: Who were the 11 Indigenous female prisoners who died in custody and were investigated by the Australian Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody?

There were 11 Indigenous females who died in custody and whose deaths were investigated by the Australian Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC). The RCIADIC is one of the most comprehensive inquiries conducted about Indigenous Australians, and it is often cited to support the introduction of Australian Indigenous justice policy reforms. This article describes the lives (as both victims and offenders) of the 11 females whose deaths were investigated by the RCIADIC. The inquiry was initially established to examine whether the state’s practices in prisons and watch-houses contributed to the 99 deaths that were investigated. This article documents how the deceased females arguably became invisible as both victims and offenders in favour of the Indigenous males who had died in custody, despite the fact that the inquiry attempted to include a racialized perspective. The article concludes by comparing the recommendations of the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry − a Canadian inquiry that took place around the same time as the RCIADIC, and which, at the time, was able to adequately consider the difficulties facing Canadian Aboriginal women when confronted by the Manitoba justice system. This intersectional race and gender analysis illustrates that without proper consideration the needs of racialized women will remain unmet when having to contend with criminal justice and legal processes.

Medicalizing the Detention of Aboriginal People in the Northern Territory: A New/Old Regime of Control?

The forcible removal and detention on reserves of many of Australia’s Indigenous people during much of the 20th century was pervasive and, according to Penny Pether, influenced her understandings o...