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Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-anp-10.1177_00048674231151594 for First Nations Peoples in the forensic mental health system in New South Wales: Characteristics and rates of criminal charges post-release by Kimberlie Dean, Georgia Lyons, Anina Johnson and Elizabeth McEntyre in Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry

Aborigines und Bewohner/innen der australischen Torres-Strait-Inseln gehören zu den am häufigsten beforschten Gruppen weltweit. Im Rahmen indigener Methodologien wurden historisch-kolonialistische und häufig ausbeuterische Forschungsparadigmen revidiert zugunsten von sozial gerechteren Ansätzen, die die Perspektiven und Stimmen von Ureinwohner/innen privilegieren In diesem Beitrag beschreiben wir unsere Erfahrungen mit der Zusammenarbeit von aboriginalen und anglo-australischen Forschenden in einem kunstbasierten Handlungsforschungsprojekt mit fünf Gemeinschaften von Aborigines in New South Wales, Australien. Wir zeigen, wie wichtig Reflexivität war, um den Einfluss von Insider- vs. Outsider-Standpunkten im Prozess des Designs und der Durchführung einer kulturell und ethisch informierten Forschung mit diesen Gemeinschaften zu verstehen. Reflexivität und ein kollaborativer, adaptiver Forschungsansatz helfen auch, die kulturelle und professionelle Integrität in solchen Projekten zu sichern., Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia are among the most researched in the world. Indigenous research methodologies reframe a historical colonial-centric and often exploitative research paradigm, to instead privilege the voices and perspectives of Indigenous peoples within a social justice framework. In this article, we describe the lessons learnt in a research partnership between an Aboriginal and two Anglo-Australian researchers conducting an arts-based action research project in collaboration with five Aboriginal communities in New South Wales, Australia. We identify the importance of reflexivity to shed light on the impact of insider and outsider status in order to design and conduct culturally and ethically informed research with Aboriginal communities. Reflexivity, and a collaborative, adaptive approach to research processes also operates to ensure cultural and professional integrity are embedded into such research projects.

The ease with which Australian Aboriginal women with serious mental (such as depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorders) and cognitive disabilities (such as intellectual disability and acquired brain injury) are cycling through Australia’s criminal justice systems, with little attention, proper treatments or culturally responsive care or assistance is truly remarkable. There is growing evidence to show that Aboriginal women with disabilities are involved with police, courts and prisons at much higher rates that are other groups and than their rates in the general community would predict. Almost no attention has been given to the lived realities of those Aboriginal women by state or territory governments, professional peak bodies, social work disability researchers and justice, health and disability service systems. Moreton-Robinson’s Indigenous women’s standpoint theory, which relates to my being as a Goori woman through Worimi and Wonnarua bloodlines who has cultural and communal ties to other Aboriginal women, and critical disability criminology theory, which relates to my professional position and reputation as a mental health and disability criminal justice social worker, are blended into critical Indigenous disability criminology to provide a depth of understanding and explanation of this group of women’s over-representation in criminal justice systems. To assist in arriving at a more complete understanding of their lives and to inform the development of theory and practice, narratives from criminal justice involved Aboriginal women with mental and cognitive disabilities who partnered with this study and Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal support women from families, communities, service providers and prisons were gathered. These narratives were thematically analysed using the theoretical lenses noted earlier to re-present the lived realities of those Aboriginal women. The key themes emerging were management and control of Aboriginal women; segmenting Aboriginal women; surviving and not living; everyone becomes affected; siloed services versus wrap around supports and role and place of Aboriginal women supporters. These drive theory development by suggesting a new way of understanding these groups of Aboriginal women’s lived realities. The thesis makes a crucial and unique contribution to this field, so that the perverse outcomes documented and discussed can be addressed and ultimately prevented.