Ruth McCausland – The Conversation

Dharriwaa Elders Group

September 13, 2023

The aged care system has failed Aboriginal people. Here’s what Elders say needs to change

Ruth McCausland, UNSW ; Peta MacGillivray, UNSW ; Sacha Kendall Jamieson, University of Sydney, and Virginia Robinson, Indigenous Knowledge

Aboriginal Elders play an important role as community leaders and cultural knowledge holders. Supporting this aspect of ageing well is crucial.

AAP Image/David Gray

April 17, 2023

The social determinants of justice: 8 factors that increase your risk of imprisonment

Ruth McCausland, UNSW and Eileen Baldry, UNSW

We wanted to quantify what social factors increase a person’s chance of ending up in prison, and to use that to improve policy and reduce the harms and costs of incarceration.

Shutterstock

May 3, 2022

Giving ex‑prisoners public housing cuts crime and re‑incarceration – and saves money

Chris Martin, UNSW ; Eileen Baldry, UNSW ; Patrick Burton, University of Tasmania; Rebecca Reeve, UNSW ; Rob White, University of Tasmania; Ruth McCausland, UNSW , and Stuart Thomas, RMIT University

Finding stable housing is one of the biggest challenges facing prison leavers. Access to public housing has been found to flatten the curve on rates of recidivism.

While men still make up the majority of prisoners in Australia, the increase in the incarceration rate for women is significantly greater than that for men. www.JobsForFelonsHub.com Flickr

September 13, 2016

Australia is locking up too many women but the UK offers a blueprint for a radical new approach

Ruth McCausland, UNSW

Australia female prison population has soared but many are jailed for minor offences. The UK’s radical approach to women and prison, outlined in the 2007 Corston report, offers a model for Australia.

Early intervention and diversion away from the criminal justice system can enable Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities to live with dignity. AAP/Richard Ashen

November 5, 2015

Here’s how we can stop putting Aboriginal people with disabilities in prison

Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW ; Eileen Baldry, UNSW , and Ruth McCausland, UNSW

The predictable path into prison for Aboriginal people with disabilities is preventable. Here are some solutions.

Early support could save lives and allow Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability to live with dignity in their communities. Yasmeen/Flickr

November 4, 2015

Supporting, not imprisoning, Aboriginal people with disabilities could save millions

Ruth McCausland, UNSW

Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability are managed mostly by police, courts, prison and hospitals. It’s costing us millions, when kinder and cheaper alternatives exist.

Police often don’t recognise that someone has an intellectual disability or brain injury due to a lack of training in this area, researchers have heard. Brian Yap (葉)/flickr

November 3, 2015

Aboriginal people with disabilities get caught in a spiral of over‑policing

Ruth McCausland, UNSW ; Eileen Baldry, UNSW , and Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW

Police have become the default frontline response to Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities, setting this group up for a lifetime of ‘management’ by the criminal justice system.

Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability are ‘managed’ by police, courts and prisons due to a lack of appropriate community-based services. Kate Ausburn/flickr

November 1, 2015

Why Aboriginal people with disabilities crowd Australia’s prisons

Eileen Baldry, UNSW ; Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW , and Ruth McCausland, UNSW

Australia’s high rates of imprisonment and re-imprisonment of Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities is not only shameful, it is entirely predictable and preventable.

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