Sophie Goldingay
Separation from, or mixing with adult prisoners? Issues for young female prisoners in Aotearoa New Zealand Prisons
Young male prisoners aged 14-19 years in New Zealand have the opportunity to reside in youth units in order to protect them from the negative effects of mixing with adult offenders[1]. Young female prisoners do not have such opportunities; they are either mixed with adults, or placed separately within the institution. As such they may often be in isolation with few opportunities for participating in rehabilitative and therapeutic programs or education (Dierck & Tyro, 2004). Therefore, to explore the issue of whether there is a need for a separate facility for young female prisoners, a discourse analysis approach is used in this qualitative study to analyse data collected from semi-structured interviews focused on the needs of young female prisoners. The purpose of imprisonment is an issue which is politically contested. There are tensions between punishment, treatment and cost-effectiveness. These issues create complexity for policy makers with respect to management of prisoners, and are particularly pertinent to the issue of young female prisoners. To explore the struggle over interpretations of what this group may need, texts emanating from media, policy documents, transcripts of interviews with prison staff and professional reports in participants’ files will be analysed. Kaitiaki in each region which hosts a women’s prison will also be consulted. A feminist and anti-colonial perspective further informs the study, which seeks to advance the situation of this group of women. To enable young prisoner’s voices to be heard, transcripts of interviews with young female prisoners, based around Te Whare Tapa Wha (Durie, 1994) model of wellbeing will also be analysed. Preliminary findings from data collected at Christchurch Women’s Prison are by no means conclusive, but may indicate some unique factors unique to New Zealand.
[1] Young male prisoners aged 14-17 are placed in Young Offender Units, where they are provided with age-appropriate services and interventions. Males aged 18-19 years are assessed and, if found to be significantly vulnerable to the perceived negative effects of mixing with adult offenders, will also be placed in the same Young Offender Units.
