Significance of Culture to Wellbeing, Healing and Rehabilitation
20 July 2021
The ABA has supported the Bugmy Bar Book in publishing the Significance of Culture to Wellbeing, Healing and Rehabilitation report, by Vanessa Edwige, registered psychologist, and Dr Paul Gray, Associate Professor, UTS Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research. Both of the authors are Directors of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (AIPA).
The report builds on the Bugmy Bar Book’s work to date concerning establishing the link between experiences of disadvantage and contact with the criminal justice system, and citing recognised roads to rehabilitation and healing.
The report attests to the importance of sentencing orders that enhance an offender's prospects of rehabilitation by providing for engagement with culturally appropriate services and programs, and that enable Indigenous communities to play a role in the healing process wherever possible. The report will be relevant in assisting the framing of sentencing orders, including the finding of special circumstances and the crafting of conditions attached to community-based orders.
In addition to using the report in sentence proceedings, it is envisaged it may also be useful for briefing non-Indigenous mental health and other experts and as a tool for building cultural competence.
For more information about the report and to download a copy please visit the link below.