Establishing the United Nations' declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples as the minimum standard for all forensic practice with Australian Indigenous peoples

Authors

Christine Gillies, University of Wollongong

RIS ID

74916

Publication Details

Gillies, C. (2013). Establishing the United Nations' declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples as the minimum standard for all forensic practice with Australian Indigenous peoples. Australian Psychologist, 48 (1), 14-27.

Abstract

In this article, Indigenous forensic practice is considered from a culturally informed perspective. Concerns are raised about forensic psychologists' continuing failure to operationalise all dimensions of modern Indigenous diversity in their day-to-day practice and research. Psychologists are also asked to contemplate the degree to which systemic factors from within their own discipline might be contributing to the ever-increasing over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the Australian correctional system. A radical restructure of practice is recommended in which the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is adopted as the minimum standard for restructuring what is suggested to remain a deeply assimilationist model of practice based on dominant culture and migrant management strategies, neither of which is relevant to forensic practice with Indigenous peoples.