The University of Sydney
Justice Collaboration
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7th Edition, December 2024
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Welcome to the seventh edition of our newsletter!
The University of Sydney's Justice Collaboration aims to improve justice outcomes and to ultimately prevent crime.
The University of Sydney has numerous strengths in this area and has a track record of work across disciplines, faculties and research centres directly and indirectly relevant to justice systems and people in conflict with the law.
In this edition we highlight a recent event and recent publications. Read about our diversion discussion, the NCCC, the youth justice system's accommodation of young people with FASD and Professor Riley's work on Wiradjuri language education.
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The University of Sydney’s central campus sits on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and has campuses as well as teaching and research facilities situated on the ancestral lands of the Wangal, Deerubbin, Tharawal, Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri, Gamilaroi, Bundjulong, Wiljali and Gereng Gureng peoples. We pay our respects to elders, past, present, and emerging who have cared and continue to care for Country.
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The Global Impact of Multisystemic Vulnerabilities on Criminal Variety: A Cross-Continental Study in Young Adults
Matilda Centre researchers recently collaborated with an international team to investigate global risk factors of youth offending. The study examined the relationship between individual, familial, and contextual vulnerabilities and criminal versatility during young adulthood, accounting for sociodemographic factors and cross-national differences.
Data were derived from a diverse sample of 4,182 young adults (67% female; mean age = 18.96; SD = 0.81) residing in 10 countries across 5 continents who participated in the International Study of Pro/Antisocial Behavior in Young Adults. Results indicate that child maltreatment, substance abuse, and delinquent peers are consistent, significant risk factors for crime across all countries. Moreover, they are independent across males and females and among youths living in countries that are ranked differently on the Human Development Index (HDI). In addition, some childhood vulnerabilities showed different predictive ability across sexes (e.g., school failure), and across countries ranked differently on the HDI (e.g., family dysfunction).
The paper can be read on the Journal of Interpersonal Violence here.
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Youth Crime Prevention and Diversion Discussion
At the end of last month, academics from across the University of Sydney joined representatives from the Children's Court of NSW, NSW Police Force, Youth Justice NSW, Education and Legal Aid NSW to have roundtable discussions on early intervention and diversion. The focus of the discussion was on how the University of Sydney can assist these organisations in divert young people from offending and the criminal justice system.
We look forward to continuing these productive conversations into the coming year.
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Research Centre Highlight: National Centre for Cultural Competence
The National Centre for Cultural Competence (NCCC) was established in 2014 as a joint venture between the Australian Government and the University of Sydney. Through collaboration and partnerships with diverse individuals, communities and organisations the NCCC provides an opportunity for all Australians to develop their cultural competence and responsiveness to empower them to make respectful, ethical, and effective choices in intercultural settings.
You can find out more about the NCCC on its website.
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2024 Dr Charles Perkins Oration
Last month the University of Sydney hosted the annual Dr Charles Perkins Oration. Named in honour of Dr Charles Nelson Perkins AO, who was the first Aboriginal man to graduate from the University of Sydney in 1966, the Dr Charles Perkins AO Memorial Oration and Prize was established in 2001 to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions made by Charles and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to our community, country and society.
This year the keynote speaker was Joshua Creamer. A Barrister and Chair of the Truth Telling and Healing Inquiry in Queensland, Creamer discusses the urgency of Truth Telling as a vital step in healing and unity for our nation.
The 2024 Oration can be watched on ABC iView here.
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FASD and the Youth Justice System
Distinguished Professor Elizabeth Elliot and Dr Fiona Robards recently published an article exploring the behavioural and cognitive implications of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) for Australian children and adolescents in contact with the justice system.
Rates of FASD are high among young people in the youth justice system. An estimated one in three detainees in Australia has FASD. Many adolescents in contact with the justice system have un-diagnosed FASD and complex needs.
The authors call for a proactive commitment to the primary prevention of alcohol harm in pregnancy, early diagnosis of FASD and better support for children and adolescents with FASD and their families. They suggest that justice system reform is required and that custody is not the right place for young people with FASD. The authors urge that all children and adolescents should be screened for FASD and other neurodevelopmental impairments at first contact with the justice system or child protection system.
Without reform, children and adolescents with undiagnosed FASD may miss out on the support they need and continue to experience poor outcomes that could otherwise be avoided. A justice system that is attuned to the needs of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including FASD, will not only mitigate the risk of reoffending but will also empower children and adolescents to build their strengths and overcome challenges.
The article can be read on the Judicial Quarterly Review here.
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In a bid to improve the outcome of Wiradjuri children in permanent foster care by helping them maintain cultural and Kinship connections, Professor Lynette Riley AO, Chair of Aboriginal Education and Indigenous Studies and her sister have developed workbooks on Wiradjuri language that can be used by children and their carers, families, and teachers.
The workbooks contain lessons and activities on Wiradjuri sounds and words; greetings; Acknowledging Country; numbers, symbols and tracks; family terms; and body parts and colours.
Professor Riley has also created a ground-breaking unit where third-year teaching students focus on Aboriginal education during their eight-week placements in schools. Their assessment task is to create or complete an Aboriginal community and school profile. This involves getting to know their community and school, and understanding their relationship with Aboriginal education.
The first language book can be accessed here.
More information on the project can be found here.
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