Colonial-Carceral Violence: The Pains of Imprisonment for First Nations Women

This article explores the structural violence that the colony inflicts on Aboriginal women in prisons. Based on two large-scale NSW studies, it highlights the impacts of imprisonment on Aboriginal women’s health, families and social, cultural and emotional wellbeing. The stories of Aboriginal women in prison are more than a glimpse into the ‘pains of imprisonment’. The walls, bars and cages do not define the totality of the pains imposed on Aboriginal women by the colonial regime. Aboriginal women suggest life beyond prison is endured as an open-air prison. This article argues that violence in prisons cannot be separated from the violence on the outside and that decolonisation is a necessary antidote. By engaging the voices of imprisoned First Nations women, the article shifts the focus in violence studies from inter-personal violence to state-sanctioned violence. It contends that strong community-controlled justice organisations that are run by and for Aboriginal women provide a pathway to strengthen and empower First Nations women. These organisations enact self-determination and sovereignty on the ground and counter the colonial structural violence of imprisonment.