Dr. Michael Doyle - Ontario NEIHR Webinar Series 2024/2025

Welcome to the Ontario NEIHR Monthly Webinar Series 2024/2025! Join us this July 9, 2024, with guest speaker Dr. Michael Doyle. This is a hybrid event held at Waakebiness Institute for Indigenous Health and on Zoom. A light lunch will be provided for those who attend in person. Please note there is limited seating available.

Presentation Title: Working Towards Better Programs for First Nations Australians in Pr*son

Abstract: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) Australians constitute 3.8% of the Australian population but make up 33% of the Pr*son population. There are multiple overlapping contributing factors for this vast over-imprisonment, with the underlying factor being the ongoing effect of colonisation. More than two thirds of both First nations and settler individuals who are in Pr*son have some form of substance use disorder. The support programs in Pr*son have typically been developed using a western model and focus on treating the symptoms of substance use so as to reduce the likelihood of criminal offending after release from Pr*son. This approach does not take into account the ongoing effect of colonisation, which includes ongoing intergenerational trauma as being the underlying cause of substance use by First Nations Australians.

The aim of this presentation is to outline past research in substance use patterns and treatment approaches in Australian prisons. It will conclude with a look at the development of a new innovative culturally-based social and emotional wellbeing program for First Nations Australians.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Michael Doyle is a Bardi man. His homelands are located in the remote north-west of the Kimbereley region of Australia. Dr Doyle is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on supporting First Nations men involved in the criminal justice system.

Host or Publisher Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health