Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO will use a prestigious fellowship to help the legal system work for rather than against Indigenous Australians.
Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO. Photo: Toby Burrowes.
Professor Larissa Behrendt has been awarded a $3.5 million Australian Laureate Fellowship to explore new ways to give First Nations communities greater control over how they’re treated within the criminal justice, coronial and child protection systems.
“For too long, we’ve seen too many First Nations Australians in these institutions, being treated too harshly by them. Our team will answer the central question to getting the system to work better – how can we best decolonise these legal institutions?” Professor Behrendt says.
“We’ll do this by using Indigenous-led research around the impacts of past practices. This will form the basis of a self-determination framework that draws on the inherent strengths of Aboriginal communities and an anti-racism framework to use in organisations to effect real change.”
Professor Behrendt’s ground-breaking work will build on the multi-disciplinary research programs she has led at the UTS Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research.
This has included partnering with government and non-profit organisations to improve outcomes for First Nations communities.
“With the long track record of our First Nations community-controlled organisations putting self-determination at heart of effective policy, we’re looking to build on this movement to make real change,” Professor Behrendt says.
“The frameworks we will develop will be a transformational intervention in global First National decolonising research. But most importantly, we want to ensure our frameworks are used in Australian courts, prisons and child protection agencies.
“Only then will we be able to close the gap by giving First Nations communities control over their futures.”
Our team will answer the central question to getting the system to work better – how can we best decolonise these legal institutions?
- Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt OA
Australian Laureate Fellowships are awarded annually by the Australian Research Council to world-class research leaders to conduct internationally competitive research in Australia over a five-year program.
Professor Behrendt was awarded the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship for a highly-ranked woman researcher to promote women in research and mentor early-career researchers.
She has previously been awarded a host of honours, including the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Medal (2021), an Order of Australia (2020), NSW Australian of the Year (2011) and NAIDOC Person of the Year (2009).