I warmly invite you all to the 9th CSAC Women Offenders Conference. This year it is the great pleasure of the New Zealand Department of Corrections to host this prestigious conference, which will be held in the beautiful city of Auckland, New Zealand from Wednesday 2 December until Friday 4 December.
Managing women offenders presents a unique challenge for all correctional jurisdictions. While they are small in number, they are a group of offenders with complex issues. Many are mothers and are often the sole childcare provider. They commonly have a history of relationship difficulties, alcohol and substance abuse and all too often have been abused physically, sexually and psychologically.
The theme for this year’s conference is ‘Custody to community – a journey planned’. The conference will explore in detail the journey of women offenders through the criminal justice system and will provide an opportunity to share knowledge, initiate debate and discuss the challenges associated with the management of this unique group of offenders.
An exciting and interesting programme has been developed. The programme builds on last year's conference in Hobart, Australia and includes key note speeches from international experts and government leaders, and workshops that will examine in detail some of the issues associated with the rehabilitation and reintegration of women offenders.
Day three of the conference will be hosted in the Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility, New Zealand’s largest women’s prison. The prison opened in 2006 and was purpose-built to accommodate women. The day will include a first-hand view of the site and an opportunity to talk directly with women prisoners and provide them an opportunity to share their stories with conference delegates.
The conference provides an exciting opportunity to exchange ideas and learn from each other. I strongly encourage you to take this opportunity and register for this event.
I look forward to welcoming you all to Auckland later in the year.
Barry Matthews
Chief Executive
Department of Corrections
