Summary
Ebony Phillips is a proud Gunditjmara, Kirrae Whurrong, Yaegl, and Bundjalung woman, and a current Aboriginal Well-being Officer for the Department of Justice and Community Safety at the Melbourne Assessment Prison.
With this submission, she wishes to shed light on the systemic injustices faced not only by herself but also by Aboriginal prisoners and her fellow AWOs who work tirelessly in a broken system. This includes the disproportionate overuse of solitary confinement on Aboriginal prisoners, the lack of adherence to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommendations, and numerous examples of physical mistreatment by correctional staff.
Date: 20 November 2024