Women’s Narratives of Incarceration as related to Problem Gambling & their Recovery 2001-2005

1. Women’s Narratives of Incarceration as related to Problem Gambling & their Recovery2001-2005 Eugenia Castro Gambler’s Help Western Victoria, Australia Eugenia.Castro@isispc.com.au

2. Gambler’s Help Western(GHW) Provision of services at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (DPFC) • Twenty women incarcerated at DPFC who self-referred to Gambler’s Help Western for counselling because of problem gambling (PG) related to their crime between 2001-2005.

3. Overview • Brief Profile • Assessment and intervention • Women’s narratives • Recommendations

4. Summary of Profile High percent of women had the following profile: Professionals, frequently in a position of financial trust (accountancy, law, management) Problem with pokies primarily, secondly with Casino gambling. Mainly white collar crime (fraud, embezzlement) and no previous criminal history, ie “gamblers who offend” versus long standing “offenders who gamble” Underlying key issues: domestic violence, grief & loss, workplace and mental health issues.

5. Psychosocial Assessment Instrument: Empathic interviewing. • History of gambling and problem gambling formation, costs of gambling and underlying issues. • Motivation for change.   • Cognitive, emotional and psychological assessment. • Assessment of client’s strengths, coping mechanisms • Family system

6. Counselling and Support: • Readiness, motivation and willingness to deal with problem gambling, crime and debt. (Harm minimization) • Woman’s particular story, pain, shame, remorse. • Process of reparation of trust: partner, family, society and self. • Resilience and survival in and beyond prison. • Dialogue about the future, freedom, hopes (including double fear/pain of stigma and discrimination as problem gambler and ex-prisoner).

7. Narratives Three women with problem gambling and their stories: • Maria • Lina • Anita

8. Maria Maria is a woman in her thirties, from Chinese & Australian background. Married with no children. Maria was an accountant who became a victim of racism in the workplace. She felt lonely because her husband was working overseas and she did not want to worry him with her problems. Maria said she used gambling as a distraction from her feelings of humiliation and anger. Alleged fraud from the workplace: $2.5 million. Sentence: Four years jail with parole and a debt.

9. Maria cont’d “Playing pokies helped me to unwind, but later whenever I felt humiliated by racist remarks , I had the urge to play the pokies… I was able to forget and feel some comfort.” “The venue was a place to hide from work, from my own feelings, they (venue staff) treated me well. I lost control, I started to chase my loses and acquired gambling debts. One day I crossed the line and took money from work and told myself that the machine would pay it back.”

10. Maria cont’d “It was a relief when I was caught even though I lost my self, my job and my freedom. I am fortunate I have the support of my parents and husband.” “After all I went through I decided that I will protect my self by moving away from abusive situations. I felt targeted in my job in prison and proactively changed jobs, where I feel more in control.”

11. Maria cont’d “I’d rather take responsibility for what I did, I would not like to feel like a victim.” “I prefer to think positively and not feel depressed because of the future. I need to live day by day.”

12. Lina Lina is a 46 year old Australian woman. She earned scholarships and became an accountant and held a few managerial positions. Lina was dealing with an emotionally abusive relationship. She said that she enjoyed the pokies, the machine helped her to forget about her husband’s putdowns. At the venue, she felt like a winner. Sentence: 18 months in prison. Alleged fraud of $300,000 from the workplace.

13. Lina cont’d “I always thought the money I took from work was a ‘loan’ . I gambled the winnings, I could not stop. “Finally they caught me, and I was relieved.”

14. Lina cont’d “I need to learn how to say no, to speak out and talk with someone about my childhood and the physical and emotional abuse”. “I lost the trust of my family, my children and my employer. I feel remorseful, ashamed and depressed for what I did.” “I received a letter from my in-laws about their feelings of disappointment. I’d rather they do not write to me”.

15. Lina cont’d “I was worried about the trial and the lack of contact with my lawyer. Also for the custody of my youngest son.” “For the future, I just want to be free and see my children.” “I am coming to terms with a future of financial struggles because of the debts I have to pay back, at the end of my sentence.”

16. Anita Anita is a 42 year old woman from a CALD background. Her first marriage was arranged. After she initiated separation, her parents and husband did not let her see her toddler. “I felt I didn’t have the right to be a mother”. Anita remarried years later and her husband was physically abusive. She said the “venue staff were very nice to me and it was a place to hide from my life”. Anita spent five years in prison and a year on parole. Anita allegedly embezzled over $2 million.

17. Anita cont’d “I am determined to be strong and survive jail without medication”. “I needed the pokies, they were like a daily drug to alleviate my emotional pain …. I lost weight and I was suicidal. I was ashamed and am still hiding from people and myself.” “I am paying for my crime. I am not in touch with my family. Some times it’s hard to think about facing responsibilities and life. I have a huge debt.”

18. Anita cont’d “Do people guess I was in prison?” “Will people give me a job after I finish my course?”

19. Some implications for effective clinical practice • Avoid pathologising normal/healthy responses to a very difficult, stressful prison environment • Practitioner advocacy for on-going practical support during and after release to promote sustainable change in: • further study, training and employment, health, housing, income. • Pay attention to power issues (gender, ethnicity) • Validation of critical impact of lack of support in both emergence of problem gambling and recovery • Support women to overcome double discrimination they suffer (as prisoners and problem gamblers)

20. Recommendations for broader sector & structural change Promotion of greater responsibility within workplaces to recognise problem gambling as a health & welfare issue for employees Greater integration of Gambler’s Help services with Pre and Post-release services More meaningful data collection &/or research into illegal activities related to problem gambling. Advocacy with the Justice System for sentence mitigation in problem gambling - related crime Much more effective consumer protection regulations that support harm minimisation (eg smart cards) A government agenda for the prevention of problem gambling-related crime.

21. Tip of the iceberg