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Debbie Kilroy (born 1961), née Deborah Harding, is an Australian
human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...
and
prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, reduce recidivism or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are ...
er. She is known for having founded Sisters Inside, an independent community organisation based in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia, that advocates for the human rights of women and girls in the criminal legal system. She is a qualified lawyer, who in 2007 was the first person with serious convictions to be allowed to practise law by the
Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to ...
.


Early life and education

Deborah Harding was born in 1961 in
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, and raised in the suburb of Kedron, Queensland. During her teens, she became rebellious, and, after being locked up at the age of 14 for a four-week psychiatric assessment, began a period of increasing criminalisation and imprisonment, with only brief periods out of the
criminal justice system Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
during her teens. Witnessing and being a victim of injustices within the system, her early experiences with it made her angry. She had a child at the age of 18, and endured a violent relationship for some years. After leaving that relationship she met and in 1986 married her present husband,
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
footballer
Joe Kilroy "Smokin" Joe Kilroy (born 21 June 1960) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin representative /, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League Premiership with Bro ...
, and they had a child together. Debbie was sentenced to six years in prison after having sold
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
to undercover police. In 1990, she witnessed her friend Debbie Dick being murdered in the overcrowded
Boggo Road Gaol H.M. Prison Brisbane, commonly known as Boggo Road Gaol, was Queensland's main prison from the 1880s to the 1980s. By the time it closed, it had become notorious for poor conditions and rioting. Located on Annerley Road in Dutton Park, Queenslan ...
, and has said that " ercommitment to fight against the criminalisation and imprisonment of women is in honour of her memory and the memories of all the women and girls who have died at the hands of the prison industrial complex". As a result of this murder, the prison authorities started involving prisoners in committees that helped to run the prison. During the three years that she served of her sentence before her release in 1992, she began training as a
social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
through the
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
, determined to improve the situation of women and children in prison.


Sisters Inside

Upon her release from prison in 1992, Kilroy started to establish Sisters Inside, an organisation dedicated to responding to the needs and human rights of criminalised women and the children affected by their imprisonment that were not being met by available services. At first Sisters Inside was a small group run mostly by volunteers, but it has grown into a larger community-based organisation providing a range of services to many women and children in Queensland. Author
Melissa Lucashenko Melissa Lucashenko is an Indigenous Australians, Indigenous Australian writer of adult literary fiction and literary non-fiction, who has also written young adult fiction, novels for teenagers. In 2013 at the Walkley Awards, she won the "Featu ...
is a founding member. The motto of Sisters Inside is "nothing about us without us".


Career

Kilroy completed her legal training as well as a Graduate Diploma in Forensic Mental Health (she is trained in
gestalt therapy Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes Responsibility assumption, personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment, the therapist–client relationship, the environmental and social c ...
), and in 2017 was the first former prisoner to be admitted as a
legal practitioner A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as wel ...
by the
Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to ...
, a decision ruled by Justice
Paul de Jersey Paul de Jersey, (born 21 September 1948) is an Australian jurist who served as the 26th governor of Queensland, from 29 July 2014 to 1 November 2021. He was Chief Justice of Queensland from 1998 to 2014. Education De Jersey was educated at ...
, future chief justice and later
governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...
. She opened her own legal practice in 2013. Kilroy has served as an Executive Member of the
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties The Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (QCCL) is a voluntary organisation in Australia concerned with the protection of individual rights and civil liberties. It was founded in 1966 in order "to protect and promote the human rights and freed ...
since 2001 and
ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...
chairperson of the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland since 1997 (). She has also served a member of a number of other bodies and organisations, including: *the Criminal Law Committee; *
Law Council of Australia The Law Council of Australia, founded in 1933, is an association of law societies and bar associations from the states and territories of Australia, and the peak body representing the legal profession in Australia. The Law Council represents m ...
*Criminal Law Committee,
Queensland Law Society The Queensland Law Society is the peak professional body for solicitors in Queensland, Australia. It represents more than 9,000 members, and is affiliated with the Law Council of Australia. The society provides support and public advocacy for ...
*Equal Rights Alliance *Australian Women Again Violence Alliance *National Coronial Reform, Federation of Community Legal Centres *Criminal Justice Network She has been appointed to state and national working groups on a range of legal and social issues, and has also contributed to international forums, such as meetings convened by the
UN Office on Drugs and Crime The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the ...
to develop draft UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders; sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women; and conferences on
crime prevention Crime prevention refers to strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crime occurring by intervening before a crime has been committed. It encompasses many approaches, including developmental, situational, community-based and crimin ...
and criminal justice. In November 2016 Kilroy was appointed to Queensland's Sentencing Advisory Council. She believes that the council has an important role to play in educating the public, to counteract the "law-and-order hysteria" seen in the media and spruiked by politicians. In early 2019, she led a
crowd-funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financia ...
campaign called #freeher to pay off the court debts of Indigenous women in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
who had been imprisoned for defaulting on fines, raising over and enabling the release of 11 women. Amendments to the WA legislation were passed in 2020, partly as result of the recommendation from the coronial inquiry into the
death of Ms Dhu Julieka Ivanna Dhu (commonly referred to as Ms Dhu) was a 22-year-old Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal Australian woman who died in police custody in South Hedland, Western Australia, in 2014. On 2 August that year, police responded to a repo ...
, who died in police custody. In April 2020 Kilroy contracted
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
after travelling to the United States with her friend and colleague Boneeta-Marie Mabo, with both becoming so unwell that they were admitted to hospital. Around 18 months of contracting the virus, in September 2021, she was still suffering from
Long COVID Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...
, with a debilitating range of symptoms. she is principal of the law firm Kilroy & Callaghan, where she leads a team of five, and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of Sisters Inside. She is passionate about encouraging former offenders, and in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally diverse women to become criminal lawyers.


Beliefs and advocacy

Kilroy's experience of imprisonment led to her belief that unnecessary trauma caused by the prison system, including
solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
as a punishment for
self-harm Self-harm refers to intentional behaviors that cause harm to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues, usually without suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-abuse, self-injury, and s ...
, leads to a greater likelihood of women re-offending and ending up back in prison. Influenced by people such as the US academic, activist and former prisoner
Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American Marxist and feminist political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita of Feminist Studies and History of Consciousness at the University of ...
, Kilroy believes that the prison system fails in its mission to punish and rehabilitate, with more than half of women released from prison returning to spend another stint there. She names two other former prisoners as heroes of hers:
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
and
Aung San Suu Kyi Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...
She has said that there is a need to break down "racism, misogyny and sexism within the legal frameworks", and that harsher sentences are not the answer. She points out that "The vast majority of women prisoners are imprisoned for minor, non-violent crimes...
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
are often poverty-related", with around 40% being onremand, as yet untried for their alleged crimes. She says: She engages in public debate and advocates for women on a range of issues, including violence,
homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...
,
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
, mental health,
substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...
, poverty,
child protection Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...
, sexual assault, and failures in government systems. She aims to reduce the rate of criminalisation and imprisonment of women and children, in particular the over-representation of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
within the criminal justice system, and to women reduce the impact of mothers' imprisonment on their children.


Recognition

* 2003:
Order of Australia Medal The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...
* 2004:
Australian Human Rights Medal The Human Rights Awards are a series of awards for achievements in the field of human rights in Australia, bestowed by the Australian Human Rights Commission at the Human Rights Day Ceremony in December in each year. History The Human Rights Awa ...
* 2010: Emergent Woman Lawyer of the Year * 2010: Peace Women Award * 2014:
Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...
* 2016: shortlisted Queensland nomination for
Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...
* 2019: keynote speaker at the
Law Institute of Victoria The Law Institute Victoria (LIV) is a legal society in the Australian state of Victoria. It is the professional association for solicitors in Victoria, making rules to regulate their practice, and representing them to governments and other bodi ...
's Women in Leadership lunch * 2019: Voltaire Human Rights Award


In media and the arts

* ''
Australian Story ''Australian Story'' is a national weekly current affairs and documentary style television series which is broadcast on ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television. It is produced specifically by the ABC News and Current Affairs, AB ...
'' on
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...
(2004 and 2019) * ''Kilroy was Here'', a biography by Kristina Olsson (2005) *
Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...
entry (2005) and portrait by
Ai Wei Wei Ai Weiwei ( ; , IPA: ; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been o ...
(2015) * '' The Drum'' on ABC Television


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

*
Debbie Kilroy OAM: Dangerous Women podcast series
State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilroy, Debbie 1961 births Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian Indigenous rights activists Australian women human rights activists Prison reformers