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Episode 10: Diana Johns
09/26/2025
Episode 10: Diana Johns
In this episode of Creative Conversations with CYCJ we were joined by Diana Johns, Associate Professor and Chair of Criminology in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. One of the newest members of the CYCJ Associates scheme, Diana’s research is concerned with the experiences of marginalised or hard-to-reach groups, including young people who’ve been criminalised and/or imprisoned. Topics that we covered across this inspiring discusson include: - The tension between idealism and pragmatism in the push to raise the Age of Criminal Responsibility in both Australia and Scotland. - What's meant by 'the abolitionist horizon of youth detention'. - What Diana has learned from her work with marginalised groups in Australia, including African Australian mothers and the Strong Grandmothers of the Central Desert - Urie Bronfenbrenner and the benefits of a social ecological approach to youth justice NB: Unfortunately we encountered some technical difficulties briefly towards the end of this interview, with one of the microphones cuttiing out. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. Relevant Links: Johns, D, Williams, K & Haines, K (2017) Ecological Youth Justice: Understanding the social ecology of young people’s prolific offending, Youth Justice, 17(1): 3-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473225416665611 Local Time by Sanne Oostermeijer and Matt Dwyer (2019) - a design guide for small-scale, local, community-embedded, therapeutic youth justice facilities: https://localtime264843868.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/localtime_designguide_v1-2.pdf 2 recent papers co-authored by Diana Johns about the Dutch model of small-scale local YJ facilities, which are based on relational security: Oostermeijer, S, Souverein, F, Ross, S, Johns, D, van Domburgh, L, Popma, A, & Mulder, E (2023) The case for small-scale, community-integrated, therapeutic facilities: Utility and feasibility for policy transfer from the Dutch to the Victorian Youth Justice System. Journal of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1177/26338076231193503 Souverein F, Oostermeijer S, Johns D, Ross S, van Domburgh L, Popma A & Mulder, E (2023) Small-scale community-integrated youth justice facilities: Lessons from Dutch reforms and recommendations for cross-jurisdictional implementation. The Prison Journal, 103(5): 679-701. https://doi.org/10.1177/00328855231200638 Sydney Morning Herald on The Strong Grandmomthers of the Central Desert: https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2021/grandmas/ Empowering African Mothers: Ubuntu in Practice: https://www.crimeprevention.vic.gov.au/in-your-community-0/featured-projects/ubuntu-empowering-mothers-project CYCJ Evaluation of Edinburgh Cotextual Safeguarding Pilot (Action for Children and City of Edniburgh Council): https://www.cycj.org.uk/news/cycj-publish-evaluation-of-edinburghs-contextual-safeguarding-pilot/ Music by Coma-Media from Pixabay
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