Other studies note the high prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) among prisoners in general, and women prisoners in particular.19 Research has also found that a very large number of women reported traumatic brain injury (TBI), associated with a range of adverse health outcomes. One study20 of the prevalence of TBI amongst New Zealand’s incarcerated women reported that as many as 94.7% of study participants had suffered at least one TBI. This is important as, “There is a definable neurological basis for the deficits in emotion regulation, aggression, and impulse control in individuals … A history of TBI among incarcerated [women] is likely to be associated with increased anxiety and a decreased ability to inhibit impulsive behavior and will likely be associated with difficulties with interpersonal relationships. Perhaps more importantly, TBI, even injuries thought to be relatively mild, has been associated with long-term mental health difficulties.” In other words, some of the behaviours which may be interpreted as violent or disruptive and lead to a woman’s placement in segregated settings, may be rooted in an organic (physical) injury, often caused by domestic and other forms of violence that she was previously subjected to. Professor Tracey McIntosh notes that, in relation to histories of abuse and trauma, “for incarcerated wähine Mäori this victimisation is likely to have occurred in a range of settings including state settings”.21 These histories of trauma and abuse may go back several generations, and the imprisonment of women with histories of trauma who are also mothers continues the cycle of intergenerational trauma for their children too.22 20 19 Jones, M. S., Burge, S. W., Sharp, S. F., & McLeod, D. A. (2020). Childhood adversity, mental health, and the perpetration of physical violence in the adult intimate relationships of women prisoners: A life course approach. Child abuse & neglect, 101, 104237. 20 Woolhouse, R., McKinlay, A., & Grace, R. C. (2018). Women in Prison with Traumatic Brain Injury: Prevalence, Mechanism, and Impact on Mental Health. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(10), 3135–3150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17726519 21 Professor Tracey McIntosh Brief of Evidence for Contextual Hearing Royal Commission of Inquiry Abuse in Care and Faith Based Institutions. October 2020, at 103. 22 On this and other issues relating to the imprisonment of indigenous women, see also excellent collection of essays in George, L., Norris, A. N., Deckert, A., & Tauri, J. (Eds.). (2020). Neo-Colonial Injustice and the Mass Imprisonment of Indigenous Women. Palgrave Macmillan.