Criminalized Vietnamese women, ‘problem gambling’ and experiential rifts: Towards a criminology of diversity

Abstract

When issues emerge in women’s imprisonment, criminology often responds with narratives of ‘difference’. In this article we respond to the call of Barbara Hudson, and generate a ‘criminology of diversity’ instead. We present the case of Vietnamese women in Victoria, Australia, whose incarceration is increasing at an alarming rate. According to government discourse, this increase occurs because Vietnamese women in Victoria have a distinct ‘problem gambling’ pathway to crime that is supported by Vietnamese lending arrangements. Seeking to disaggregate and denature this essentialist and reductionist narrative, we draw on the accounts of specialist Vietnamese community workers to explore the various meanings and significance of gambling in the lives of Vietnamese women in Victoria. We further engage with the work of Paul Gilroy on diasporic identities and Ghassan Hage on vacillations to illustrate what is gained by recognizing the overlaps, parallels and points of divergence that form within and between ‘different’ groups.