A program in Ballarat, Victoria is connecting regular community members with people in prison. The program, ‘The Future Shapers,’ conducts tours of local prisons and sit-down group interviews with inmates.

The Midsumma Pride March sees tens of thousands march down Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, with many more turning out to cheer them on.

While hardline responses to crime are constantly pushed by politicians and the media, other approaches – such as “therapeutic justice” models – are often overlooked.

A report by Financial Counselling Australia said this is a form of “double punishment”, with people leaving prison in a worse financial position than when they entered it because the system is “stacked against them”.

People who’ve been incarcerated have a unique and valuable perspective. Remember – lived experience can open doors to meaningful employment once you’re released. It could be a fulfilling job filled with community, purpose and support.

When an individual is assigned a risk classification of low, medium, or high risk by corrections, they have been given this classification through a risk assessment.

Drug Courts are specialist courts that can provide an alternative to imprisonment for those who have offended due to drug dependency.

Is the NT walking into a more criminalised and less safe future?

In early December, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Australia. Their purpose was to provide guidance on how international human rights standards apply to prisons and places of detention.

Project: herself is an organisation I set up to advocate and support women to have self-determined lives. We do that through a couple of things – including storytelling advocacy and frontline service delivery.

When I was arrested, I had a job, a family, friends. When they sent me to jail, I lost it all. Because that’s the true punishment. You lose your life. You break the law, so you are destroyed.

Rehabilitation is pointless without forgiveness and another chance at doing right.

At this year’s EnQueer Sydney Queer Writers Festival, author and community lawyer Sam Elkin joined formerly incarcerated trans woman Stacey Stokes and proud trans woman and manager of Open Doors Youth Service (Qld) Necho Brocchi on stage at Qtopia Sydney for an intimate discussion about trans incarceration.

If parole was ever about rehabilitation, it’s not really the feeling I get now. It feels more like an exercise in assessing the risk to the community, not about reintegrating people.

Elections never bring anything good for people engaged in the system.

I remember Christmas in prison fondly. I was with all my closest friends – my only friends. When they send you to jail, everyone and everything you have goes away.

Video games can be helpful for people both inside and leaving prison. They’re not only entertaining, but they can help people deal with the trauma of prison and re-entry in the community.

What helped me was realising that there was nothing inherently wrong with me and that it was my brain trying to cope.