This letter is to remind you all that, as Sistas, we need to be there for one another to raise women up.

It’s daunting enough when you get arrested by police, then placed into custody and thrown into a cell. Then you have to go through a degrading strip search.

Living grief, as a mother, is waking each day with the knowledge that your child is still here, yet not truly free.

Here is some feedback for About Time – it’s absolutely positive! From my first introduction to issue 2 or 3 (at BNCC) I looked forward to the next edition. Arriving at NCC I followed up with an officer who ensured copies were available to us.

South Australia is the only state or territory in Australia that does not provide 24/7 medical staff on site at its women’s prison.

In my speech, I emphasised that strip searching is sexual assault disguised as prison safety. Strip searching is not about safety – and the data proves it.

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.

In July 2025, four organisations came together to make sure the truth about prisons, policing and criminalisation in Australia was heard on the world stage.

The Living with Mum program is one of many across the country that permit women to raise their baby in a dedicated area of a prison. These programs vary in eligibility and age restrictions.

The Untold Stories of Injustice is a five-part radio series that features a collection of interviews, discussions and events highlighting the experiences of folks who have been incarcerated in so-called Victoria, Australia.  

Alcohol sets off both a physical allergy and a mental obsession.

I drive through the gate and see women in blue. They’re going about their morning, just like everyone else in the world – except they’re in prison.

The community is now watching, listening and aware of lockdowns inside our prisons. The persistence with media, radio and newspaper, and with emails and phone calls is finally paying off. Next – a protest. What else is left to do?

There are little reminders all around me of the time I lost from my children’s lives when I went to prison.

To the mothers navigating the justice system, whether behind prison walls or holding it down on the outside while someone you love is locked away, we see you.

It was me that created the change, I did it all!! Not prison: prison hurt me, prison did not offer healing or reform my behaviour. Prison deployed its violence onto me that I am still working through today.

“Parole approved pending housing.” This is by far the worst sentence I have heard in prison.

Tracy was one of many women released from prison straight into homelessness. Thanks to the Homeward Sisters program, Tracy was able to secure priority housing that meets her needs.

My release date was the 18th of March 2025, and in one month I have accomplished so many things.

My name is Zoe. I am 37 years old and I was in prison for 6 years. I am currently on parole and have been out of prison for a year and a half. Since then I have been a core member of the Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne (FIGJAM) Collective.