Women in the justice system

Women’s pathways to crime and incarceration are vastly different to those of men

Women’s pathways to crime and incarceration are vastly different to those of men. Women tend to come into contact with the criminal justice system after committing minor, non-violent offences linked to personal circumstances of poverty, hardship and, overwhelmingly, trauma. They tend to be involved in crime such as theft, fraud and deception, public order offences and illicit drug-related crimes, rather than violent crime that is typically regarded are more serious. Women are also more likely to commit crimes while using drugs than while not using drugs.

INFORMATION DEVELOPED FOR ACT WOMEN
Women’s Health Matters has developed the following information resources for ACT women.
Financial resources for women leaving prison in the ACT
Financial resources for women leaving prison in the ACT (individual topic pages)

Research shows that many of these women have backgrounds characterised by violence and trauma, and have extensive histories of victimisation, including childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence and violence more generally. They also experience poorer outcomes in terms of mental health, substance misuse and social disadvantage than women in the general community.

Women are in the minority in the criminal justice system in Australia. Around 5% of Australia’s prison population are women, of which 15% are serving a community sentence. However, the number of women in prisons in Australia is growing at a faster rate than that of men, with an increase of 60% over the past decade.

Compared to men, women are more likely to spend shorter periods of time in prison, however they are more likely to experience repeat imprisonment. Most women arriving in prison are yet to be sentenced, and most are likely to have had a history of imprisonment. Each period of imprisonment has a cumulative effect on their personal circumstances, deepening their experience of disadvantage and increasing the risk of recidivism.

The Canberra context

Our research shows:

39% of the women in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, despite Indigenous people comprising just 1.6% of the broader ACT population.
A significant majority of women in the AMC have had a history of prior imprisonment.
59% of the women in the AMC are unsentenced, compared to 36% of the men.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women accounted for nearly half of all unsentenced women in prison.

Since the AMC opened in 2008, there has been a significant increase in the population of female detainees; this follows an Australia wide trend. Research shows there were seven ACT women in NSW prisons on 30 June 2008, 23 in ACT facilities by 30 June 2009, and up to 50 during 2019. While the number is growing, women remain a small population within the prison. In 2018-19 women comprised 6% of the total ACT prisoner population and about 21% of the ACT’s offender population.

Because of their small numbers, and because they are located in the middle of the AMC, the responses and services available to women are limited compared to the men.

What we are doing about it

WCHM has had a particular focus on institutionalised women in the ACT since the AMC was opened.

Following a decision by the AMC to move the women from low security cottages to a high security wing because of a growth in numbers, we have been more actively involved with them again..Since September 2018 Women’s Health Matters has been visiting the women in the AMC weekly, seeking their views about their need for services and supports.

We have been using this information to provide them with access to supports, health promotion activities and information sessions. This work is done in partnership with service providers who attend the prison with us to share their expertise. Topics have included sexual and reproductive health, budgeting and finances, managing emotional health, safety planning for domestic violence and parenting/connecting with kids.

We worked with CARE Financial Counselling to create local, accessible and reliable financial resources tailored to particular population groups of women in the ACT vulnerable to experiencing financial disadvantage, including women leaving prison. This resource is accessible below.

We have also been working with many of the women to gain a better understanding of their particular needs and lived experience, so that the issues affecting them can be used to encourage the system and services to be more responsive to their particular needs. And we have assisted them and encouraged them as a group to contribute their views. For example in 2019 we supported the women in the AMC to contribute their own submission to the Healthy Prison Review of the AMC. Our work in this space is unique, and we must continue to amplify the voices of women in the justice system so their needs can be met.

More information on our work at the AMC can be found in this case study.