More women in Australia are going to prison than ever before. Here's why

More women in Australia are going to prison than ever before. Here’s why.

More women in Australia are going to prison than ever before.

In the past 10 years, there has been a 75% increase in women’s rates of incarceration.

While men make up the majority of the Australian prison population, the number of women entering the prison system is increasing at a much faster rate.

Just over a third of female prisoners in Australia are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. This is particularly significant given Indigenous women comprise just 2 per cent of the general female population in Australia.

Almost half of women in prison have been incarcerated previously and are also likely to reoffend. The most common charges for women are drug offences, traffic incidents, fraud and theft.

Evidence suggests that the majority of women in prison are victims of domestic violence. Somewhere between 70 and 90 per cent of incarcerated women have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused at some point in their lives.

Homelessness, taking the blame for a violent partner’s crime, or acting violently in self defence are some key factors that are linked to women’s incarceration after experiencing domestic abuse.

Alijazeera’s special report on female incarceration in Australia follows two women who have recently been released from prison.

Bekki has been to prison 5 times, for break and enter, driving while disqualified, driving under the influence of ice and escaping police custody.

“Women’s prisons are filled with stories of people like me,” says Bekki. “People that have had trauma, abuse, really violent relationships.”

“The hardest thing about coming out of prison is being homeless and the stigma.”

Fran has been to prison 4 times for drug dealing. For her, the most challenging aspects of staying out of prison is dealing with isolation, homelessness, the judgement and social stigma.

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