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Women in prison

Former Australian prisoners write about their time inside and the challenges of rebuilding their lives

  • two young women with two older women behind them

    Three girls in England held in male offender institution for months

    MPs and charity criticise ‘appalling’ treatment of teenagers following closure of privately run centre
  • Jan Dungey in 1984

    Jan Dungey obituary

    Other lives: Performer who was one of the founders of the all-female Cunning Stunts theatre group
  • Sally Challen

    Murder cases reopened in wake of Sally Challen appeal

    At least five convictions could be sent back to court by the Criminal Cases Review Commission citing coercive abuse
  • Sylvia McCulloch (centre) with photos of her daughter Emilie who died while she was in prison.

    My teenage daughter died in Canada while I was in prison in Sydney

    Sylvia McCulloch
    I was a single parent and tried to smuggle drugs to Australia because we needed the money. I was caught at the airport
  • Juanita Schaffa de Mauri

    I had a comfortable middle-class life – then I was jailed for fraud

    Juanita Schaffa de Mauri
    I came from a stable family, had a good education and worked in corporate roles for many years. I learned that the system doesn’t favour anyone
  • Frances Drake, is passionate about helping other women who have done time in prison

    The grief of losing my son and husband drove me to drug addiction

    Frances Drake
    Using ice helped mask the pain – but my health and life quickly unravelled. I spent almost three years in jail for dealing drugs
  • Jenna Hughes at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast

    At 19 I did something stupid for love – and paid the price

    Jenna Hughes
    I was a serving officer when I accessed a police database to help my love interest who had underworld connections
  • Rhonda Davis.

    'I fell asleep at the wheel': my life changed the day my partner died

    Rhonda Davis
  • Jenna Hughes

    'A mass imprisonment crisis': why more women are doing time

  • A mother holds her three-month-old baby during a prison visit.

    'It’s harder for them than it is for me': when a mother does time, her children do too

    Advocates say prison should be a last resort for women with dependent children who commit non-violent crimes
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