Seven years ago, Rhonda Davis went to a party with her partner. She fell asleep at the wheel on the drive home. He died, and she was sentenced to five years in prison, half of which had to be served as hard time.
The Kamillaroi woman was part of the fastest-growing subset of Australia’s prison population. She is one of six women to write about her experience behind bars
for a new series by Guardian Australia.
It comes as a new
report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that women in prison have experienced disproportionately high rates of homelessness and insecure housing, mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, chronic illness, and physical trauma. And just 17% of female prisoners have finished year 12.
Although women and girls make up just 8% of the total prison population in Australia, the female prison population increased 64% between 2009 and 2019, while the male prison population grew by 45%.
...
The tightening of bail laws, use of mandatory sentencing, and a shift for longer sentences for drug offences are among the reasons that the female prison population may be increasing, says the president of the Australian Law Council, Pauline Wright.
