Women Beyond Walls were proud to be part of a special moment with Women Deliver, who recognised the rising rates of women’s criminalisation in the Melbourne Declaration, launched in Naarm (Melbourne) earlier this week. They were at the launch of the declaration live at Women Deliver 2026, and later in the week, co-hosted an official concurrent session titled ‘Prison is a Feminist Issue: Reimagining Justice’. This was the first time an event focused on women and prison had taken place within the official schedule of Women Deliver.

The session from Women Beyond Walls used a circle format, opening with short provocations from advocates at the intersection of criminalisation, gender-based violence, sex work, drug use, and poverty — before moving into real, participatory dialogue. It followed the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women’s Agreed Conclusions, which explicitly recognised women in detention — a historic milestone that took years of tireless advocacy to achieve.

Read the Melbourne Declaration for Gender Equality below.