Prison might be part of her story — but it is never the whole story.

Proving what we’ve long known: with the right post-prison support, women don’t go back. They rebuild. Find out how From Now works and why it needs to grow.

We’re proud to launch a new WAGEC report that proves what frontline workers, advocates, and women themselves have long known: with access to safe housing and the right support, women rarely go back to prison — they rebuild.

Drawing on frontline data, participant stories, and systemic analysis, the report unpacks why women are the fastest growing prison population in Australia — and what it takes to break the cycle of incarceration.

A growing crisis

Women are the fastest growing prison population in Australia. And yet, services have not evolved to meet their needs. 

In NSW, there are currently more than 850 women in prison. 81% are in minimum security. And over half are on remand, meaning they haven’t been sentenced yet.

These numbers tell a story of exclusion, discrimination and inadequacy — of women being punished for poverty, trauma, and survival. And they reveal a system that continues to remove children from their mothers and send women back to prison, to repeat the cycle again and again. 

Read full article on Breaking the cycle: Insights from our From Now program on  rebuilding women’s lives after prison