Focus on Women's Imprisonment and Reform
Justice Dina Yehia of the Supreme Court of New South Wales will deliver the keynote address at the 10th Annual KWOOP Parliamentary Breakfast today at NSW Parliament House.n
More than 250 parliamentarians, judicial officers, and community leaders will gather in the Strangers’ Dining Room to discuss women’s imprisonment, focusing on the overrepresentation of Aboriginal women.n
With over three decades of experience, Justice Yehia’s work, including the establishment of the Supreme Court’s Walama List, demonstrates her commitment to addressing Aboriginal over-representation in sentencing.n
Addressing the Remand Crisisn
The breakfast will highlight the critical issue of women on remand in NSW, where over 60 per cent of female prisoners await trial, and more than half do not receive custodial sentences.n
Aboriginal women’s imprisonment occurs at 22 times the rate of non-Indigenous women, illustrating systemic inequalities. This crisis affects generations, as many children enter the care system when their mothers are imprisoned.n
KWOOP Co-Chair Professor Emerita Eileen Baldry AO stated, “We are spending over $200 million a year to imprison women, most of whom are on remand or short sentences, while their children enter care at a cost of $110,000 per child per year.”n
The KWOOP Coalition urges the NSW Government to invest in evidence-based diversion programs, which have been shown to reduce reoffending rates and improve family outcomes at a lower cost than imprisonment.n
Professor Baldry emphasised, “The solutions exist,” urging a decision to invest in effective programs. The event is co-hosted by the Hon. Jodie Harrison MP and the Hon. Natasha Maclaren-Jones MLC, reflecting bipartisan support for tackling systemic issues in women’s imprisonment.n
The KWOOP Coalition, supported by the Judith Neilson Foundation, aims to halve the rate of women’s imprisonment in NSW by 2030, with a focus on Aboriginal women.n
Research indicates that exposure to prison during remand increases the risk of reoffending and family separation. These outcomes make remand a destructive intervention for women unlikely to receive custodial sentences.
