Her Rights Inside

Preventing sexual violence against women in prison

Prisons are not safe places for women

Women’s Legal has a long history of providing legal services to women in prison. Through this work, we are aware of the distressingly high rates of sexual violence and harassment being perpetrated against women in prison by employees of Corrective Services NSW.

Women in prison are dependent on Corrective Services staff. This power imbalance and a lack of accountability allows staff to exploit, abuse, and violate the rights of women in prison with limited consequences.

Sexual violence perpetrated by Corrective Services staff is state perpetrated violence. This is not only unlawful and abhorrent, but compounds the cycle of abuse for victim-survivors and harms their recovery, rehabilitation, reintegration into society.

Prisons are workplaces too

Prisons are workplaces too. Whether it is a women employed to work in a prison industry as part of her incarceration or a woman working for Corrective Services, everyone working in a prison settings has a right to a safe workplace, free from sexual violence and harassment.

In a culture of silence, abuse thrives.

Limited transparency, independent oversight and data collection prevents accountability for sexual violence, hinders law reform efforts to prevent state-perpetrated sexual violence and make a safe environment.

Our Solutions

A broader inquiry into sexual violence perpetrated by prison staff in NSW

We’re calling for targeted reviews and transparent data collection into the handling of allegations of abuse and misconduct.

Accountability mechanisms to prevent sexual violence perpetrated by staff

We’re calling for independent mechanisms to ensure Corrective Services NSW staff and any other staff who use sexual violence are held accountable.

Safe, confidential and independent reporting pathways

We’re calling for an independent reporting pathway for women in prison to report sexual violence.

Cultural reform that upholds the dignity and human rights of women in prison

We’re calling for proper protection of human rights and greater accountability and transparency relating to sexual violence and misconduct across prisons and workplaces.

A positive duty to prevent sexual harassment in NSW prisons

This positive duty extends to all workers in prison, including women in prison on work placements or working in prison industry, workers employed by Corrective Services and other staff and volunteers entering the prison.

Amendments to the Civil Liability Act

We’re seeking reforms to the law that currently excludes public sector bodies, such as Corrective Services NSW, from civil liability when an employee commits sexual assault or sexual misconduct.