Department of Corrective Services

The Profile of Women in Prison report provides valuable information regarding the attitudes and perceptions of women in Western Australian prison facilities. The report is based on information gleaned through a Prisoner Characteristics and Needs Survey. Reports are available below for 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2008.

Since 2001 the profile of women in prison project has sought to develop an improved understanding of female prisoners through conducting a comprehensive survey, in order to assist the Department of Corrective Services (DCS) in implementing effective and efficient policy and practice. The impetus for this research has come from the recognition of a (inter)national trend toward increasing female imprisonment and recognition of the traditional neglect of women as a prisoner group. The project has run as a survey in 2001, 2003, and 2005; however in 2008 the methodology has changed in order to maximise the value this type of research can provide.

Despite the change in methodology, many of the findings of the current research are consistent with what was found in the 2001, 2003, and 2005 Women in Prison Surveys. Generally speaking female prisoners come from socially and economically deprived backgrounds, have experienced various forms of abuse, their offending behaviour is strongly linked to substance use, and they have limited social and economic resources to adjust their lifestyle and refrain from re-offending. What the current findings emphasise is that the women in Western Australian prisons have diverse characteristics and needs that are sometimes obscured by looking at the group as a whole.