Victim survivors who have been criminalised experience high rates of family violence and trauma, and the severity and impacts of this violence and trauma can be significant. The term ‘criminalised women’ is used to encompass women who have been imprisoned, have had contact with police for other matters, and/or who engage in criminalised activities such as illicit drug use or sex work. (Safe+Equal)
Resources for Practitioners
- Flat Out is a state-wide homelessness support and advocacy service for women 18+ (with/without children), who have had contact with the criminal justice and/or prison system in Victoria.
- Safe+Equal’s Supporting Criminalised Women resources
- Rural Women online is supporting rural women to learn digital skills
- Collected Wisdom A manual which collates practice ideas and activities from family violence group work in the northern metro region that can be used by other group workers.
- Peninsula Community Legal Centre – Supporting clients on temporary visas experiencing FV to safely leave relationships and get migration assistance – Guide to Safety Tool
- Providing safety and support for criminalised victim survivors A tip sheet and poster aimed at criminalised women and seeks to empower them to access the tip sheet and provide it to a service or practitioner they are working with.
Research
ANROWS report on “The forgotten victims: Prisoner experience of victimisation and engagement with the criminal justice system”
Project Respect – A state of knowledge paper on “The extent, nature, and impact of family, domestic, and sexual violence against women in the Australian sex industry”