00:00Debbie Kilroy was only 13 years old when she was jailed for the first time.
00:09In and out of children's prisons until I was 17 and then in the adult system.
00:14And you finish your parole too.
00:16Debbie now heads Sisters Inside, an organisation fighting to free women and girls from incarceration.
00:23I want you to live and be happy.
00:25When you remove so many women from our families and our community, the whole family system structure collapses.
00:33Women make up the fastest growing population in Australian prisons.
00:38In the Northern Territory, the majority are Aboriginal.
00:41I may be a good role model for my niece.
00:44The Cunga Stopping Violence Program in Alice Springs is one of the few supports for women inside.
00:50We run a 20-day grief, loss and trauma program for 10 women twice a year in Alice Springs Correctional Centre.
00:59Last month, female inmates were moved from Alice Springs to Darwin without notice.
01:06There's no certainty around when or if they'll go back.
01:10When we isolate someone away from kin, country and community, there is no mechanism for healing.
01:17Lawyers say domestic violence, addiction and disadvantage are driving more women into jail.
01:24It may be that she's acting in self-defence and has been misidentified as the primary perpetrator.
01:30Some experts argue well-intentioned reforms, including a push toward proactive policing of family and domestic violence,
01:38could be working against marginalised women.
01:41Advocates calling on policy makers to invest in alternatives to custody.
01:45If we're able to help these women at that crisis point, then the community benefits.
01:52A vision for the future with women at the centre.
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