Tasmanian Times - Systems Abuse Follows Women Behind Prison Walls
By Tasmania Times, 30/10/2025
The death of Chelsea Bracken at Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison has exposed a critical failure – the correctional system itself perpetuates the abuse that brought women there.
Engender Equality CEO Alina Thomas calls for urgent reform –
“We must move away from punishing victim-survivors for surviving violence and instead focus on support and rehabilitation.”
Media Release - Death of young Aboriginal woman in custody sparks calls for reform
MEDIA RELEASE
29 October 2025
DEATH OF YOUNG ABORIGINAL WOMAN IN CUSTODY SPARKS CALL FOR REFORM
Tasmanian advocate organisation, Engender Equality has called for reform after the death of Chelsea Bracken at Mary Hutchinson Women’s prison on Monday 27 October.
Engender Equality CEO, Alina Thomas extends deep condolences to the family and friends of Chelsea Bracken for their profound sense of loss, grief and anger.
“While the circumstances of Chelsea’s incarceration and death are unclear, the factors leading to women entering and returning to prison are deeply complex and often rooted in repeated and intergenerational experiences such as family and sexual violence, homelessness, poverty and child removal.
We know up to 98% of women prisoners have experienced physical abuse and up to 90% have experienced sexual violence and/or survived childhood sexual assault.1
Kianna Whaling, a victim-survivor advocate with lived experience of the Tasmanian prison system said,
“Throughout my life, I was heavily addicted to substances as a coping mechanism to both numb and block out trauma that stemmed from intimate partner violence and sexual assault.
“As a result, I began selling substances to support my addiction which led to incarceration.
“Before my trial commenced I was told to prepare for 12 years and realised I needed to take steps to resolve my trauma and reached out to a counselling service.
I informed the prison nurse I was feeling a little uneasy after the counselling session and I was moved to solitary confinement under ‘suicide watch’ where I was left for several days without human contact, and only a camera monitoring my state.
Alina Thomas said we must move away from a model that punishes victim-survivors for surviving violence, and instead focus on support, rehabilitation and justice.
“Correctional staff need to be more trauma-informed, and protocols should be in place to prevent re-traumatising women in prison.
“Our justice system must do better at supporting victim-survivors in prison.” Ms Thomas said.
In the ten years from 2014 to 2024, Tasmania had the highest increase in the adult prison population; the highest increase in First Nations prisoners; and the highest increase in women prisoners of any State or Territory in Australia.2
Women with lived experience of violence and incarceration are available for interview by contacting 0415 740 524, email advocates@engenderequality.org.au or visit Advocates for Change – Engender Equality.
Ends.
Media Contact: Alina Thomas 0438 788 291
Report: system failing family violence victims
By Bridget Clarke
Hobart Mercury, 21/10/25
A damning report by a Tasmanian family violence organisation has laid bare the extent to which institutions intended to support victim-survivors are failing to address, and often, perpetuating abuse.
Lifting the lid on head injuries through domestic violence
Deb Thomson, Lived Experience Advocate spoke with Olivia Hicks on iHeart Tassie on 4 September, 2025 to discuss head injuries caused by domestic violence.
Systems abuse and family violence in Tasmania: The importance of lived experience expertise
Alina Thomas, Engender Equality CEO and Kianna Whaling, Lived Experience Advocate spoke with Tracey Strong on ABC Radio Breakfast (Hobart) on Monday 20 October, 2025 to discuss the new report on systems abuse, next steps and the importance of lived experience expertise
Too many times victims dismissed
By Lauren Richardson
The Examiner, Monday September 22, 2025
Engender Equality advocate and victim-survivor Deborah Thomson said sports concussions were getting the attention and awareness they needed, but brain trauma acquired through domestic violence wasn’t.
Survivor feminism: Grace Tame's rhetoric of resistance, solidarity and transformation
By Christine Robertson
Masters of Arts (Writing) Research Project
University of New England
Paper Trail - A poem
Paper Trail
She is nothing,
but she has a point of view.
She is young,
but she rummages through
the tissues in her bra,
she’s no star.
She has no pockets
for ritzy spent dockets;
she is just nothing,
but she has a point of view.
He’s not the right image,
for you, true blue.
You’re tiptoeing around
with only one shoe.
He’s not the right image
for us too.
The female beast
is the one inside you.
Censoring self,
isn’t your due.
There’s blue paint
on the ceiling,
as a short-film mart.
Plastered on the wall
peeling off your heart,
is just the start.
The hostage burns slow
when the light gets too low.
Self-sabotage protects the other,
self-delete inserts another.
Anon.
Domestic violence victim-survivors share early warning signs of abuse
By Kellie Scott
Posted to ABC News, 01/07/25 – 1:00pm
Told they couldn’t go out with friends. Stopped from giving male friends a hug. Called crazy and gaslit when their partner did something wrong.
These are just some of the early signs of intimate partner violence shared by victim-survivors in recent research from the University of Melbourne.
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