Advocates are concerned that the number of women survivors imprisoned for acting in self-defence is rising, and the increasing imprisonment of women generally is linked to women’s lifetime experiences of violent crime. In many cases, the law does not take into account the difficult circumstances of women victims of domestic violence who attack or kill their partner, making it more difficult to get an acquittal, as documented by Lorana Bartels and Patricia Easteal. According to a Women’s Legal Services Australia submission, “courts are not generally well informed about the pathways to prison for women as a result of family violence, including sexual assault and child sexual abuse”. WLSA’s submission also noted that “the issue of women in prison highlights intersectional discrimination based on factors including gender, race, disability, poverty and age”. Incarceration of Aboriginal women in particular has become more common in recent years. Elizabeth Grant and Sarah Paddick pointed out the correlation between Aboriginal women’s incarceration and violence in Aboriginal Women in the Australian Prison System, observing that the majority of Aboriginal women imprisoned were survivors of physical and sexual abuse and that the suffering of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women from physical, emotional and psychological abuse continued in prison. The case of Ms Dhu is a testament to this. AWAVA is committed to working with other advocates and survivors’ groups to influence policies and laws to protect the rights of women survivors of violence, including those caught up in the justice system.