Stacey Stokes is a transgender girl who had a 10 and a half year sentence in a men’s prison. She has an undergraduate in creative writing and has recently been published extensively, most notably, “Nothing to hide, tales of trans and gender diverse Australia”, which was published and distributed internationally by Allen & Unwin. Stacey was a recipient of the 2025 Varuna Trans and Gender Diverse Fellowship to develop her manuscript, My World.
In early December, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Australia. Their purpose was to provide guidance on how international human rights standards apply to prisons and places of detention.
Is the NT walking into a more criminalised and less safe future?
Drug Courts are specialist courts that can provide an alternative to imprisonment for those who have offended due to drug dependency.
People who’ve been incarcerated have a unique and valuable perspective. Remember – lived experience can open doors to meaningful employment once you’re released. It could be a fulfilling job filled with community, purpose and support.
A report by Financial Counselling Australia said this is a form of “double punishment”, with people leaving prison in a worse financial position than when they entered it because the system is “stacked against them”.
While hardline responses to crime are constantly pushed by politicians and the media, other approaches – such as “therapeutic justice” models – are often overlooked.
The Midsumma Pride March sees tens of thousands march down Fitzroy Street in St Kilda, with many more turning out to cheer them on.
A program in Ballarat, Victoria is connecting regular community members with people in prison. The program, ‘The Future Shapers,’ conducts tours of local prisons and sit-down group interviews with inmates.
I remember Christmas in prison fondly. I was with all my closest friends – my only friends. When they send you to jail, everyone and everything you have goes away.
Elections never bring anything good for people engaged in the system.
If parole was ever about rehabilitation, it’s not really the feeling I get now. It feels more like an exercise in assessing the risk to the community, not about reintegrating people.
Rehabilitation is pointless without forgiveness and another chance at doing right.
When I was arrested, I had a job, a family, friends. When they sent me to jail, I lost it all. Because that’s the true punishment. You lose your life. You break the law, so you are destroyed.
King 810, a nu metal band from the USA, toured Australia in March. I went, and a lot of other criminals went too. There was even a few reintegration officers spotted in the crowd. Simply because, they strike a chord… with those who have lived hardship.
Video games can be helpful for people both inside and leaving prison. They’re not only entertaining, but they can help people deal with the trauma of prison and re-entry in the community.
This is a very special Ask Stacey, as I finished parole! And the questions came from all sorts of different people in the justice system.
You had questions, we listened! These answers are from my life (and are supposed to make you smile a bit!).
You may be following in an age-old tradition of this county by languishing in one of his Majesty’s prisons, but you are not forgotten!
What helped me was realising that there was nothing inherently wrong with me and that it was my brain trying to cope.
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