Publish Her Story is a storytelling & advocacy initiative. It will provide space for participants to craft & share their own narratives, to amplify voices too often left out of mainstream dialogue.
Our participants have experienced a range of complex psycho-social factors, including family violence, housing insecurity, childhood trauma, intergenerational disadvantage, mental ill-health, substance use, poverty, and systemic racism. Many have been let down by the very systems meant to protect them — i.e. child protection , policing and the justice system .
WAM recognises that for many women, their stories have been silenced, misrepresented, or weaponised. Storytelling through writing and journaling is a powerful restorative practice — offering space for reflection, voice, and healing. Writing allows women to reclaim their narratives, process their experiences on their own terms, and in doing so, challenge stigma and create connection. Our project offers both creative expression and the possibility of systems changing through truth-telling.
In a series of facilitated writing workshops, participants will explore personal and systemic experiences — from moments of resilience to reflections on structural disadvantage, justice system involvement, what is important to them. Stories may take the form of short personal anecdotes, reflections on systems failure, or broader narratives that challenge stigma and humanise complex journeys.
Our current strategic plan, Pillar 5 Advocacy – Active, Loud & Visible, has the objective to amplify the voices of women with Lived Experience.
Earlier initiatives – Lived Experience Peer Support Group (2023); co-designed Lived Experience Framework (2024) – show the power of story-telling in reclaiming identity and challenging stigma. These projects now point to the next step: Publish Her Story.
Lived Experience Peer Group Facilitator Cathy shares: “Women have powerful voices, but they often need encouragement, support, and safe spaces to use them. Empowerment starts with being given the platform—and the belief—that their voices matter. Sharing stories and pushing for a fairer system ensures women are given second chances based on their growth, not just their mistakes.”
Creative and personal:
Increased confidence in writing and self-expression
Greater sense of personal agency, identity, and voice
Reduced isolation through peer connection
Safe and supported opportunity to share difficult experiences
Narrative and advocacy:
Powerful collection of first-person stories that challenge stigma
Distribution to policymakers, community organisations, and the public
Use of stories in public education and engagement campaigns
Organisational and sector-level:
Strengthened practice in trauma-informed, lived-experience-led storytelling
Deeper community engagement in advocacy efforts
Understanding structural factors women’s justice justice system involvement
Evaluation Methodology
Evaluation will be conducted via a combination of participant feedback, narrative review, & engagement tracking:
Pre- and post-project reflections: Participants will be invited to share how their confidence, connection, and sense of agency may have shifted through the process.
Facilitator reflections and session notes: Qualitative insights on engagement, group dynamics, and emerging themes.
Consent and publishing preferences: Documented at multiple stages to track the progression from draft to published story (optional).
Story audit: Analysis of themes across participant pieces to identify systemic patterns for advocacy.
Media and community engagement: Tracking of public events, speaking opportunities, and campaign integration of stories.
A final project summary report will include:
Anonymised participant feedback
Key learnings and recommendations for future storytelling initiatives
Data on the reach and impact of the publication
WAM supports women and non-binary people who are in contact with the criminal legal system. Our unique early intervention program, matching trained volunteer mentors with participants, is proven to reduce incarceration and reoffending. We work alongside participants through a gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and strengths-based program that supports women to build stability, safety, confidence and a life away from the justice system.
An independent evaluation in 2021 found that the program had contributed to the evidence base of understanding gendered pathways to the justice system. And significantly that the majority (87%) of women engaged with a mentor did not re-offend and instead worked towards building her life away from the justice system.
WAM provides access to our mentoring service across all Greater Melbourne, and we are expanding into Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong.
The women we support have often experienced a range of complex psycho-social factors, including family violence, housing insecurity, childhood trauma, intergenerational disadvantage, mental ill-health, substance use, poverty, and systemic racism. Many have been let down by the very systems meant to protect them — from child protection to policing to the justice system itself.
Referrals are received from government and community agencies: Victoria Legal Aid, community legal centres, the Courts, Corrections and several other support services in the health and justice sector or self-referral.
