In Victoria, Australia, the rate of female incarceration has continued to rise in the last decade. The majority of women prisoners are primary caregivers of their children. This article examines issues mothers face in mothering, both inside and outside prison, as seen by professionals and stakeholders who support them. Reunification of mothers and children is hampered by factors such as poverty, homelessness, abuse, and lack of access to services. Research and government interventions to address incarcerated mothers' situations have had little positive impact for over 50 years.

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Electronic monitoring (EM) has been introduced in over 30 countries around the world. In most English-speaking countries, it has moved well beyond experimental status and become a regularly applied penal measure. Australia has been lagging behind this world trend, as EM has yet not become dominant in our correctional landscape. This is even though sanctions that utilise radio-frequency and/or global positioning systems (GPS) monitoring have existed in Australia for decades. This article critically examines overseas evaluative findings of EM in relation to recidivism, cost-effectiveness and net-widening, as well as some of the issues and concerns that are associated with EM. The article then summarises and explains the limited Australian EM experience to date. It predicts that increased application of EM in Australia seems likely and should be evidence-based. In this context, there is an urgent need for increased understanding about the use and impact of EM in Australia. The article concludes with some observations about the importance of comparative analysis in this context.

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