Pathways to offending among women and girls are significantly characterised by histories of domestic and family violence, trauma, homelessness, illicit drug use, unemployment and/or mental illness. While the ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ is often used as a short-hand description of boys’ pathways to incarceration, a ‘sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline’ is a more apt description of the trajectories for girls and young women. The foregoing issues are compounded for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

This literature review outlines current evidence-based research that identifies the needs and experiences of women and girls involved with courts and applies gender and cultural lenses to examine the efficacy of court-based interventions. It includes a series of case studies. Issues covered include:

• pathways to offending for women and girls and risk assessment
• special needs and populations, including youth justice and culturally appropriate responses for Indigenous women and girls
• therapeutic jurisprudence
• trauma-informed practice
• gender responsivity
• pre-court support and diversion
• pre-sentence/bail support programs
• specialist court programs such as drug courts, Indigenous courts, domestic and family violence courts, and specialist lists for women and girls
• education for judicial officers and other stakeholders
• court design and administration.