A War on Vulnerable Women: Paedophiles and Rapists in Australian Women's prisons

Vulnerable women are collateral damage in the push to embed gender identity ideology.

Recent media coverage of the paedophile, Autumn Tulip Harper has ignited widespread fury in Australia, and exposed deep fissures in how gender identity trumps the rights of women in the criminal justice system.

Harper, a 26-year-old man from Victoria, who identified as a ‘woman’ after his arrest was sentenced in July 2024 in the County Court to four years and nine months’ imprisonment for the persistent sexual abuse of his five-year-old daughter.

Police raided Harper’s home in September 2023 following a tip-off by U.S. investigators who seized his phone and found evidence of 77 abuse incidents, including images of his naked daughter in sexual poses and videos of Harper kissing and licking her.

Harper shared child sexual abuse material via Discord with an American paedophile known as “Samuel Booth,” whom Harper described as his online “master” in a BDSM relationship. Harper claimed that the abuse was committed to “keep Booth happy” and gain validation.

During the trial, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Rajan Darjee argued for a lighter sentence because he claimed Harper was “hormonally female” and his actions aligned with a “female pattern” of abuse claiming there was no risk of reoffending.

In the sentencing of Harper, Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis imposed a non-parole period of just two years and six months, far below the 25-year maximum by citing Harper’s “gender dysphoria” and a “tough childhood” as mitigating factors.

Harper was placed in the Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre (DPFC) with a history of housing trans-identified male sex offenders with female inmates.

The prison also has a history of assaults and suicides and is plagued by chronic understaffing exacerbated by high absenteeism and burnout. There have been at least 106 all-day lockdowns recorded since July 2024.

Victorian paedophile, Autumn Tulip Harper

State-sanctioned punishment of vulnerable women

Tony Cameron is another trans-identified man currently housed at DPFC following his convictions for attempting to rape a woman on a Melbourne street and sexually abusing his own six-year-old daughter over multiple incidents.

Cameron was initially placed in a men’s prison where he adopted a ‘trans’ identification which was used to justify his transfer to DPFC in August 2022. Cameron was placed in the DPFC’s Murray Protection Unit intended for vulnerable female inmates who are survivors of male violence.

Dozens of female inmates petitioned Corrections Victoria and described Cameron as “intimidating” and a “predator,” who harassed them in shared bathrooms and showers.

The female inmates said their ‘severe mental wellbeing was compromised’ due to the presence of Cameron and reported panic attacks, flashbacks and sleep disturbances, with one inmate stating:

We are terrified every day.…this man has raped women before, and now he’s in our space.

Despite this, the Victorian Human Rights Commissioner, Ro Allen (they/them) rejected the women’s petition and defended the policy as “human rights based.” Allen said there was “no substantiated evidence of risk” despite Cameron’s violent sexual history. Cameron remains housed at DPFC as of 2025.

Ro Allen - the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner

In a parallel incident at the minimum-security Tarrengower prison, linked to DPFC, a trans-identified male (whose identity has been suppressed) sexually assaulted a female inmate in 2023.

Women left to die alone in Victorian prisons

Veronica Marie Nelson

DPFC has a history of assaults and suicides and is plagued by chronic understaffing that led to 106 all-day lockdowns since July 2024. There have been two high-profile custodial deaths both of indigenous women at DPFC.

Veronica Marie Nelson, also known as Poccum, died alone in her cell on April 2, 2020, at age 37 after being denied bail for minor shoplifting charges. Veronica was her mother’s firstborn, one of six siblings and a mother figure to her 10 nieces and nephews.

Heather Calgarett was the middle child in a large, close-knit family and mother to four children. Heather’s youngest child was born in custody and immediately removed by child protection authorities triggering profound grief, depression, shame, and trauma. Her sister Suzzane was also incarcerated at DPFC and discovered that Heather was unresponsive during a head count. Heather died in 2021 at the age of 32 after being denied parole because of housing shortages post-release.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan was finally forced to address the Harper case publicly during a recent press conference when a young female journalist asked her:

A paedophile who molested his own daughter is being kept in a female prison, how do you justify that?” Initially, Allan stonewalled: “I’m not going to comment on individual circumstances.

When pressed again: “But do you think it’s safe? Allan was combative, unapologetic and failed to acknowledge it was within her power to remove Harper with authority for Corrections Victoria:

I think it would be deeply inappropriate for any member of parliament, minister or premier of the day to be reaching into Corrections Victoria and directing the placement of any prisoner across the prison system. So, let’s be clear - there are strict and clear guidelines within which Corrections Victoria operate and that includes the safety and well-being of all prisoners when it comes to the placement of individual prisoners.

Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner (SDA) Dr. Anna Cody was also forced to comment on the Harper case when Liberal Senator Claire Chandler, in a Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee asked her: “Does the Sex Discrimination Act classify Autumn Tulip Harper as a woman?” to which Cody replied:

The Sex Discrimination Act includes trans women within it, so, the person who I believe you’re referring to is a trans woman.

Anna Cody at the National Press Club

During a September 2025 National Press Club address, Cody argued for an, “inclusive definition of women” that she said included - culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) women, lesbians, First Nations women, women with disabilities and trans women.

It absolutely includes all women because that is who women are, we’re not one version of woman.

By redefining womanhood into different identity groups, Cody denies the biological basis of sex, includes men in the category of woman and denies same-sex attraction.

NSW recently joined other Australian States by passing self ID laws which has resulted in 496 men updating their birth certificates in the past few weeks to claim a female identity.

Women’s groups have warned that Australia’s self ID laws and the current SDA interpretation offers “perverse incentives” for men like Harper, Cameron and many others to reduce their sentences and allow them entry into female prisons, spaces and services.

The Fightback Gathers Pace

Women’s Forum Australia’s CEO Rachael Wong gathered over 12,000 signatures and petitioned the Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to remove men from women’s prisons.

Women’s Rights Network Australia has written to the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese to call for the resignation of the SDA Commissioner, Anna Cody arguing that her intervention in the Giggle v Tickle case, her recent Press Club speech, and her evidence at the Constitutional Affairs Committee make it clear that she conflates “sex” with “gender identity,” effectively dismantles women’s hard-won rights.

Lia Finocchiaro, the Northern Territory opposition leader, became the first Australian leader to announce a ban on men in women’s prisons stated that it was “absurd” to house men in female facilities, especially amid Australia’s domestic violence crisis, which she described as the nation’s shame.

Sall Grover, CEO and women’s rights activist wrote to the Attorney General, Michelle Rowland to request an amendment the SDA to protect women as a biological sex class

Australians await the ruling of Sall Grover’s cross-appeal from the Justices in the Giggle v Tickle case in which her lawyers argued that the definition of “woman” and “sex” in anti-discrimination law under the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) means biological sex and not ‘gender identity’.

If Grover loses the appeal there will be a further and final appeal to the High Court while Tickle, with support from the Human Rights Commission will also likely appeal to the High Court.

Until the Sex Discrimination Act is amended - women like Veronica Marie Nelson, Heather Calgarett and many, many other Australian women will be forced to accept predatory, sexually violent men in their prisons, sports and spaces.

For an in-depth understanding of the history of men in women’s prisons you can listen to Episode 5, Season 2 of Deceasing Society and follow Desexing Society Podcast

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