User:Nandrad2/article notes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Convict Women in Australia
Convict women in Australia were the female segment of British prisoners transported during the 18th and 19th centuries to carry out their sentences in what is now Australia. Transportation to the penal settlement in Australia was an alternative for other harsh punishments such as death by hanging. The poverty stricken convicts were viewed as prostitutes when compared with the upper class women in Britain. Although many women were driven to prostitution during the hard convict life in Australia, none were transported for prostitution from Britain because it was never a transportable offense. During the long voyage from Britain to Australia and upon arrival, many women took advantage of their sex as a way of improving their situations. Those convicts who were not given assigned work were sent to female factories to carry out their sentences.