While people across the country are getting ready for Christmas festivities with their family and friends, some Australians have a tough day ahead.
Christmas Day can be a particularly difficult time for the approximately 42,000 men and women in Australia's prisons, many of whom won't be allowed to have visitors.
Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre in Sydney is one of the country's largest women's prisons and, for those inside, Christmas can be a sharp reminder of what or who is missing.
"For some women, it can create a lot of anxiety and potentially grief, because of that separation from their family and kids," says Louise Groot, a prison chaplain at the facility.
Ms Groot works for the Christian organisation Anglicare and has been based full-time at Dillwynia for three years.
And each December, she tries to make the Christmas season as meaningful as possible for the women behind bars.
Christmas at Dillwynia
Dillwynia Women's Correctional Centre is on the north-west edge of Sydney, near the township of Windsor, and can hold around 500 women.
The prison's interiors and grounds are far from festive. But as summer begins, signs of the Christmas season appear around the facility.
Each Australian prison marks the Christmas season differently. For Dillwynia, restrictions mean Christmas events occur in the lead-up to December 25, rather than on the day itself.
"[In different prisons], Christmas services happen in different parts of the month, just depending on the structure of the jail or when inmates may be available," Ms Groot says.
"At Dillwynia, we have services as close as possible to Christmas Day. We have a carol service ― so we celebrate with songs."
Many Australian prisons, including Dillwynia, do not allow visitors on Christmas Day.
These institutions have said this creates a sense of fairness as not all prisoners are able to receive visitors.
At Dillwynia, the women are allowed to have visitors on the weekend before and weekend after December 25, and will be able to make phone calls to loved ones on the day itself.
The 'heartache' of separation
Ms Groot sums up the Christmas season at Dillwynia as a "real mixture of emotions" for everyone inside.
"Having that extra restriction [on Christmas Day] of having no interaction with their family, it's very difficult for the women, especially being away from their children as well. And that adds another level of heartache for the women."
As a result, Ms Groot says her job as prison chaplain around Christmas is two-pronged: to fulfil her religious duties and to offer support.
"For the women who are struggling, it's about being present, supporting them and encouraging them through this time and into the new year. And just offering them a listening ear."
She says December is "probably the hardest part of the year" for a Christian prison chaplain but, she immediately adds, it's "a privilege and an honour to be there … to be able to support the women."
The role of a prison chaplain
Prison chaplains in Australia date all the way back to the First Fleet and, like the makeup of the country itself, the role has changed dramatically over the centuries.
Today, prison chaplains represent an array of faith traditions. At Dillwynia, there are five prison chaplains (two full-time and three part-time), from Anglican, Catholic, Muslim and Buddhist religious groups.
Many faiths are practised inside this Sydney prison and many women don't have a religion. But this doesn't matter for Ms Groot.
"[I get to] sit with women of other faiths that I may not know much about and learn what they believe and how they practise their traditions. And they are inquisitive of me, asking what do I believe in? And how do I practise?" she says.
"Along the way, I get to learn about other faiths … There is great joy sitting in this mix on a daily basis."
Ms Groot says she was drawn to the role three years ago because "I have a heart for disadvantaged and vulnerable people who are on the fringes of our society."
Each prison chaplain around Australia conducts the role differently, depending on their faith, their individual prison and the circumstances within, and their personal preferences.
For Ms Groot, a typical week can include helping with programs that encourage a positive lifestyle, spending time conversing with the women and running services on Sunday. Sometimes she facilitates live-streamed funerals or runs memorial services.
"I think being present is really important. We have the opportunity to walk alongside these women and encourage them each day," she says.
'Someone's mother, someone's daughter'
With the majority of Australians far removed from the prison system and facilities like Dillwynia, Ms Groot says there are all sorts of misconceptions about the women she works with.
"People forget that we all have a story. And that different parts of our story sometimes lead us in different directions," Ms Groot says.
"The general population doesn't have that opportunity to know their stories. But to hear their stories and to see who they are, I think that would actually change [the public's] perspective and opinions towards women who are incarcerated."
Ms Groot says during her time at Dillwynia, she has not only learned a lot about the women there, but has also learned a lot about herself.
"I thought I was a person who wasn't judgemental. But I was. The women have taught me a high level of tolerance and acceptance," she says.
"When I look at the women, I see a deep level of strength within them. A deep level of resilience. Even in the hardness of it all, I still see the compassion and the kindness that can sit within them."
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