Abstract
While imprisonment is often seen as the most severe punishment available in the contemporary criminal justice landscape, there also exists a range of other community-based sentences which are themselves punitive, demanding and painful. They also offer hope for assistance, harm minimisation and diversion from criminal careers. This chapter introduces the reader to community-based approaches to punishment and rehabilitation, including supervision, home detention, community corrections orders and community work. The chapter traces the developments of punishment in the community, highlighting the benefits and challenges of specific punishments, as well as the impacts for women in the criminal justice system. It includes reflections on the gendered biases of punishment in the community and how women-centred or gender-responsive alternatives could be implemented.