What is the text structure?

The Rabbit-Proof Fence is separated into nine chapters. The first several chapters is lead-up to the escape of three girls from a settlement school which, by law, they were forced to attend. Chapter One provides historical background on the main conflict between the white (raiders) and Aborigines in Australia. The next chapter covers the tense relationship between "peaceful" English settlers and the natives, and the large number of half-caste children produced by relationships between the two. The government felt obliged to treat these children "better" than the other Aboriginal children, and as a result, decided better treatment included removing them from their families.

The chapter titled The Escape, chronicles the way in which three. very young, unhappy girls run away from the settlement school in 1930. The girls walked for over two months until they reached their home, a hike that totaled over one thousand miles. The final chapter explains what happens after they arrived home.

Garimara's introduction includes informational sources, and she also includes a Glossary of Mardujara words at the back of the book. Sources used as references are also included in the books last pages.