explain systemic concerns Flashcards
what is the history of women’s prisons in canada
Warehousing – Pre-industrial – Capitalist – 1950’s – Now – ‘Corrections’ 1879 – Mercer Reformatory 1934 – P4W – 1938 Archambault report – 1977 – “Unfit for bears, much less women” – 1990 - TFFSW – “Creating Choices” – 2000 – P4W closes
difference between male and female prisoners
Males: – Rarely care-givers – Aboriginals overrepresented – Serious & extensive criminal histories – Higher recidivism – Fewer mental health issues – Higher educational attainment – Lower rates of poverty
Females: – 2/3rds primary caregivers – Aboriginals highly over-represented – Minor crime histories – Low recidivism rates – High co-morbidity – Low education levels – High rates of poverty and welfare use
explain 7 states in moral career of female inmate
thomas arcaro Stage 1 -> Stripping Stage 2 -> Distancing Stage 3 -> Learning the ropes - social structure of prison Stage 4 -> Learning to do time Stage 5 -> Dashed hopes Stage 6 -> Exit papers and release date Stage 7 -> Exiting
explain crating choices principles
Principle #1 – Empowerment Principle #2 – Meaningful, Reasonable Choices Principle #3 – Respect & Dignity Principle #4 – Supportive Environment Principle #5 – Shared Responsibility
what are impedments to transformation
- High incarceration rate deeply entrenched
tradition.
– 2. Intersection of racism and cycle of violence in
oppression of Aboriginal women.
– 3. Offender Intake Assessment (Risks & Needs) -
applied to women -consistently over-classified in
terms of security
– 4. High per unit programming and costs
– 5. Focus on control through punitive measures
– 6. Lack of ‘political will’.
what are custody rating scales
CSC custody rating scales are designed according
to male standards and as such, result in skewed
discriminatory assessments of federally sentenced
women, resulting in too many being deemed high
security risks.
Maximum security prisoners are isolated and
ineligible to participate in work-release programs,
community release programs or other programming
designed to facilitate reintegration into society
Maximum security women classified as such based
on difficulty adapting to prison rather than their risk
to public safety
explain issues with government and incarceration
Neo-liberal/ neo-conservative government focus – Government ‘individualizes’ structured inequality – State contributes to oppression – Empowerment = ‘Responsibilized’ Women – Post-release – “Transcarceration” Non-legal forms of ‘Governmentality
what is the okimaw ohci healing lodge
Located in Saskatchewan Multi-level facility 50% of Aboriginal federally-sentenced women unable to access lodge given their ‘maximum’ security designation.
how are girls sexually exploited
Badgley Report (1985) – sex abuse – Juvenile prostitutes = victims – “Frame” “What you define as real, is real in its consequences” – Responsibilization Enact ‘Secure Care’, ignore structural problems ‘Spatialization’
what is secure care
Protective confinement: 5 day assessment Frame: – “Youth involved in prostitution are victims in need of protection.” Focus on girls Status offenses Individualizing Prostitution – “Prudentialism’ ‘Deserving vs. undeserving’ victims Ultimate goal: return youth to family, minimize state’s responsibility
explain the risk-need responsivity model
Risk principle – Level of Service Inventory Needs principle – Criminogenic needs vs. Non-criminogenic needs Responsivity principle – Cognitive behavioural interventions “Cascading”
explain the will to empower responsibilitization
Welfare Model versus Neo-Liberal (Empowerment)
- State Responsibility - Individual Responsibility
Altercations surrounding Empowerment Strategy
– Correctional Services Canada (CSC)
“The CSC seeks to make offenders accountable and
responsible for their criminal behaviors, irrespective of
structural or situational forces in their lives.”
– Feminist Perspective
“Accepts offender accountability, however, they emphasize
that women prisoner’s life circumstances and the social
context of their offences must be acknowledged.”
Meaningful and Responsible Choices
what’s the problem with the unempowered prisoner
-unreformed High risk, High need Classified as “maximum security” Offender Intake Assessment Process Redefinition of Needs Risk versus Criminogenic Needs Substantive Equality vs. Formal Equality – Recognition of different needs & life experiences of women prisoners
- Law treats all
persons alike
what is the failure to confront violence by women
Little attention to women as perpetrators
Women’s violence
– “Reactive”
Response to abusive situations or abusive relationships
“Backlash” effect
Creating Choices
– Silenced female use of violence
– Portrayed women as victims of violence and abuse
– P4W incident
“Violent events caused by violent women”
recap of west and zimmerman ‘ doin ggender’
Women and men “do gender” in response to
normative beliefs about femininity and masculinity
Gender differences are created and reinforced
Gender is constructed through our everyday social
interactions
Examples:
– Women are not suppose to use anger or aggression but
rather “suppress these emotions/behaviors”
Aggressive or violent behavior by women is “unfeminine”
“Doubly disadvantaged”
– Men use aggression in public settings to “act as a
reinforcement of their masculinity and self-worth”
