Discusses issues of human rights law and federal legislation in relation to federally sentenced women (FSW) with mental disabilities. Concludes with recommendations for the improvement of mental health services for FSW.
Compares incarcerated women and women who are serving the remainder of their sentence in the community by: age, marital status, race, offence committed, length of sentence, and previous terms of incarceration. Highlighted findings include: out of 866 women offenders in Canada serving a federal sentence, 355 (40.9%) are incarcerated while 511 (59.1%) are serving the remainder of their sentence in the community, over half (56.3%) of the incarcerated population are in 18-34 age group as compared to 43.9% in the community, and there is little difference with respect to marital status – the majority in both groups are single.
Discusses a study undertaken at the Kingston Prison for Women about developing a therapeutic programme for women who self-injure. Interviews with prisoners security staff personnel about injury response, injury reduction and suicide identification reveals that self-injury may best be reduced by considering it a sign of emotional distress rather than a security issue, and by shifting the responsibility for its reduction from security to counselling personnel. Concludes with recommendations for the development of a programme to train prisoners as peer counsellors.
Presents information about how effectively the Correctional Service of Canada is managing many of its operations as they relate to women offenders serving federal sentences. Offers profile statistics by race, marital status, offence committed, and by security classification. PDF required.
Discusses the issue of mother-child separation and the existing mother-child program for federally sentenced women. Reveals because of the complexity of living situations experienced by mothers and children; each mother-child group is a unique case and must be treated individually using recognized assessment tools. Recommends that new strategies are needed that would be better suited to the culture and specific needs of mothers serving a federal sentence and their children
Provides a historical overview of changes in terms of regional facilities, programs, and services for federally sentenced women since 1990. Offers insight into where the system is headed, as well as statistical facts and figures, and common misconceptions about federally sentenced women.
Investigates the needs of women offenders and makes recommendations and program proposals to support and assist them in being safely accommodated in regional medium or minimum security correctional facilities. Study is limited to the Atlantic and Ontario regions but can be applied to other regional correctional facilities.
Summarizes the findings of the literature that are applicable to women serving sentences of 10 years or more, links these findings to the overall philosophy of the Creating Choices document, assesses program that are outlined in the Correctional Program Strategy for Federally Sentenced Women, and reviews and assesses the applicability of the four stages recommended by the Task Force on Long-Term Offenders to the experiences of women. Concludes that the literature provides a sense of the realities of women serving long-term sentences and provides direction into the type of strategy that should and could be applied to best serve this population.
Correctional Services of Canada, Office of the Deputy Commissioner for Women
Reviews the available literature on the therapeutic and vocational benefits of pet facilitated therapy (PFT) in correctional institutions. Defines PFT, gives a background overview of PFT programs in several types of institutions, offers a discussion on the therapeutic and vocational aspects of pets in institutional settings, as well as explores the various issues involved when implementing PFT programs such as planning, objectives, ethics, and funding. Concludes that PFT programs benefit inmates, the animals, staff, and the citizens in the community.
Summarizes the full discussion paper entitled: Healing the relationship between federally sentenced women and communities. Summarizes discussion of the theoretical and philosophical basis for the proposed Community Advocacy model. This model promotes a federal strategy to implement a provincial community-based, pre-sentencing process to promote minimal incarceration for Federally Sentenced Women (FSW) through increased community participation. Concludes with recommendations for the establishment of a National Advisory Committee and resources needed to establish regional voluntary advisory networks.
