Issue 37.1.2
Editor-in-Chief, NANCY WRIGHT
Deaf does not mean ‘dumb’: Deaf and hard of hearing federally-sentenced persons face stigma
By DR. TRACEY BONE
Twenty-four years after identifying the inability of ‘speakers’ of American Sign Language to communicate effectively within the Canadian criminal justice system, Dr. Bone reports that little has changed. Dr. Bone points to four important reports over the past 24 years, including Human Rights of Federally-Sentenced Persons (Senate 2021), acknowledging that federally-sentenced persons who are Deaf and hard of hearing are discriminated against in terms of language. They are forced to communicate in a foreign language (English or French) which they may not know or do not have the physical ability to use. Their inability to perform well is often mistaken for a sign of intellectual deficiency, laments the author, which perpetuates the stereotypes and associated stigma being kept alive in part by the old saying, ‘deaf and dumb’. Dr. Bone is working to cull this symbolically damaging terminology from Correctional Service of Canada’s documentation and literature. Certain jurisdictions, such as Ontario (2007), have made sign language an official language but change is largely yet to materialize. While Canada ratified the UN convention on the rights of person with disabilities in 2010, it has yet to pass legislation to ensure full equality of this group’s language(s) across the justice system. Dr. Bone points out that failure to provide members of this cultural group access to correctional programs is a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and also contravenes CSC’s own regulations on service delivery under Section 27(4) of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA).
Roberto’s Journey with discrimination and stigma
By ROBERTO DIAZ
Introduction by DOUG HECKBERT: In the following pages, readers will read the testimony of Roberto Diaz of Edmonton, Alta, a former drug dealer who was also the subject of a manslaughter under investigation for manslaughter. Roberto stopped drinking and drug use and has been through Alberta’s Drug Treatment Court, where he “learned to be normal again. I met Roberto for the first time in 2019 when I interviewed him for inclusion in include him in my book Go Ahead and Shoot Me! and Other True Stories About Ordinary Criminals (Durvile Publications Ltd. of Calgary, AB, 2020). Roberto now has a stable job as a as a peer worker. In his article, he recounts part of his childhood, crime, addiction sobriety and rehabilitation. I ask the reader to notice the changes in Roberto’s feelings, attitudes and attitudes and behavior as he describes the differences between the differences between how he viewed himself and how others how others saw him at different points in his journey. his journey. He has experienced several types of stigma throughout his life. I think Roberto’s story of stigma can help the general public understand the impact the impact of stigma, a powerful human dynamic, and the and the individual and social harm it causes.
Is the Canadian Correctional Setting a Source of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
By CHANEL BLAIS
Despite the overrepresentation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among inmates in Canada, the correctional system, particularly maximum security and pre-trial institutions, fosters an environment highly conducive to both the aggravation of PTSD symptoms and the development of onset PTSD. Cumulative traumatic experiences and a lack of proper social support are high-risk factors associated with the development of PTSD in traumatized persons. It is imperative that the relevance of violence within these institutions, the inappropriate use of solitary confinement, and the lack of reasonable access to mental health care be addressed. Studies have demonstrated that integrating a rehabilitative treatment philosophy into the prison regime may aid in reducing misconduct. Humane prison environments have also proven to be effective in reducing recidivism. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), sweat lodge ceremonies, yoga and mindfulness meditation, and even psychedelic drugs have been suggested as treatments for PTSD.
Childhood Sexual Abuse and the Canadian Criminal Justice System
STEFAN HORODECKYJ
Childhood sexual abuse is a persistent, prevalent and very important personal and social issue in Canada, and indeed worldwide. It has existed from time immemorial, and its insidious presence knows no boundaries. Childhood sexual abuse is not restricted to any gender, socio-economic status, race, culture, ethnicity or religion. The trauma of childhood sexual abuse is real and substantial for many victims from an emotional, physical, financial and sometimes spiritual perspective. As well, family, friends, employers and the community at large are often secondary victims. This crime is more often than not perpetrated by a family member or friend of the family but may also be another individual known to the victim (Badgley Report, 1984). Unfortunately and for many reasons, however, many cases of childhood sexual abuse go unreported by victims to the police. Consequently, many abusers are not arrested and thus never charged and criminally prosecuted (Martin and Silverstone, 2013). When unreported, the victim does not receive the support they need to deal with the trauma. And the abuser is not stopped. There are several reasons for the under-reporting of childhood sexual abuse, including victims’ feelings of shame and often guilt (self-blame) regarding the sexual abuse; a fear, that they will not be believed, or of retribution from the perpetrator; and victims also may fear destroying their family or being abandoned or even ostracized as a liar by family members and friends.
Incarcerated Women and PTSD: The Societal Struggles that Contribute to Women’s Trauma
SAMANTHA BARLAGE
For women in conflict with the law, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents a challenge to reintegration in their communities. The large number of women in custody who are affected by PTSD is closely related to high rates of trauma experienced over the course of their lifespans. Without the proper institutional resources and access to treatment, women suffering from PTSD can face insurmountable obstacles to avoiding recidivism upon release. The effectiveness of the mental health programs currently in place is not measured, which significantly limits our ability to review the current status of treatments for women in Canadian carceral facilities. Resources in the community must be improved and aligned with treatment received in prison to allow more ready access to women upon release. As the issue of PTSD and the justice system is interdisciplinary, this will require cooperation of many practitioners and new ways of collaborating in order to effect meaningful change.
Canada’s Work to Assist the Development of Community Corrections in China: Significant and Long-Lasting Results
VINCENT YANG
Dr. Vincent Yang of the ICCLR explains the ground-breaking role played by Canada in assisting China in the legal and policy development leading to the establishment of community corrections since 2002 and the introduction of the Community Corrections Law in China in 2019. The CIDA-funded Canada-China projects were initiated in 1997 and continued for over ten years. The Vancouver-based ICCLR and the China Prison Society organized high-level exchange visits, workshops and joint research publications for the sharing of Canada’s best practices on community corrections. Two books of comparative studies were jointly authored and published by experts in Canada and China on community corrections. While the Canadian and Chinese systems clearly have fundamental differences, the long-lasting positive impacts of sharing Canadian best practices with Chinese reformers are significant and should never be understated, as evidenced by the rapid expansion of community corrections in China in the past two decades.
Segregation North of Sixty: Meaningful Reform in Yukon Corrections
ANDREA MONTEIRO and MITCH WALKER
The inappropriate use of segregation to manage inmate behaviour has gained considerable attention over the last decade. Across jurisdictions, correctional services are being criticized for the overuse, and prolonged use, of segregation and restrictive housing conditions. Despite legal and humanitarian requirements for change, few organizations have managed to operationalize meaningful correctional practices aimed at humanely managing the day-to-day needs of complex clients.1 This article outlines the progressive segregation reform completed in Yukon, Canada from 2019-2021.
Systematic Discrimination in Southern Alberta Based on Testimonials by Canadian Minorities and Immigrants about Employment, Education, Justice System and Policing
SEAN WENTZEL
Discrimination goes against Canadian law and dogma, negatively affects socio-economic wellness, and is increasingly a source of human rights issues based on, among other, over-representation of certain groups within the criminal justice system. This article is a condensed version of the author’s doctoral DBA dissertation, which featured a study conducted in southern Alberta (Wentzel, January 18th, 2022). Wentzel’s findings show that systemic racism of non-White citizens and immigrants suffer disparities across Alberta’s public goods sphere – in education, employment, and justice, including the police and the courts. Wentzel points out that the life experiences of visible minorities and immigrants are key to understanding issues of racism in Southern Alberta, and that the inclusion of testimonials in widespread research studies could their help fill the significant research gaps in this area. Alberta’s Antiracism Advisory Council (2019) issued Recommendations in June 2021, but its website and processes lack transparency, which can be frustrating for concerned citizens and researchers alike. In Part II, coming up in Justice Report 37.4, the author will take look at Alberta’s progress and further explore the need for transparency, oversight, and accountability.
Combatting Smuggling at Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa)
DR. LADJI BAMBA
This article offers a descriptive overview of a lengthy study conducted by the author (Bamba, L. 2016) on smuggling in the Abidjan district of Côte d’Ivoire. Smuggling represents an economic crime having multiple impacts on public safety and spill-over effect on local and national economies. It intersects with other smuggling activities. This intersectionality can be with human trafficking: trafficking of children in cocoa fields, as in Soubré, Cote d’Ivoire, (Bamba, L. 2017) for the illicit production of cocoa, and with firearms, among other, and makes smuggling difficult to combat. Basing his approach on the UNODC (2015) firearms study, Bamba aimed to fill a perceived research gap on smuggling techniques, stakeholders, and local and national economic impacts in Abidjan. His methodology included use of data from seizures and arrests; direct observation; structured interviews/questionnaires of a representative sample of stakeholders; participation in customs operations; and reviews of economic impact. Bamba called for a greater focus on investigations and research around seizures and a review of the customs duties and taxes legally applied in Cote d’Ivoire as well as the rates of investment in public goods to ensure they are in line with sustainable development goals.
Transformative Justice: Decarceration and Other Goals of Transformative Justice
AIDAN LOCKHART and ARTHUR LOCKHART
In this report on transformative justice, co-authors Aidan and Arthur Lockhart fathom a vicious cycle of systemic violence and public discontent, often accompanied by cries for change and bureaucratic solutions that seem to maintain the status quo. Logics of domination prevail in the Canadian context; yet the greatest remedy to harmful behaviour is a healthy community. Lockhart and Lockhart suggest that Restorative Justice initiatives are a step in the right direction, but that Transformative Justice is needed to repair the social, economic, and political conditions that both are, and cause, harm.
BOOK REVIEW
CATHARINE PANDILA
Book Title: The River of Tears par Robert Chrismas
New York, DIO Press Inc., 2021, 139 p.
Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the Association’s views, but are included to encourage reflection and action on the criminal justice system throughout Canada.