Around 34 percent of women in Canadian maximum security prisons are of aboriginal decent (Sapers. 2010-11. Section 6). That’s a staggering amount when you consider that the aboriginal population in Canada makes up only around “2.7 percent of the adult Canadian population” (“Backgrounder”, n.d.). With these statistics it is reasonable to ask the question of why is there so many aboriginal women getting sentenced to maximum security prisons than any other women in Canada?
When considering what a feminist would say about this the first thing that pops into mind would be that it is due to the fact that we live in a patriarchal society. Where the legal system is set up by men, run by men and controlled predominately by men. This idea that women are overruled by men and have little to no control over their environment may be slightly true, but is mainly a radical feminist view on the subject whose main focus is on only one part of the problem, which is being a female in a male dominated patriarchal world.
There is a whole other section to the problem then just being a women, and that is being an aboriginal; an aboriginal women who is often subjected to systemic discrimination, which is defined as “patterns of behavior, policies or practices that are part of the structures of an organization, and which create or perpetuate disadvantage for racialized persons” (Uslegal, n.d.).This means that there may be a bias, as well as different standards of evaluation when applied to sentencing aboriginal women. “For example, being aboriginal means you are seen as higher risk, being poor means you are seen as higher risk...All of this results in women receiving a higher security classification.” (Joint Effort, 2003, para.5). A higher security classification means they would get sent to maximum security prison just for being a poor aboriginal female, and when in this prison they are restricted to the access they have to programs and services, specifically those set up for aboriginals (Joint Effort, 2003, para.7) This could then answer the question of why more aboriginal women are sent to maximum security prisons than any other women.
To elaborate further on systemic discrimination it could be said that it creates a vicious cycle that sets aboriginal women up to going to jail because systemic discrimination tends to lead to: “poverty, inadequate educational and employment opportunities, homeless-ness, addictions & mental health issues” (Native Women’s association of Canada [NWAC], 2011, p.5) which then puts them right back to where they started due to the fact that the justice system fails to protect aboriginal women from the injustices they face and
Police regularly target and book those who are struggling with alcoholism, drug addiction, sexual abuse, the consequences of residential schools, poverty, survival sex, etc. But ironically, the same profile which renders Aboriginal women particularly vulnerable to sexual sadists and serial killers, often fails to mobilize the police and justice system to uphold their duty to protect (NWAC, 2011, p.7)
The information presented here paints a picture of injustice and double discrimination against aboriginal women, making the future of aboriginal women involved in the justice system seem bleak and may make some weary towards it. But what exactly can be done that can realistically help this group of individuals? Protests? Rally’s for getting rid of racial profiling and systemic discrimination? All-in-all this is how Canada’s justice system works, but there needs to be some serious re-evaluation of the system and the way that aboriginal women are classified, but like anything in society it’s going to take time.
- Jody
References
Systemic Discrimination. (n.d.). In US Legal. Retrieved from http://definitions.uslegal.com/s/systemic-discrimination/
Joint Effort. (2003, July 25). Discrimination against aboriginal women rampant in federal prison Retrieved at http://www.vcn.bc.ca/august10/politics/1018_discaborig.html
Sapers, H. (2010-2011). Annual Report of The Office of the Correctional Investigator. Retrieved from http://www.oci-bec.gc.ca/rpt/annrpt/annrpt20102011-eng.aspx#ss6
Backgrounder: Aboriginal Inmates. (n.d). Retrieved at http://www.oci-bec.gc.ca/rpt/annrpt/annrpt20052006info-eng.aspx
Clearly something is wrong when you look at the high rates of Aboriginal people locked up in the justice system. You appear to be touching on intersectional feminism where factors in addition to being female and Aboriginal create hardship in society. Aboriginal women are facing discrimination against them at a variety of different levels, which appears to make them easy targets for police. I agree something needs to be done!
ReplyDeleteKim