The Alouette Correctional Centre for Women in Maple Ridge played host to an unconventional baby shower this month as it collected donations for the reopening of its Mother and Child Unit. The program was cancelled in 2008, which was deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in the 2013 Inglis v. B.C. (Ministry of Public Safety) decision. It ordered the program to be reopened within six months.
The reopening of the program is an important step toward more equitable practices for mothers behind bars and hopefully is part of a long overdue trend to always be considering the best interests of the child in all decisions regarding parents behind bars.
According to the office of the correctional investigator, federally sentenced women in Canada are a population with significant health and social concerns. The majority are survivors of physical and sexual abuse with 80 per cent having lifelong drug dependency issues and 60 per cent not having a high school education.
Understanding that incarcerated women have unique needs associated with economic inequality, domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse, primary child care responsibilities, specific health-care needs and socio-economic disparities, the United Nations in 2010 adopted the Bangkok Rules, for the treatment of women prisoners and non-custodial measures for women offenders.
Despite the need for gender-specific treatment for incarcerated women, policy-makers and criminal justice practitioners have been slow to incorporate the Bangkok Rules, and Canada. which was one of the countries to vote to adopt the rules at the UN, has yet to implement them into national policy.
Visitation also remains a big concern for mothers who are behind bars with many children and their caretakers not having the resources necessary to make the often long journey to the correctional facilities where their parents are housed.
Opinion: Champion programs that support children’s health
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