Aboriginal women
now represent 30 % of the total population of federally sentenced
women, yet they are less than 3% of the population of Canada.
See: CHRC
Profile of Federal Sentenced Women at:
http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/Legis&Poli/ReportFSW_RapportFSF/ConsultationPaper.asp#TOC2_2
The over representation
is all the more pronounced among prisoners classified as maximum
security, where Aboriginal women usually represent anywhere from
40-60% of the maximum security population. More often than not,
this is as a result of a classification system that penalizes them
for social and community deprivations beyond their control.
Aboriginal women
are 14% less likely to be released into the community on conditional
release than are non-Aboriginal women. Job training programs and
educational opportunities are not geared to the specific needs of
Aboriginal women.
While there
is a Healing Lodge for Aboriginal women serving federal prison sentences,
it only has a capacity of 30 women and there are generally 80-90
women in the federal prisons, so most Aboriginal women prisoners
are precluded from accessing the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge. Also
because of the racist results of the classification system, too
many of the Aboriginal women are classified as maximum security
prisoners. Many are now confined in the new segregated maximum security
units in the regional women's prisons, while others remain confined
in segregated maximum security units in men's prisons.
