The number of aboriginal women sent to federal penitentiaries almost doubled in the years between 2002 and 2012, according to a government report obtained through Access to Information law. In those same years, the number of male aboriginal inmates climbed 34 per cent.
The over-representation of native people imprisoned in Canada is an ongoing concern. While aboriginal people make up four per cent of the population, they make up over 23 per cent of people who are incarcerated.
Female aboriginal inmates tended to be slightly younger that non-aboriginal women. They had less education and difficulty finding work. Substance abuse was common among them. Two out of every three were convicted for violent crimes, compared to one out of every three non-aboriginal women.
Many contributing factors
A number of factors contribute to the higher numbers, says Kim Pate, head of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, which advocates for female inmates. Among them are the mandatory minimum sentences introduced by the current Canadian government and more limited options for conditional release, she says.
Previously, Canada’s prison ombudsman has listed many deeper reasons for the high number of aboriginal people jailed in Canada. They are:
- Effects of the residential school system.
- Experience in the child welfare or adoption system.
- Effects of the dislocation and dispossession of Aboriginal peoples.
- Family or community history of suicide, substance abuse and/or victimization.
- Loss of, or struggle with, cultural/spiritual identity.
- Level or lack of formal education.
- Poverty and poor living conditions.
- Exposure to/membership in, Aboriginal street gangs
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