Under the Barred Umbrella: Is There Room for a Women-Centered Self-Injury Policy in Canadian Corrections?

• NCJ Number: 213934
• Journal: Criminology & Public Policy Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 161-182
• Author(s): Jennifer M. Kilty
• Date Published: February 2006
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines the policy toward inmate self-injury in Canadian Federal prisons, with attention to the impact of these policies on female inmates.

Abstract

The response to inmate self-injury is oriented more toward security risk than the therapeutic needs of the inmate. Administrative segregation for self-injurious female inmates should be stopped; and a more individualized, therapeutic approach to their management should be adopted. One promising approach is the use of a peer support program that includes the training of carefully selected inmates to serve as counselors to self-injurious women. The Prevention, Management, and Response to Suicide and Self-Injuries policy, which is stated in Correctional Service of Canada's Commissioner's Directive No. 843 (2002c), is the policy that governs a prison staff's response to inmate self-injury. The directive defines "self-injury" as "the deliberate harm of one's body without conscious suicidal intent." Regardless of whether an inmate attempts suicide or engages in self-injurious behavior, however, he/she is placed on a suicide watch that involves isolation and mental health assessment. The directive also states that self-injurious or suicidal inmates should not be disciplined for their self-injurious behaviors. This article analyzes the punitive aspects of using administrative segregation for monitoring purposes. Since mental health professionals are not on call, self-injurious women in administrative segregation may have to wait up to 48 hours for mental heath evaluation and treatment. This practice is especially troubling since self-injury occurs more often when an inmate is in isolation, segregation, or psychological units. In effect, administrative segregation is a form of control through punishment and secure monitoring. Whatever policy is developed to replace the current one, it should derive from consultation among all stakeholders, including feminist researchers and women inmates. 43 references