Dan Kellar (Dan Kellar)
Kitchener
Member since July 2009
Toronto Media Co-op
Local Independent News
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DAMN 2025 statement supporting Human Rights Tribunal case agasint Vanier prison
see http://boredbutnotbroken.tao.ca for more info about the HRTO case agasint Vanier Prison
Disabled people encounter higher than average levels of forced institutionalization. Disability based segregation has been and still is a common practice, to the point of widespread public acceptance, that disregards basic human rights and contributes to the widespread imprisonment of disabled people in places such as provincial institutions, nursing homes, psychiatric facilities and locked hospital wards, as well as in high numbers in provincial and federal prisons. Disability discrimination is also endemic in the immigration system and how people are treated in detention centres. Many people are deported or have immigration applications denied due to having a disability or a family member with a disability.
The incarceration and deportation of disabled people doesn’t generally make it into the news or into public discussion. People are often isolated from families and community, and due to historical legacies and the normalization of disability based segregation, widespread ignorance of the social conditions and barriers experienced by people with disabilities continues. The impacts of these practices are increased for those who are poor and/or racialized. How many people are being locked away, deported and/or facing other abuses? How many lives are lost as a result? How can we even begin to estimate these numbers? We do know that more and more people are being put at risk as social services and community based supports are being cut in the name of austerity, and preventative measures are less able to be prioritized while demand for crisis based responses increases. We expect to see an increase in the number of people with disabilities who are incarcerated in the next few years.
The incarceration of disabled people is such an accepted practice that it is no surprise that disabled people face further discrimination, denial of basic rights and institutionally sanctioned violence within institutional facilities. When a person identifies themselves as having a disability, especially those with needs that fall outside those of non-disabled prisoners, or when staff or administration of an institution labels a person as disabled, it is common to further remove any decision making power from the prisoner, and it is common to increase institutional control over that person.
There are many examples of the ways in which this happens. For instance, a person who is suicidally depressed in a prison may feel in danger and request support. Their request is then met with the "solution" of solitary confinement and increased surveillance. This is evidenced by the tragic case involving the death of Ashley Smith. Prison guards have publicly stated that they do not have the resources or training to deal with people experiencing this kind of mental distress or other disability related needs. Another example of the way in which disabled people may meet with increased institutional control is a person requesting physical support to have specific personal care needs met and as a result being placed in maximum security. Another example is person in a locked hospital ward being forcibly given drugs that restrict their movement and thought. These are examples based on real situations which are far too common and almost never reported by mainstream media. They are not platform issues for government. They do not come up in elections or carry the weight and political will of other social issues. Removal of the rights of disabled people just isn't controversial enough, and it’s difficult to get the truth out into the public light when disabled people have overwhelmingly been pushed into isolation and are under represented at all levels of public life.
We can challenge disableist incarceration and other forms of institutional violence that disabled people face. We all can. The fact that groups of people are speaking out and expressing anger at the treatment of prisoners at the Vanier Centre for Women, at the violence of solitary confinement, at discriminatory security measures, and at all forced confinement of people, is a small rock being thrown into a giant pool. Each time the institutionalization of disabled people is challenged, the ripples are far reaching because there is so much more that comes into question. It will take a long time for movement in all areas of the pool, but those of us who are free and those of us who are not must find ways to join forces.
Disabled people should not face increased violence because no one should face violence. Discriminatory practices at Vanier Centre for Women should end because all imprisonment should end.
About the poster
Dan Kellar (Dan Kellar)
Kitchener
Member since July 2009
751 words
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