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TECHNICAL REPORT
ARE FEDERALLY SENTENCED WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES WITH FAMILY VIOLENCE A FACTOR IN THEIR CONTACT WITH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM? AN EXPLORATORY STUDY
Dr. Katharine KellyDr. Virginia Caputo
October 1998
tr1998-15e
UNEDITED
The present study was funded by the Research and Statistics Division, Department of Justice Canada. The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice Canada.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This research is essentially confirmatory in nature. The data support previous research on women in prison which indicates that women who experience family violence are likely to be involved in criminal behaviour and to present with a range
of problems related to their abuse experiences. The data are from 442 women taken into the federal system between November 1994 (when Intake Assessments were implemented) and February 1998. The main findings of this research are:
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Women with family violence histories are over-represented in the federally sentenced population.
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While family violence is an important factor in women's criminal careers it is not the only factor that needs to be considered.
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Federally sentenced women who witnessed family violence as children are more likely than other women to be convicted as young offenders.
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Federally sentenced women with family violence histories are more likely to have previous adult convictions than are other federally sentenced women. They are also more likely to have 10 to 14 and 15 or more convictions.
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Federally sentenced women with family violence histories are more likely to have drug and alcohol abuse problems, and to have begun drinking and using drugs at an early age.
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Federally sentenced women with more extensive family violence histories are more likely to have drug and alcohol abuse problems. They are also more likely to report early onset of drug and alcohol use.
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Relapse among women who have completed a substance abuse treatment program is common but is unrelated to women's family violence histories.
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Federally sentenced women with more extensive family violence histories are more likely to have been hospitalized for mental health reasons.
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Diagnosed mental illness is uncommon among federally sentenced women relative to the number of women prescribed drugs for emotional or mental health reasons. Family violence survivors are more likely to report receiving drugs for
mental/emotional problems.
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First Nations women are over represented in the federally sentenced population.
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Federally sentenced First Nations women have more severe family violence histories than other federally sentenced women. However, their family violence histories only partially explain their over representation.
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Across family violence categories, federally sentenced First Nations women are more likely to have youth court convictions and previous adult convictions than are non-First Nations women.
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Across family violence categories, federally sentenced First Nations women are significantly more likely to have drug and alcohol abuse problems and to begin drinking and using drugs at an early age.
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Controlling for family violence (yes/no), federally sentenced First Nations women in both the "no family violence" and "family violence" categories are more likely than non-First Nations women to relapse after completing
substance abuse treatment programs.
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Controlling for family violence (yes/no), federally sentenced First Nations women in both the "no family violence" and "family violence" categories are more likely than non-First Nations women to report having these
drugs prescribed.
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