36% of inmates at Kitchener women’s prison are Indigenous — advocate says education could curb disparities – CBC
Jul 20, 2023
Indigenous women across Canada are 15.4 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous: StatsCan
Indigenous women across Canada are 15.4 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous, numbers from Statistics Canada show.
At the federally run Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ont., Indigenous women make up 36 per cent of the people incarcerated there. People at Grand Valley Institution serve sentences of two years or more.
Advocates say more can be done at a local level to address those disparities.
Cathy Andrus is a program co-ordinator with The Healing of the Seven Generations — which provides court services for the local Indigenous community.
Andrus believes education on the regional level to combat negative stereotypes about Indigenous people would be an important first step in helping women avoid criminal acts.
