Mike, another excellent report. It is quite depressing to know how slow government resolves real issues. Sixty-two (62) years of repeated reports before a separate building was constructed to house women prisoners. Shocking!
I’m sorry to see such a muddled headline from you Mike. Yes there was a huge delay in creating a separate section for jailed women but there is no cited history of abuse of ill- treatment that I could read.
And what was there ratio of women incarnates compared to men? The bald fact that the then governments delayed housing women inmates compared a separate place of their own seems to be more an instance of our unwillingness to recognize that women may need to be imprisoned just as men.
Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective!
Regarding the historical record, contemporary reports and official inquiries (such as the 1849 Brown Commission) actually documented significant evidence of mistreatment and harsh conditions endured by female inmates at Kingston. Women were subjected to severe punishments (including flogging and solitary confinement), extreme overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and poor sanitation. Furthermore, because their accommodations were an afterthought within a facility designed for men, they were frequently exposed to harassment and severe isolation to keep them separated from the male population.
On the ratio of female to male inmates, women typically made up a very small percentage of the total prison population (often around 3% to 5%). It was precisely this small proportion that led successive administrations to delay investing in proper, separate facilities, treating their housing and rehabilitation as a low priority for decades.
The piece aims to highlight how administrative neglect and system delays left female prisoners in unfit quarters for nearly a century, rather than suggesting women shouldn't have been subject to the justice system when convicted.
Mike, another excellent report. It is quite depressing to know how slow government resolves real issues. Sixty-two (62) years of repeated reports before a separate building was constructed to house women prisoners. Shocking!
I toured the Kingston Penitentiary last summer and learned a bit about why the women were housed in the hospital.
But Mike - no mentions of that wage disparity and horrendous conditions.
Thank you for being this to fresh eyes.
I’m sorry to see such a muddled headline from you Mike. Yes there was a huge delay in creating a separate section for jailed women but there is no cited history of abuse of ill- treatment that I could read.
And what was there ratio of women incarnates compared to men? The bald fact that the then governments delayed housing women inmates compared a separate place of their own seems to be more an instance of our unwillingness to recognize that women may need to be imprisoned just as men.
Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective!
Regarding the historical record, contemporary reports and official inquiries (such as the 1849 Brown Commission) actually documented significant evidence of mistreatment and harsh conditions endured by female inmates at Kingston. Women were subjected to severe punishments (including flogging and solitary confinement), extreme overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and poor sanitation. Furthermore, because their accommodations were an afterthought within a facility designed for men, they were frequently exposed to harassment and severe isolation to keep them separated from the male population.
On the ratio of female to male inmates, women typically made up a very small percentage of the total prison population (often around 3% to 5%). It was precisely this small proportion that led successive administrations to delay investing in proper, separate facilities, treating their housing and rehabilitation as a low priority for decades.
The piece aims to highlight how administrative neglect and system delays left female prisoners in unfit quarters for nearly a century, rather than suggesting women shouldn't have been subject to the justice system when convicted.