Uncertain Futures

About the Women

At the time of the second phase of our research (June 2006-March 2007), 105 women were serving their sentences in GVI, Kitchener. Sixty-nine of those women agreed to participate in our interviews. They ranged in age from the early 20s to over 60 years with the largest group between the ages of 30-39. Most of the women were single (40.1%), and an equal number were either in a relationship, married or living common-law. Less than 20% were divorced or separated. Fifty-one of the women had children and half of this group had at least one child under 19 years of age. The women varied in ethnic background (e.g., Caucasian, Asiatic, Aboriginal, Black) and in sexual orientation. Many of the women reported having a disability, mental illness or struggles with addictions. Most had lived in poverty before GVI, and will return to a life of poverty. Many had experiences of trauma and fear that comes with discrimination, assault and other abuses of power. In the reporting of this study we are cognizant of the importance of confidentiality. To protect the women’s anonymity, only pseudonyms are used in our reports.