211 Bronson Ave, Suite 309, Ottawa, ON K1R 6H5
Tel: 613-237-7427 Fax: 613-237-8312
www.efryottawa.com
PRESS ADVISORY
May 5, 2016 (Ottawa) – This week is national Elizabeth Fry Week, a week when we raise awareness about the issues impacting women in and from prison. The week ends on Mother’s Day, in part to remind us that when mothers are imprisoned, their children are effectively also sentenced to separation.
We are also alerting the media and public to our upcoming conference, The A Word: Reclaiming Advocacy. The conference will be held in the Desmarais Building at the University of Ottawa on June 3rd, 2016. Since this year marks the 20th anniversary of the report of the Arbour Commission of Inquiry into certain events at the Prison for Women in Kingston, the Honourable Louise Arbour and our national director, Kim Pate, will discuss the state of prisons for women today, two decades after the Arbour Commission recommended massive reforms, particularly with respect to segregation and the need for judicial oversight in order to address the virtual absence of the rule of law behind the walls.
In addition, Connie Oakes, who was finally released from prison last week, will speak about her wrongful conviction and the struggles to regain her freedom. Alia Pierini, winner of Kevin O’Leary’s Redemption Inc., and Julie Bilotta, who gave birth in at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre, will also be presenting.. Speakers will include experts in these areas, from academics and practitioners to a number of women with lived experience of marginalization, victimization, criminalization and imprisonment; and the agenda includes: Holding Government to Account, The Role of the Media in Advocacy, Aboriginal Women: Crisis of Inequality, Policing Violence Against Women, Brain Injuries: Implications for Mental Health, Addictions and Criminalization.
This is a time of intense scrutiny of our justice system and an opportunity for systemic change. In addition to the foregoing, federal and provincial governments are reviewing their uses of segregation, bail and the operation of such prisons as the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre (via the OCDC Task Force).
2016 also marks the 65th anniversary of Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa, so there is much to discuss! Please call us to learn more!
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Contacts:
Kim Pate - Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies
613.238.2422 (office); 613.298.2422 (mobile) or
Bryonie Baxter, Executive Director, Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa
613.237.7427 x 112 (office); 613.878.1367 (cell);
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