FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS

CAEFS strongly supports the right of a woman in a correctional institution to:

• be treated in a fair, non-prejudicial and non-discriminatory manner;

• enjoy all rights and freedoms listed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms;

• vote in all federal, provincial and municipal elections;

• educational opportunities appropriate to her learning needs;

• educational opportunities in traditional and non-traditional occupations;

• healthy living accommodations and pre-lease planning (this applies equally to women in protective custody);

• control over her own body, including medical, dental and mental health care decisions;

• access the mental health services she deems necessary, as she would in the community;

• appear in person before the appropriate Parole Board on her Parole Eligibility Date with such representation and support as she chooses;

• access to spiritual leaders for counsel and guidance and to maintain her own spiritual and religious traditions;

Further, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies:

• support services and programs designed to meet the needs of Native women in conflict with the law;

• supports programming which aims to prevent women from coming in conflict with the law;

• supports the continued abolition of the death penalty;

• is opposed to co-correctional facilities;

• is opposed to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation;

• is opposed to the recriminalization of abortion;

• is opposed to detention or imprisonment of women in conflict with the law unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary;

The focus and priority of CAEFS is women in conflict with the law. We recognize that while the woman herself is the primary focus, she lives within a constellation of relationships that make up her support system. These significant others, whom only she can identify, must be considered in our work.