Although community integration is promoted as a highly valued principle, relentless cuts to social and health programs over the last two decades have eviscerated any real hope for progress offered by this principle. Currently, the shortage of adequate community resources causes many persons with mental disabilities to fall through the cracks of the system. In many cases, society responds to the attempts of such persons to survive with inadequate resources by characterizing their behaviour as criminal, labelling them as criminal ‘offenders’, and institutionalizing them in the criminal justice system.¹⁰ Social and economic challenges such as homelessness, unemployment, social isolation, malnutrition and substance abuse further compound the plight of persons with mental disabilities to survive in the community.¹¹

As a result, American trends reveal that jails are increasingly becoming the default placement for persons with mental disabilities.¹² Similar trends also appear to be evident in Canada.¹³

Historically, women have been over-represented in psychiatric facilities and under-represented in the prison system. However, with the closure of psychiatric institutions and increasingly overtaxed and under-resourced community based services, Canada is now witnessing a marked increase in the number of women with cognitive and mental disabilities who are being criminalized.¹⁴ Studies on or about women in prison indicate have that according to their research, women prisoners have a significantly higher incidence of mental disability including schizophrenia, major depression, substance use disorders, psychosexual dysfunction, and antisocial personality disorder.¹⁵ In addition, incarcerated women have a much higher incidence of a history of childhood sexual abuse and severe physical abuse than women in the general population.¹⁶ Among incarcerated Aboriginal women, who are disproportionately represented in the federal prison system, 90% reported physical abuse and 61% reported sexual abuse.¹⁷

Although other women in prison are often far more accommodating than their male counterparts when it comes to differences of all sorts, including abilities, prisoners with mental disabilities may still be shunned by their peers. They may also serve longer sentences and may be labelled as having more disciplinary problems.¹⁸

Many FSW labelled with a mental disability are more likely to be classified as a maximumsecurity prisoners.¹⁹ The practical reality is that mental health needs are equated with risk.²⁰ Women in maximum security who experience behaviour difficulties are more likely to be placed in administrative segregation. As a result, women who are suicidal or have mental or cognitive disabilities are often isolated, deprived of clothing and placed in stripped/barren cells.²¹

Generally the prison system is ill equipped to provide the services and supports required by women with mental disabilities. Although the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) recognizes the right of prisoners to have access to mental health services²², and although CSC has taken steps to design a "Mental Health Strategy"²³, the capacity to create a therapeutic prison environment, conducive to healing, is antithetical to the purposes of the corrections system. According to the CCRA, the "protection of society" is the paramount consideration.²⁴ It is not surprising then that the training of prison staff priorizes security and risk management over all other institutional and/or individual needs. As a result, prison staff may not have the training required to respond appropriately to prisoners with mental disabilities.²⁵