Stark Raven: Prison Justice

Young Women in Prison Face Abuse, Advocates Barred from Jail

| January 8, 2008

Show Notes:

Young people locked up in prison in the Lower Mainland found themselves with new surroundings in October. They were moved from the 1950's youth jail near BCIT in Burnaby, into what used to be the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women in the far corners of south east Burnaby.

To find out what is happening in this new prison, Stark Raven called up Justice For Girls, an advocacy group for young women living in poverty. They have heard several stories, but haven't been able to go inside the new prison. This is because they were barred in the summer after they brought forward allegations of sexual abuse by a medical doctor during breast exams that were happening as part of psychiatric assessments of young women at the jail.

Stark Raven interviews Annabel Webb from Justice For Girls about speaking out about the abuse, the process of psychiatric assessments, their barring and about youth detention in an era of tough on crime measures.