Key Questions

1. Of Mice, Men and Patriarchy:The Socially Constructed Experience of People with Intellectual Disability in Custodial CorrectionsKathy EllemSchool of Social Work and Applied Human SciencesUniversity of Queensland

2. Key Questions • What are the common beliefs, values and assumptions made about prisoners with intellectual disability? • How might the systemic and social processes of custodial corrections perpetuate such beliefs, values and assumptions?

3. Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck 1937) • Story of a friendship between two men, one with an intellectual disability • Set in the Great Depression in California in early 1900s • Eugenics Era in which many people with intellectual disability institutionalised, and sterilised

4. Lennie • Principal character but the least dynamic • A strong man with ‘mental retardation’ • Wrongfully accused of rape • Loves to pet soft things • Blind devotion to friend George and dream of farm • Incredible physical strength that leads him to accidentally kill a woman • A ‘big kid’ who is killed by his friend as an act of mercy

5. Lennie’s Destiny • Society never to accept Lennie • Life is organised by his friend George • Potential for violence • Innocence leads to inevitable destruction • Killing of Lennie seen as merciful and necessary

6. Stigma: Managing the Spoiled Identity (Goffman 1963) • Stigmatised individual = someone who possesses a trait that can turn others away from him or her • Person’s undesired “differentness” leads to discrimination, reducing life chances • “We construct a stigma theory, an ideology to explain his inferiority and account for the danger he represents… We use specific terms… and we tend to impute a wide range of imperfections on the basis of the original one” (p. 5)

7. Lennie = Stigmatised Identity • Regarded as stupid, a child, a big kid • Lunatic • Burden • Object of ridicule • Behaviour seen as disrespectful when he fails to obey George’s instructions • Less than human – killed as an act of kindness

8. Some reasons for our social constructions of people with intellectual disability • Reflects our social anxieties over people who are different (Nicholson-Crotty & Nicholson-Crotty 2004) • Escape the dilemma of social accommodation and integration of “different” people (Longmore 2003) • To justify our responses – to deny a person particular supports or to condone their placement in particular environments/programmes (Blatt 1987)

9. Having an Intellectual Disability means… Dangerous Non-human Unable to learn Gullible Victim Perverse Sexually promiscuous Feeling the need to pass Burden Being a prisoner means… Being hated is legitimated Untrustworthy Object of gossip Non-citizen Socially dead (Arditti 2005) Burden The Stigmatised Identity of “Prisoner with Intellectual Disability”

10. People with Intellectual Disability Who Offend – Who Are They Really? • Holland et al (2002) identify two broad groupings of people who are arrested for criminal offences: • People who experience social disadvantage, with no formal service supports • People whose behaviour within the disability service sector has been relabelled from being “challenging” to “criminal”

11. Life Experiences of Offenders with I.D. (Winter et al 1997; Murphy et al 1995) • Severe psychosocial disadvantage • Offending by other family members • Self-reported behaviour problems dating back from childhood • High rates of unemployment • Mental health needs

12. Patriarchal Nature of Prisons and Responses to People with I.D. • Patriarchy = a system that values power over life, control over pleasure and dominance over happiness (French 1986) • Can refer not only to unequal relationship between men and women, but also unequal relationships between men alone and women alone – notion of multiple masculinities (Connell 1987)

13. Distinction needs to be made between private sense of self and public presentation of identity (Jewkes 2005) Public presentation of a tough, no-nonsense reputation needed for survival People with I.d. may not have the social sophistication of maintaining such an identity Failure to fit in predisposes people with I.d. to stigmatisation and victimisation Patriarchal Nature of Prisons and Responses to People with I.D.

14. Constructions of People with I.D. in Prison As people who are unable to learn… • Access to habilitation and rehabilitation denied • Need to be ‘responsive’ to access programs • Need to be serving more than one year • Often serve full sentence • May remain in maximum security for their protection

15. As people who don’t exist • No evidence base to determine the number of people with i.d. in prison in Queensland • People may not have their intellectual disability identified (Hayes 2000) • Discontinuation of support from Disability Services Queensland

16. As people who are gullible • Used by others to violate institutional rules (Glaser & Deane 1999) • Victims of verbal, physical, sexual, and financial abuse

17. As people who are dangerous • Parole boards may still equate intellectual disability with criminality (NSWLRC 1994) • Services reluctant to provide support to people upon release • Use of psychotropic medication, restraint and isolation to control behaviour

18. As people who are burdens • May be in prison because seen as a burden to community • Difficulties understanding routine and procedure - treated as rule infractions (Hall 1992) • Incite conflict through failure to understand personal space and property

19. Further Questions and Concerns • How far have we progressed since Lennie’s time? • Need for research on perspectives of people with I.d., female prisoners with I.d., efficacy of rehabilitation programs, prevalence and identification of prisoners with I.d. • More collaboration needed between disability services and correctional services

20. To A Mouse (Burns 1759-1796) “The best laid plans of mice and men Gang aft agley (= often go wrong) And leave us naught but grief and pain For promised joy”