Madam Chair and members of this committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here with you this afternoon to discuss this important issue.

My name is Amy Jarrette, and I am the deputy commissioner for women with the Correctional Service of Canada.

I am pleased to be joined, virtually, by Kathy Neil, who is the deputy commissioner for indigenous corrections.

I have been following this committee's study on gender-based violence and femicides against women, girls and gender-diverse people. Violence in any form, including gender-based violence, is unacceptable, and we do not tolerate it in our institutions or communities. We all know the far-ranging, immediate and long-term consequences of gender-based violence for victims and their families. That is why, while we do not control who enters our custody, it is our responsibility to address the factors that led to criminal behaviour, including gender-based violence.

Throughout your meetings, your committee has discussed with witnesses the importance of ensuring that offenders have the programming appropriate to their level of risk and need. To address gender-based violence, the Correctional Service of Canada screens offenders at intake for suspected intimate partner and/or gender-based violence. Those who meet the initial screening criteria are then provided more in-depth assessment. More specifically, the family violence risk assessment scale and the spousal assault risk assessment scale are used with male offenders.

Results can be used in the development of treatment plans and intensity for interventions, as well as to determine suitability or set conditions for conjugal visits, family visits and temporary absences. Screening also includes a sex offending assessment, which is used for determining the overall rating for the level of intervention and is integral in developing an offender's correctional plan.

For men serving a federal sentence in our custody, whether incarcerated or under supervision in the community, risk factors and needs linked to gender-based and sexual violence are addressed through the integrated correctional program model, as well as indigenous and Inuit streams. All streams include specific programs for offenders who are in custody for sexual offences.

Through these programs, a personalized plan is tailored based on individual needs. Programming seeks to identify and, ultimately, address thoughts, attitudes and behaviours that led individuals to violence, sexual violence and aggression towards others, including current or previous intimate partners. Research has shown positive results for those who have completed integrated correctional program model programming, with significantly lower rates of return to custody for those on conditional release who have completed programming.

While some women offenders are perpetrators of intimate partner violence, the largest proportion of women offenders in our custody, including indigenous women, have themselves been victims of abuse and violence. As a result, programs for women offenders address issues related to those with a history of intimate partner violence, which also considers their trauma. With correctional programming for women, participants explore the connection between conflict in their relationship and their use of problematic behaviours. They also learn the characteristics of abusive and healthy relationships with their partners, families and friends, and explore how to break the violence cycle.

During this study, your committee has also heard about gender-based violence directed towards indigenous women. The Correctional Service of Canada recognizes that indigenous peoples continue to be overrepresented in our criminal justice system, and many of them are survivors of intergenerational trauma. As such, our supports for indigenous offenders seek to rehabilitate them and hold them accountable for their offences in a culturally sensitive manner.

Kathy will be able to respond to questions that you may have about her work with indigenous communities and partners to ensure that essential supports and services are in place for indigenous peoples under our care and custody. This includes working to eliminate barriers to optimize the full use of existing section 81 agreements while expanding the number of organizations benefiting from them. Over the past decade, there has been a steady and substantial improvement in the percentage of indigenous offenders not returning to federal custody within five years of the end of their sentence. Through Kathy's important work, we plan to continue this momentum.

Madam Chair and members of the committee, we are available to answer your questions.

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