Violence

In Public Places ...In our institutions

• Introduction       Videos 

Introduction

Beyond schools, violence also occurs in public institutions such as hospitals, mental health institutions, homes for the elderly and prisons. People in these institutions are already considered by society to be weak, unwell or criminal and are otherwise devalued, and so have few defences.

Individuals with intellectual disabilities have routinely been institutionalised through the ages. Some of these environments have become infamous for the abuse they wrought, including the practice of forced abortion and/or sterilisation of females.

Such grim examples aside, bureaucracies in general can be extremely disempowering. Public institutions that exist to “help” people often silence and coerce us instead. Children’s Aid Societies, courts, social assistance programmes and food banks can act as steamrollers over the agency of the “client.” Not following a rule of which you were unaware, or not signing a form you did not receive or could not read, can result in the denial of anything from needed benefits to the opportunity to raise your own child. Due process is often not followed to inform people of their rights, and redressing bureaucratic injustices can be prohibitively complex, costly and humiliating.

But even those of us who know how to—and agree to—comply with the system are violated by institutions in some insidious ways. Another phenomenon that could jeopardize our dignity is how we are forced to make a story out of our experiences. In order to prove ourselves eligible for this or that bit of assistance or benefit or program, not only must we continually explain our circumstances to strangers, but we also must repackage these circumstances as stories that fit the given criteria. Presenting ourselves as members of the requisite category (say, in need of subsidized housing) also implies acting in accordance with rules, which can involve surveillance. But the gravest danger is that our stories are hijacked and reframed into stereotypes, and we become the “Welfare Mom” or the “Poster Child” for whatever initiative, for which we are expected to express endless gratitude.

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Videos

Breaking Free, Griffin Kinnard
A young man talks about the despair he felt when children’s services separated him from his family. Now he works as an advocate for youth in foster care. Please scroll the movies to the right to hear his story.

From Behind Closed Doors: One woman’s Story
In this extract from an award winning U.S. made documentary, the violence both inside and outside the mental health system is shockingly clear.
   - Click here to watch the video.
   - You can follow all four women’s stories in the full 20 minute video here

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