Trent University
MyTrent
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Trent Online
    • Summer Courses
    • Continuing Education
    • Study Abroad
    • Academic Calendar
    • Academic Timetable
    • Academic Skills Centre
    • Academic Advising
    • Library
    • Centre for Teaching and Learning
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate
    • Thinking of Applying
    • Already Applied
    • Received an Offer
    • Accepted My Offer
    • Graduate
    • International
    • Indigenous
    • Returning to Trent
    • Transfer
  • Services & Support
    • Academic Advising
    • Academic Skills Centre
    • Administrative Departments
    • Alumni Services
    • Athletics
    • Campus Security
    • Careerspace
    • Colleges
    • Communications
    • Conferences
    • Financial Aid
    • Financial Services
    • Health & Wellness
    • Indigenous Services
    • Information Technology
    • International Students
    • Learning Support
    • Parking
    • Printshop
    • Recruitment
    • Registrar's Office
    • Residence & Housing
    • Student Clubs
    • TrentU Card
  • Research
    • Research at Trent
    • Research Centres
    • Find an Expert
    • Resources
  • Give to Trent
  • About Trent
    • About Trent
    • Careers
    • Giving to Trent
    • Governance
    • How to Find Us
    • Media
    • News & Events
    • President's Office
    • Staff Directory
    • Trent Facts
    • Contact Us
  • Campus Locations
    • Peterborough
    • Durham GTA
    • Online
  • Future Students
    • Undergraduate
    • Thinking of Applying
    • Already Applied
    • Received an Offer
    • Accepted My Offer
    • Graduate
    • International
    • Indigenous
    • Returning to Trent
    • Transfer
  • Current Students
  • Alumni
  • Trent Forward: COVID-19 Info
  • Apply
  • Visit
  • Give
  • Map
  • Careers
  • Directions
  • Library
  • Site Map
  • Bookstore

Trent Forward: Learn more about our response to COVID-19.

Skip to main content Home
  • Peterborough
  • Durham GTA
  • Online
  • MyTrent
MENU
Trent University
News and Events
  • Latest News
  • Trent Experts
  • For Media
  • For Faculty and Staff
  • Publications
  • Contact Us
  1. Trentu.ca
  2. News and Events

Conditions of Confinement: Incarceration of Women in Canada

August 10, 2016
Share This Story

This story is featured in the Spring 2016 issue of Showcase: The Champions of Change Issue. »View the complete publication

When it comes to the devastating circumstances faced by many incarcerated women in this country, Dr. Gillian Balfour has seen it all. Her research experience bears witness to racism, violence, and unspeakable loss.

As a member of the Sociology Department at Trent, Professor Balfour researches conditions of confinement in women’s prisons and the compounding effects of victimization in the lives of criminalized – especially poor and racialized – women. Through action and education, Prof. Balfour encourages her students, and society as a whole, to take a closer look at who goes to prison.

Questioning authority

As a graduate student in Winnipeg, Prof. Balfour researched ways to improve programs for female inmates. Involved in the prisoner advocacy community, she ran a group for women facing life sentences.

“I was struck by the implications of building better prisons for women who were already imprisoned through poverty and victimization,” Prof. Balfour recalls. “I decided there were bigger questions about law regarding the criminalization, victimization and incarceration of Indigenous women.”

Her research now includes sentencing of Indigenous women and sentencing reforms.

Faces of injustice

Prof. Balfour’s work paints a vivid picture for her students at Trent.

“They have been moved by the archival images I have shown in class as a way of documenting how women have been punished in Canada,” said Prof. Balfour. “I make connections in my classroom between historical practices and what is happening today. The resonance of these images is striking.”

Inspired by what they have learned in her classes, many of Prof. Balfour’s students continue their studies at graduate school or law school, exploring key areas of study, including incarceration of those with addictions and mental health needs, and prevention of deaths in custody.

Reverberating community impact

In recognition of her ground-breaking research, Prof. Balfour has twice received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) supporting projects such as The Prison Transparency Project, a collaborative project with other prison scholars, which documents prisoner and immigrant detainee experiences of incarceration.

After receiving the SSHRC Insight grant in 2012, she compiled a social history of segregation and disciplinary practices inside women’s prisons.  

“This project directly challenged how the state punishes women prisoners,” stated Prof. Balfour. “I was very appreciative of SSHRC's support. For me it was the recognition of the value of the research and the knowledge produced.”

Her most recent community outreach project involves working with local high schools to incorporate an online module on the history of women’s imprisonment in Canada into their grade 12 curriculum.

“Teachers have been very engaged with bringing this content into their classrooms,” explains Prof. Balfour.

From behind prison walls to contemporary classrooms, Prof. Balfour’s work is creating a far-reaching ripple effect.

Find other stories about: Sociology, Research, Gender & Women's Studies, Indigenous, Indigenous Studies Ph.D.

Share This Story

You Might Also Like

Dr. Aaron Slepkov sheds new light on painting with polarization

Illuminating Art through Science

Recent B.Sc. Psychology graduate Nicholas St. Germaine ‘18 worked alongside Dr. Elizabeth Nisbet, associate professor of Psychology at Trent, to survey students about their mood before and after taking a walk around campus. 

Walks in Nature Can Affect our Mood

Gzowski College medicine wheel coloured drapes

Sharing the Stories of Indigenous-Led COVID Vaccine Clinics

Trent University logo
Challenge the Way You Think

Trent University respectfully acknowledges it is located on the treaty and traditional territory of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. We offer our gratitude to First Peoples for their care for, and teachings about, our earth and our relations. May we honour those teachings.

Peterborough

1600 West Bank Drive
Peterborough, ON Canada, K9L 0G2

Toll Free: 1-855-MY-TRENT

Campus Map

Durham Greater Toronto Area

55 Thornton Road South
Oshawa, ON Canada, L1J 5Y1

Phone: 905-435-5100

Campus Map

Social Media Directory
  • Contact
  • Directions
  • Site Map
  • Accessibility
  • @ Copyright 2022 Trent University