trauma – Page 2 – Beyond Barriers

The Criminal and Social Justice Research Cluster, School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Strathclyde, in association with SCCJR, are hosting a public lecture delivered by Professor Joe Sim, of Liverpool John Moores University. Doors open at 4:30pm and a light buffet is provided. The lecture will commence at 5.30pm and will be followed by a Question and Answer session, and a wine reception.

Title: ‘Help Me Please’: Terror, Trauma and Self-Inflicted Deaths in Prison

Abstract: Tony Paine wrote the words ‘Help Me Please’ in a letter to his mother before he killed himself in Liverpool prison in February 2018. Figures compiled by the charity INQUEST indicate that Tony’s death was one of 245 prison deaths that occurred in England and Wales between January and October 2018, 65 of which were self-inflicted Altogether, between 1990 and September 2019, nearly 5000 prisoners died in prisons in England and Wales. Over 2100 of these deaths were self-inflicted.

This lecture critically examines this issue from an abolitionist theoretical and political perspective. In doing so, it raises a number of critical questions concerning the nature of life, death and state violence. First, it focuses on the dehumanizing nature of the prison environment, and the brutal exercise of penal power, which provide the psychologically corrosive context in which individuals choose to kill themselves. Second, it challenges the state’s definition of reality with its emphasis on the pathological nature of the individuals who kill themselves. Third, it argues that it is not only the physical violence of the state that kills but also the systemic indifference by state servants can also induce deaths in prison. Fourth, it critiques the state’s definition of dangerousness by asking for whom is the prison dangerous? Finally, it concludes by focusing on the lack of democratic accountability and the culture of state immunity and impunity that underpins these deaths and asks what should be done to hold to account those responsible for them?

Biography: Joe Sim is Professor of Criminology, Liverpool John Moores University. He was a member of the Scottish Council for Civil Liberties and is currently a Trustee of the charity INQUEST which campaigns around the slogan ‘truth, justice and accountability’ in relation to state-related deaths or where wider issues of state and corporate accountability are in question, including Hillsborough and Grenfell. He is the author of Punishment and Prisons, Medical Power in Prisons, Prisons Under Protest (with Phil Scraton and Paula Skidmore) and British Prisons (with Mike Fitzgerald).

I’m looking forward to this lecture.

What are ACEs

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic experiences that can have a huge impact on children and young people throughout their lives.

The ten widely recognised ACEs, as identified in a US study from the 1990s, are:

Abuse:

physical
sexual
verbal

Neglect:

emotional
physical

Growing up in a household where:

there are adults with alcohol and drug use problems
there are adults with mental health problems
there is domestic violence
there are adults who have spent time in prison
parents have separated

As well as these 10 ACEs there are a range of other types of childhood adversity that can have similar negative long term effects. These include bereavement, bullying, poverty and community adversities such as living in a deprived area, neighbourhood violence etc.

We are committed to addressing all types of childhood adversity, and this is anchored in our long-standing, national approach of Getting it right for every child.

Why ACEs matter

Childhood adversity can create harmful levels of stress which impact healthy brain development. This can result in long-term effects on learning, behaviour and health.

Evidence from ACE surveys in the US, UK and elsewhere demonstrates that ACEs can exert a significant influence throughout people’s life.

ACEs have been found to be associated with a range of poorer health and social outcomes in adulthood and that these risks increase as the number of ACEs increase.

Research from Wales found that people who reported experiencing four or more ACES are:

4x more likely to be a high-risk drinker
16x more likely to have used crack cocaine or heroin
6x increased risk of never or rarely feeling optimistic
3x increased risk of heart disease, respiratory disease and type 2 diabetes
15x more likely to have committed violence
14x more likely to have been victim of violence in the last 12 months
20x more likely to have been in prison at any point in their life

Consideration of ACEs is therefore crucial to thinking about how to improve the lives of children and young people, to support better transitions into adulthood, and achieve good outcomes for all adults.

What are we doing to address ACEs

As set out in the Programme for Government 2018 to 2019, we are committed to preventing ACEs and helping to reduce the negative impacts of ACEs where they occur and supporting the resilience of children, families and adults in overcoming adversity.

We are take forward action in four key areas:

1. Providing inter-generational support for parents, families and children to prevent ACEs

2. Reducing the negative impact of ACEs for children and young people

3. Developing adversity and trauma-informed workforce and services

4. Increasing societal awareness and supporting action across communities

We held an ACEs ministerial event in March 2018 in Glasgow involving people working across a wide-range of related sectors and Year of Young People Ambassadors. This explored what was working well, where further action is needed and opportunities for collaboration.

Through our Getting it right for every child approach, families and children can be supported by services to prevent and reduce adversity and the negative outcomes associated with it.

We will build on our existing policies, including:

providing more support for children and families in the very earliest years, for example, through our universal health visiting service and the rollout of family nurse partnerships
focusing on achieving equity in education
through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and, in combination with the
Pupil Equity Fund, allocating funding directly to schools to close the
poverty-related attainment gap
putting children’s wellbeing first through the Child Protection Improvement Programme, keeping them safe from abuse and neglect by ensuring effective child protection procedures are in place

Our policies in the following areas are also relevant:

Addressing ACEs is also about better supporting adults who have been through adversity and trauma.

We are working with NHS Education for Scotland and have announced £1.35 million funding to deliver a national trauma training programme. This will help Scotland’s current and future workforce develop skills and services that respond appropriately to people’s adverse childhood experiences and other traumatic experiences.

Consideration of ACEs is increasingly informing the development of national policy. For example, the Justice in Scotland: Vision and Priorities 2017 to 2020 identified ACEs as a key issue. A range of actions are being taken to reduce their impact e.g. measures to reduce parental incarceration by moving to a presumption against short prison sentences.

We are also working with the Scottish ACEs Hub (co-ordinated by NHS Health Scotland) which aims to raise awareness and understanding about ACEs and progress national action. For example, the Scottish ACEs Hub, in conjunction with Education Scotland, held a conference in March 2018 on addressing childhood adversity to support children’s learning and wellbeing.

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