Okay. So Hi, everyone I'm Eugene Mathew. I'm a researcher. And lecture at the University, at the Charles University in Prague and at the University of Ostrava, in Ostrava from the Czech Republic. and I'd like to share some of my thoughts and experiences with peering especially appearing in a criminal justice system, and how it can be used for rehabilitation and recovery process. for women who got involved in the criminal justice system I'd like to share some presentation.
It's it's visible right now. yeah, that was that's basic introduction which I have set beforehand. So first of all, I'd like to grant my my presentation in in some research that I have done in several past years. I'd like to point out 3 of them first 2 was where carried out in collaboration with Arbican syndrome, which is a Czech Ngo providing some social services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated incarcerated persons in the Czech Republic.
I have collaborated with them on a project which was aimed at women who were incarcerated.
and we did semi structured and narrative interviews with these women about their situation after incarceration in incarceration and about their experiences with Czech public institutions as well as Czech Ngos the second research or research project I was involved in Was named our voice matters, and this project is, or both aimed actually, specifically on people or or women as well as men who do peering after their incarceration in the Czech Republic.
Again, it was based on interviews. Some structured interviews with with them as well as with some Ngo organizations collaborating with peers. And third research project is, was named Targott with the OS. It was focused on a prison personal in the Czech Republic. Again, it was instructed. Interviews with some civil, prison, personal and some Ngos providing prison and post prison social work.
And this project was important in the Czech Republic context, because, it was first of its kind, and it was the first chance that provide me some insight into some kind of peering in check prisons. sole. this so what? Everything that I will be presenting here is grounded in this research. With that being said, I would like to declare also my positionality, which is quite specific, I think. maybe from the standpoint of some
foreign lectures and researchers, it is not. But from the standpoint of Czech Republic. Researcher, it is, it is not quite usual to have a critical cultural and feminist stance. So I'm used to it to declare it whenever I can. So
I, my position is, as I said, critical cultural feminist, based on. If I'm in this kind of criminology. So my emphasis is so based rather on structural cultural conditions rather than some kind of individual psychology which is quite usual in so-called classic criminology. So I am interested in how is criminality produced by some structural problems, inequalities, oppressions, social harm. and so on.
And I do not regard it as a as a product of some contextualized or racialized racial choices or eventualities. and the second second concept my, in which my position it is based on is turmoil. Informed. Approach again. I have experience that in other countries this is some kind of gold standard. So of in rehabilitation and recovery processes again in the Czech Republic. This approach is not so usual. and the still
still not used very often. So again, throughout the presentation I will regard trauma as some kind of vital part of crime production and the vital part of rehabilitation and recovery process both for women and and men. So Oh. first of all, I would like to give some context what we know in the Czech Republic about women and their conflict with the criminal justice system. I won't be presenting so nothing new, I believe. It's very similar to
the foreign context here in the Czech Republic. But just to reassure that in the Czech Republic the situation is more or less same with that being said. I like to. I'd like to point out that the women criminality is often interlined with the interactions and relationships with men. That is so. Man have a very strong role in narratives and pathways of women who are in conflict with the Czech criminal system.
Also, very important factor is drug abuse. Again, very often drug abuse is involved in women's criminality. It's from their tips. We know that it is, often a coping mechanism to digress from a some kind of trauma. Or and it is some kind of self medication. that is, many women have has been been traumatized in their past and have some kind of through my mental health issues and the drug abuse is, some kind of a strategic way to mitigate these problems.
What is interesting and maybe a little bit different from the countries abroad is that we have proportionally more women than men incarcerated for violent crimes. I believe that in other countries it's it's other way around. More men are more men are proportionally incarcerated for violent crimes. Czech Republic is, is this way? I'm not sure. And nobody's sure. What is the cause right now? But according to statistics. it is this way like this way. oh, again.
very important factor in in acm, marginalization, marginalization play a big role in many incarceration narratives of women in terms of poverty, some kind of social capabilities or or education. many women face the situation in which there are along with children and must care for children. So this situation automatically means that they are often marginalized. And again, the coping strategy to to resolve this situation is is some kind of community act.
not surprisingly. Most women are usually both big teams and as well as perpetrators. Again, trauma is involved in this sense, so many women experienced child sexual abuse, some kind of violence. or they are simply, culturally subordinated in terms of a role in society. So it means that they have experienced some kind of domestic violence.
what is specific for Czech Republic, I I think, is that we have a public institution, public institutions that are quite major and apologetic towards domestic violence. and maybe also, and other forms of abuse and and violence. By this I mean that sundencies, scars, and sundencies are does not fulfill the social retribution. Principle. and maybe because of these.
because of this, women have, don't don't have a confidence in public institutions which may result in criminal acts. And it maybe it is one of the reasons why proportionally more women are incarcerated for violent crimes here. But it's it's not sure it's It's so just. It's just my, my. my analysis of the of the situation, I would say. very interestingly. One Ngo in the Czech Republic, named Profam, has done a research of some court cases.
And the they found out that a lot of judges were real apologetic towards domestic violence, as I said. also to sexual violence. one judge was sent when he was sentencing some man for sexual abuse of his child said that this man had a normal life except for abusing his children, and so he's not gave him sentenced to prison, but some some kind of sentence. some alternative sentencing instead of prison. So we are facing in the Chicago, you guys facing this kind of problems.
And these kind of problems have a very vital role in the in the women's conflict with the criminal justice system. I now, I would like to to give some thoughts about peering in a criminology and criminal justice system, because I believe it's not the same as the general peering, or generally regarded pei appearing. I believe that in criminology the metaphor of one, the dealer is more often used than than peering itself. I'm not sure why, but
as I see it it, it frames nicely the main traits of peering. That is that the position has a potential to help both peers peer and and people who are collaborating with peers. Hmm! Oh. the peering can be, and is regarded in in criminology as some kind of some type of social work which is based on authenticity, which is for me. The basic and very vital and important factor in in the whole process of peering and and process of rehabilitation and recovery.
Peering is also based on the strong sense of ethics of care Many peers have strong urge to help others in similar positions.
peering is also very good, or very, very positively regarded in terms of employing the negative past in a more positive way. So experience with imprisonment, experience with the conflict with law is transform it into positive think and positive experience that can help address with the, with their position, with their problems and the lift experience is utilized and otherwise would be useless.
because prison experience and prisonization is something that scarcely can be used in my society, and scarcely induce and and support some social skills. Peering is also very useful in terms of mutual recovery from the past, and it supports some kind of development or subdiv sub development in terms of various skills and capacities. Peers and people who are collaborating with peers
gets get better in, for example, in resilience. So they are more less susceptible to some kind of for example, social stigmatization and some kind of social problems. They are facing individual problems which are contexted contextualized in social problems. And one important thing which is not usual, at least not in Czech Republic is that peering is, can or can be employed both in prison and outside the prison. Here in Czech Republic. We do not use peering in prisons for some kind of reason.
And which is the which is shame? Because recently I found out in one study from American Texas. That they implemented one virtual program in prison in Texas. that to which inmates can enroll and become some kind of field ministers. meaning, there are peers in the prison. And this program is very interesting, and, in my view, very very good. So Also it was interesting that it has some kind of steep enrollment recommend of recommendations or mandatories for enrollment
in order to become film ministers. The inmate must have 19 years of sentence left. Which means that they study for till 2 ministers 4 years. Then they do peering can help other inmates for another 10 years, and they are released on peril last 5 years of the of their sentence, which is quite interesting system. I'm not sure if I would set up this way myself. But but overall, it's it's very, very interesting program.
also, I'd like to point out that peering is not only a social work outside the prison and in prisons. Because there is also a unique field of comic criminology. based mainly on in the United States, where people with the experience from prisons and with some kind of experience with criminal justice system
can. Study virtual masters and Phd programs special design for them. And then the researchers and the lectures at the University, which is a great opportunity again to utilize the negative past and the go in some positive recovery and rehabilitative way again. This is we lock this in the Czech Republic. We do not have a special programs for incenturated or formerly incenturated persons. It's just again again the shame. because and I will be talking about it in a minute.
Many, many formerly in prison. Persons do not have, for example. high school diploma. and they don't have many chances to obtain it advised, and to start 4 year studying. which is demanding, in a position that the they are 30 or more years old, and they they have to secure there, there economic position and subsistence, and so on. So Oh. with with that being said, we can now see, or we can discuss. how is peering useful for peers themselves? Definitely, it's not an option for everyone.
not everyone want to be a peer but in my view it provides some kind of flexible frame for building some kind of unique hmm resistance resistive reputative and and our recovery recovery path. I believe that every lift experience is unique to some extent. So one size does not fit all So peering is a good way to enable this to utilize this uniqueness and to accommodate, accommodate this uniqueness. Sorry. Accommodate this uniqueness. into the rehabilitative process.
I already said this pierce can utilize the experience from the past that would otherwise go down to drain peering supports the assistance that is some kind of long term absence of a conflict with criminal justice system peering helps with some kind of service team and so develop development of peers. And through this self-esteem and subdiville development they can inflect of their own resistance and rehabilitative path. So it's some kind of reflexive tool for for them.
if you we, if we, if you are talking about peering oh. aimed at women, especially at women. I believe that peering is very, very useful in some kind of very demanding topics or demanding rehabilitation. Topics. typically, when the. as I said, dramatization, domestic and domestic violence. And. for example, child care is involved in in in a pathway to to recovery and to rehabilitation. Which means that it is a a big difference when a social worker approach is released woman.
experience some kind of traumatization and some kind of violence. and this social worker does not have this experience and does will not have experienced prison then when women woman peer approaches the woman in need. And she has a similar or basically the same experience and can share this experience. With formerly incarcerated women and help them. And okay. share the compassion and offer the feeling of compassion to these, to these women.
So in this way, in this regard, peering can be very useful, for in this situation, and especially in for for women in their past. right now I believe that peering is culture may be more viable option for women than men. there, are some cultural preconditions for this. And of course it's some some kind of cultural and social stereotyping. that is, the ethics of care that's that's heavily involved in peering, as I said. is still very tightly knit with. Women. It's often a domain of women.
for example, it coincidences with the generalization of social work in the Czech Republic around 80% of social workers where women in 2,014 I haven't found so new statistics, but based on my teaching experiences. And I teach at social work programs have been teaching for in several social worker work programs for several years. We have a great majority of women in these programs. So I think nothing much has changed since 2,014
in this regard. And so peering in terms of women involvement can be also quite stir typically useful or helpful as a starting point for them in their social work. Career. And, as I said, it's maybe more viable way for women and men in contemporary social and cultural conditions. peering is very useful also. of course, for persons who are cooperating or cooperating with peers. And I believe that for incarcerated and post incarcerated persons.
The single most important thing is that they feel more accepted and not judged. When they are interacting with peers. It's a more authentical interaction And so in this sense interaction with social workers may do some kind of power relations which again may undermine social work and rehabilitation process. the authenticity is far more important factor in the social work with the incarceration post incarcerated persons as it can help with traumatization.
which is again more prevalent in women pathways. Because women can may feel a better understanding and more compassion by a women peer who has a similar experience. and this this this thing solely can resolve many, many problems and many, many situations which may emerge after after releasing at the same time peering with its accent on authenticity is in compliance with trauma. Inform approach, which is very important, I think. Oh.
peering can be useful in terms of similar language. Mutual understanding, which means. sometimes social workers are income in cohamp, in cohamped. I can comprehend it. Incomprehensible. For for release persons their language. Hmm! Formally incarcerated persons simply don't understand them. They're more complicated they use more complicated language than it's viable.
And so peers can be some kind of Middle factor between the social workers and and the clients of the social services in this regard, as they use a single language which is more understandable. Peers can act as a role model for clients. which means the interactions between peers and clients can bring some kind of hope feeling of hope for clients. In the sense that they they face intersection, intersectional. oh. intersexually intertwined. So
problems! And they are often hopeless in their position. And then they see some peers who faced similar problems similar. Similar barriers, and they got over over them. And they are now they are peers, and providing some kind of support. So this may be potential, more important for again, for women, because often they faced a higher rate of stigmatization. for example, because there they failed in the role of mother.
So at the top of the incarceration they face this kind of stigmatization, failure of motherhood. They are more often stirred up as a phase, stertip position. For example. women who abuse alcohol is more stigmatized and stirthized than men who are using alcohol not excessively using alcohol
and the combination of this, this kind of stigmatizations and strategizations can induce higher rate of hopelessness. And again, peers and women peers can lower this this rate of hopelessness and give I mean clients some kind of hope for the future. And peering is often linked to some kind of help. Self help groups which means that often. When released women, men, clients generally collaborates or collaborate with the some kind of social services social workers
do some kind of rehabilitative work for some time, and then the clients are released from the service, and they are on their own. And many times this is potentially risks risk situation in terms of getting back to to prison. Because of lack of support and lack of some kind of help with some social situations that
may emerge and peering. Continues well beyond this. This cooperation, because these so help groups are some kind of continuous tool continuous service that can be used by literally everyone with the same experience. And there are so hub groups which work for many years, and some clients attend them for many years and receive support from these groups. And the it is, I think, important for them to keep hmm upside and keep keep their existence, or abstain from criminal justice, activity.
And again, this is some something that, appearing brought up not social services, I believe. oh. one of the last slides which I would like to share is limits of peering in the Czech Republic which is super important for for drink development of peering although peering in the Czech Republic is one of the services tools which is more developed in compared to other social services in the Czech Republic, it has, some some deep limitations. and there are many of them.
First of all, there is a projectification of peering in the Czech Republic, which means the peering is badly financed, though there is no systematic financing of peering Induk republic most of peers are financed through some kind of projects especially from the abroad. So Europe, European Union, and from Norwegian projects. Which means that this guy, this kind of service and employment is not stable, because, the position of peer starts with projects and ends with project.
and besides, the projectification and lack of financing means, also that peers are facing the absence of dignified wages. The ridges is really small, and I think they in many cases they can't cope with their subsistence problems. and they have to have more employee amend and more positions in order to secure themselves. Another problems is that the persons with criminal past cannot work in social services. This is This is induced by a checklist legislation. and it it it includes peer positions.
No. I have some news or so some kind of information that this should be changed by some kind of like legislative revision, hopefully, maybe even this year or next year. But it has not been approved by legislative bodies to this day. So it's a question mark big question mark. Besides it so another legislation problem is that peering is not grounded in legislation, checklist legislation. So it's not clear what activities and intervention
should be done by peers. It's not clear what peers should do which is, on one hand quite liberating, I would say. but from the experience, on the other hand. it can be quite burning for peers, because many times they do everything and anytime. and it's it's demanding for them and for their mental health. Because they should be available as I said, in any time, and for everyone. And the that's simply simply difficult for them. or maybe difficult for them.
Another problem. And I already said it. Is the absence of alternative and quick way to get some kind of high school diploma many peers and many incarcerated and released persons do not have a high school diploma which is needed usually for working in social services and for getting a better age in social service. but it's not only this formal problem it is also problem of some kind of service team. I had several interviews with peers who said to me that
They are fine. They are formally fine with, the situation, not having a high school diploma, but they feel the low self esteem because of it. So a formal education is important for them in in some kind of internal way. And it's something that should be enabled to them in some quick way, because, as I said right now. they have only one option, and this and that is to enroll classic high school for 4 years, and after 4 years they are. do the final exam and get the
High School diploma, which is quite quite time demanding. And for many peers, it's not a viable option. because they have to care for children, secure subsistence, and so on. One of the big limitation in the Czech Republic is absence of peering in prisons. we simply do not have any programs in this regard. There is one small exception, and that is and I encountered it in several prisons. And that is situation.
That's Oh. some portion of incarcerated persons or inmates have a special needs, and they are situated in special sections in the in these prisons, and the prison personal simply don't have time capacities, and so on to look after them. So they usually appoint other inmates, other incarcerated persons to look after. This inmates with special needs. So
practically, this is some kind of peering, but it's not a systematically developed peering. It's not something which would be done with with a specific peering idea in mind. But it's some kind of coping strategy for for prisons to secure some kind of care for or a specific population or specific segment of population in prisons. specific problem is also luminality, which is very interesting issue, at least for me. because from my interviews and also from the literature. it seems that
there is some kind of position in between us. Meaning that if women men. It doesn't matter accepts the position of peer. They are caught or stuck in a position that their they are not the past criminal identity anymore. And they do not have the new social identity either. So they are stuck in between us. These 2 positions. And it could be again demanding for their mental health.
because they consumer perpetually have to approve themselves to the social services to the society to some kind of their social social nets, and so on. And for some peers. This is very very problematic. And it's it's the reason why they go. oh, they stop peering. Basically. Yeah. Also, we'll
so the Czech Republic phase is, some kind of structural problems and conditions. We do we do have a problem with the housing that is not enough sufficient housing for not even for so called normal or ordinary population in the Czech Republic. Which means it's very scarce for some marginalized populations, including trace the persons from prison, especially for women, because women usually apply for the ability to care for their children.
which is mandated by their situation by good situation, including good good hosting situation and the subsistence security subsistence, which is more complicated for women than men in the Czech Republic. Very specific way for the Czech Republic is over. Indebtedness. We have many, many people who are in depth. in the Czech Republic. And that's because we produce these people systematically by not regulating non bank debts. wounds, and idiotness it started to be regulated only in 2,016
until this year. On that year it was unregulated, and it went. Hmm! That's maybe. I I would say nearly 100% people with the experience from criminal justice system are over in depth, debt, and have problems with the debt and inability to repay the debt. Also, we have a scarcity of social services, which is, I believe, a quite usual problem, not only from in the Czech Republic, but elsewhere, too. which means that peers are still clients. At some point
they are providing social services. They are providing social work to other people, but they are clients in some other social services as well. and this adds up to to the luminality position, because not only they are caught in between us. they are part of the social system in the terms of their clients, and they help other clients. So their position is really murky and not not really clear.
So it they have difficulties to focus on peering when addressing their own issues. And it's it's something. It's very pressing in the Czech Republic. And again, it's it can be a reason to stop doing peering. because, simply the individual problems are suppressing that it's it's so the pairing can be done simply. and there is also a deep stertification from the site of the Czech society. Again, peers are regarded as someone who should perpetually approve himself or herself. Oh. it is!
It is really demanding again for from for them and again the 30 position can be regarded as a factor that supports. Hmm! Quitting, peering. and doing anything else. So we are at the end of the presentation. and I'd like to point out some questions for discussion. these questions are based on what I have been talking about. And again, and also I'd like to share some experiences from other countries especially
what our experience is with peering in these countries. What are limits? I've been talking about check specific limits. But I believe that other countries have their own special limits. So I'm interested what these limits are. And and more important importantly, how can we overcome these limits and issues. That's very important question. And I like to share it because of the public situation. And my hmm! My interest in more. In developing the appearing more in the Czech Republic.
the very, very interesting question is, what help to develop structural capacities for supporting, peering, because structural capacities are next to nil in the Czech Republic. I would say it's it's really initiative of Ngos. And some peers who are really active and social, active in this regard, but other of that part of that there is no systematic support. From the Czech public institutions, for example, for example. So I would be interesting. How the structural capacities were developed.
Another very interesting and very important question is, how is peering grounded in your legislation. I believe it is very important, because, too strict grounding of peering is dangerous in terms of of situation that. you know, public institutions say, Oh, this is this is peering, and this is not peering. and you are peer, and you are not peer, and I believe that peering is something very very free liberating. It's
It's not formalized social work, and it should stay so. So the grounding of in legislation should be should be not as strict as as some kind of definitions. And these kind of things. So I would be curious about some specific limits some specific legislative constructs, and there are limits in countries. And the last but not least, I am interested in lemonality as I have been speaking about. is this issue in your country is. or our peers in our country cold in between us and
What? Maybe. What helped again mitigating this this issue won't help. So hmm unstuck this position and liberate peers. So that's that's it. Thanks for attention. Hopefully, it was comprehensible. And I, I will be looking forward for discussion. And and yeah, that's it.