'Why do we continue to punish these vulnerable, much-damaged individuals rather than trying to heal them?' Photo: by Zika Radosavljevic on Unsplash
Harm’s way: Martin Schweiger & Melanie Jameson’s QICJ report
‘The key question is not “What did you do?” but “What has happened to you?”’
Adverse Childhood Experiences are clearly not ‘ACE’ – far from it! That was the main message from presenters to the annual conference of Quakers in Criminal Justice last month.
ACEs’, such as: physical, sexual or emotional abuse; poverty; homelessness; neglect; alcohol/drug addiction in the household; or an imprisoned parent, are strongly associated with subsequent criminal behaviour. If we wish to see fewer young people developing delinquency, we need to acknowledge and address their ACEs first. The key question is not ‘What did you do?’ but ‘What has happened to you?’
In Bristol, the Young Offender Team (YOT) contacts everyone who has been involved with children referred to them, then plots key events/traumas on a timeline; this enables the team to understand what has happened. Their intervention moves through the initial stages of building stability and trust with the individual, then working through trauma, in order to enable insight and, finally, future planning; this process cannot be hurried. The YOT mantra is ‘connection before correction’.
Sue Penna of Rockpool, which provides training for organisations that support people who have been affected by trauma, did not spare us the statistics. More than four ACEs and one’s likelihood of incarceration, suicide, violence or addictions is hugely increased, even culminating in a shorter life expectancy – by twenty years! Brain development is affected, leading to hypersensitivity to any form of perceived threat. Maladaptive coping strategies include aggression, attention-seeking, self-harm, sexual promiscuity and addiction.
Being in prison is a further source of toxic stress, exacerbating previous trauma. Many prisoners experience PTSD with associated panic attacks, poor sleep and avoidance of close relationships. No wonder offenders are accused of ‘failing to engage’! Why do we continue to punish these vulnerable, much-damaged individuals rather than trying to heal them?
We also learned about ACEs among the police – officers may have joined the service to try to prevent what has happened to them being repeated elsewhere. We were pleased to hear that Scotland and Wales have started to adopt trauma-informed approaches. As usual England lags behind; moreover, our government is committed to ever-more punitive measures in current legislation. For this reason, Quakers need to maintain a strong voice promoting understanding and compassion in the criminal justice system. Desmond Tutu’s words will remain with us: ‘There comes a point when we must stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.’
Martin and Melanie are from Quakers in Criminal Justice (www.qicj.org)
