Media Releases and Opportunities

Nearly 50 per cent of women incarcerated in Canadian prisons are Indigenous, yet there is little data on the status of their perinatal and reproductive health as well as their access to these services in federal institutions.

Martha Paynter, a doctoral candidate in Dalhousie University’s School of Nursing, and Dr. Jennifer Leason of the University of Calgary will address that important knowledge gap by speaking directly to Indigenous women about their sexual, reproductive and maternal-child health experiences while incarcerated.

The researchers will visit and collect evidence from people in the six federal institutions designated for women across the country, providing them an art-based and safe means of expression.

The Indigenous-led project, ‘Honouring Voices and Visions: Illuminating Incarcerated Indigenous Womxn’s Sexual, Reproductive and Maternal-Child Health and Wellness,’ recently received $500,000 through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Indigenous Gender and Wellness Grant.

Paynter, a registered nurse working in abortion and reproductive health care, is available to discuss this unique project and how the resulting data will help better understand the health status of this vulnerable sector in a bid to improve health outcomes and prevent further marginalization.

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Author contact:
Martha Paynter
School of Nursing
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-292-7082
Email: Martha.paynter@gmail.com

Media contact:
Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Communications, Marketing and Creative Services
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca