Profile of: Clare Heggie

Award Received: 2024-2027 Vanier Graduate Scholarship

Dissertation Title: The health of incarcerated and criminalized women in rural and remote communities

Department: Interdisciplinary Studies

Supervisor: Dr. Martha Paynter

My doctoral research focuses on the intersection of rurality, gender, and incarceration as structural determinants of health. Women are the fastest growing population in prison in Canada and yet they remain a small subset of the overall population of incarcerated people. Most women experiencing incarceration are parents, and most have complex social and health histories including high rates of childhood abuse and mental illness, sexual violence, PTSD, substance use disorder, child protection involvement, housing insecurity, and unmet abortion and contraceptive needs. When women are released from prison, they face delays and barriers to accessing healthcare, housing, and parenting support in the community, making it difficult to disrupt intergenerational cycles of incarceration. Women from rural communities may face additional challenges accessing services post-release. Reintegration services such as transitional housing and community organizations dedicated to the needs of people leaving prison are concentrated in major population centres. Rural communities in Canada have higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and substance use when compared to urban communities. This evidence suggests that rural women experiencing incarceration may face higher service needs following release from prison; however, to date there has been no Canadian study on this topic. Using a grounded theory study design, my dissertation will use multiple data sources to establish a conceptual understanding of health experiences of women incarcerated in or released from women’s prisons in rural areas, including mapping urban/rural disparities in prison locations, conducting an environmental scan of post-release services, and conducting qualitative interviews with adult women and gender diverse people currently or previously incarcerated in a rural area, and front-line community organization staff serving clients in rural areas.