Disability and the criminal justice system in Zambia

Date12 June 2017
Published date12 June 2017
Pages59-69
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-12-2016-0023
AuthorJessica Jacobson,Phillip Sabuni,Jenny Talbot
Subject MatterHealth & social care,Learning & intellectual disabilities,Offending behaviour,Sociology,Sociology of crime & law,Deviant behaviour,Education,Special education/gifted education,Emotional/behavioural disorders
Disability and the criminal justice
system in Zambia
Jessica Jacobson, Phillip Sabuni and Jenny Talbot
Abstract
Purpose Drawing on multi-method research conducted in 2013-2014, the purpose of this paper is to
consider the extent and nature of disadvantage experienced by individuals with psychosocial and intellectual
disabilities (PID) who come into contact with the criminal justice system in Zambia. The research was
conducted as part of a wider project aiming to bring about improvements in how people with PID are dealt
with by the criminal justice services.
Design/methodology/approach The research activities included interviews with 29 individuals with PID
who had experienced the criminal justice system as suspects, defendants or prisoners (self-advocates).
A focus group and interviews were also conducted with the family members of people with PID who had
criminal justice experience.
Findings People with PID in contact with the criminal justice services in Zambia are disadvantaged and
discriminatedagainst routinely and systematically.Like all detainees, they experienceharsh and at times brutal
conditions ofdetention. However, because of theirdisabilities, such experiencescan be more keenly felt: their
disabilitiesmay be exacerbated by detention or by limitedor non-existent health care; and theyare likely to be
less resourceful thanother detainees and, therefore, less ableto cope with the privations of detention.
Originality/value In drawing on the self-advocate interviews, this paper presents direct, vivid accounts of
what it means to be a suspect, defendant or prisoner with disabilities in Zambia. These are extremely
marginalised and multiply disadvantaged individuals whose voices are rarely heard.
Keywords Criminal justice, Courts, Prisons, Police, Zambia, Disadvantage,
Intellectual/psychosocial disabilities, Self-advocates
Paper type Research paper
This paper reports on a study of the intersection between disability and criminal justice in Zambia.
The research sought to provide insight into the extent and nature of disadvantage experienced
by individuals with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities (PID) who come into contact with
the criminal justice services in Zambia. The starting point of the study was the recognition that,
in most jurisdictions across the world, individuals with PID tend to be disadvantaged by a criminal
justice process that frequently does not recognise, take account of or support their particular
needs. At worst, the criminal justice process may actively discriminate against these individuals,
or permit or facilitate abusive behaviour towards them.
For individuals facing imprisonment, the World Health Organization (WHO) (2007) notes that prisons
are bad for mental health. Already at a disadvantage because of their disability, the cumulative effect
of deprivation of liberty and autonomy, harsh environments and unceasing threats to personal
security, which represents life in prison for most (Sykes, 1958), can make prison especially hard for
individuals with PID to bear. The negative impacts of prison life can increase a personsvulnerability,
exacerbate existing health conditions and disorders, enhance the risk of mental ill health (WHO,
2007; Armour, 2012), and erode thinking and life skills (Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, 2008).
The study
The research was conducted in 2013-2014 as part of a wider project aiming to bring
about evidence-based improvements to how individuals with PID are dealt with across
Received 16 December 2016
Revised 16 April 2017
Accepted 16 April 2017
The researchand wider policy work
were undertaken by a consortium
comprising a number of Zambian
NGOs: theParalegal Alliance
Network(which led the project),
the Legal Resources Foundation,
the MentalHealth Users Network
Zambia,Prisons Care and
Counselling Associationand the
Zambia Federation of Disability
Organisations. The London-based
Prison Reform Trust andthe
Institutefor Criminal PolicyResearch
at Birkbeck, University of London,
also participated in the project.
The projectwas funded by the
Open SocietyInitiative for Southern
Africa (OSISA), and supportedby
the ZambianMinistry of Home
Affairs.The full report on the study
is published as: Open Society
Foundations and Open Society
Initiativefor Southern Africa(2015).
A short filmabout ongoing work in
Zambia can be found here:
www.opensocietyfoundations.org/
voices/zambia-pioneering-new-
approach-criminal-justice-people-
disabilities
Jessica Jacobson is the
Director at the Institute for
Criminal Policy Research,
Birkbeck, University of London,
London, UK.
Phillip Sabuni is the National
Coordinator at the Paralegal
Alliance Network (PAN) Ltd.,
Lusaka, Zambia.
Jenny Talbot is the Director for
Care not Custody at the Prison
Reform Trust, London, UK.
DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-12-2016-0023 VOL. 8 NO.2 2017, pp. 59-69, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN2050-8824
j
JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
j
PAGE 5 9

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